

Some have said that Mahershala Ali’s laugh is one of the top three sounds ever emitted by a human being. It gives you a shot at connecting with an audience and real people who need to see themselves in these characters in some way,” he explained to Vulture. “I was really starving for and looking for crafting the moments that aren’t villainous. As the show’s main villain, the underworld kingpin Cottonmouth, Ali was loose and menacing, but still human. His other big recent role was in Luke Cage, where he was allowed to really shine. Henson’s husband, and again shared scenes with his Moonlight castmate Janelle Monáe). “He recognizes what Little is experiencing - in some way, it’s a reflection of his own experience and upbringing, of him not really feeling fully embraced or struggling to identify with who he was,” Ali told Interview.Īli was in another Best Picture nominee, Hidden Figures (he played Taraji P. It’s also important that his character Juan is a dark-skinned Cuban, whose struggle with his own identity helps him understand what the boy is going through.
ALEX R HIBBERT MOONLIGHT INTERVIEW HOW TO
He teaches Little how to swim, sneaks him cash, answers the kid’s questions about life, but also sells drugs to Little’s crack-addict mother. He doesn’t give a boisterous, showy performance he’s simply natural in a way that fits the movie’s vibe. His close friends call him Hershel, but that term of endearment is off limits to us mere plebeians. Mahershala is actually Ali’s nickname - his mother, a pastor, named him after Isaiah’s son in the bible, Mahershalalhashbaz. Here’s a primer that he gave to Jimmy Kimmel. Wait - how are we pronouncing “Mahershala”? Leaving the Netflix show was actually a big gamble for Ali, but when his character wasn’t as present in the third season, he knew he needed to make a change. Though the actor has been in the business for 15 years, playing the well-dressed lobbyist on House of Cards was indeed his breakthrough.
ALEX R HIBBERT MOONLIGHT INTERVIEW MOVIE
Yes! If you’re not much of a movie person, House of Cards is probably what you recognize Ali from. Before we talk about anything else, we need to talk about House of Cards: Remy is about to win an Oscar? Go ahead, ask me anything - just why exactly is Mahershala Ali so great? (Believe me, I’m a true authority.) If you’re just beginning to discover your feelings for Mahershala, allow me to welcome you into the fold. There is truly no greater or more worthy crush. Mahershala Ali is the apex of all our efforts. Though he only appears in the first third of the movie, even his smallest actions seem to change the course of Little’s life even when he’s gone, you can see his impact.īut beyond Moonlight, there’s something else important to know about Mahershala Ali before he wins his Oscar: He is, objectively, humanity’s first perfect person. Nearly every review of Moonlight praises his performance as Juan, a tender drug dealer who is a father figure and friend to Little (Alex R. Only a few Academy Awards prognosticators project another man to take home the Best Supporting Actor trophy alongside Viola Davis and La La Land, Ali is one of the night’s surest things. On Sunday, Mahershala Ali will almost certainly win an Oscar. Photo-Illustration: Maya Robinson and Photo by Getty Images
