Contents
Mahershala Ali
Winning supporting-actor Oscars for Moonlight and Green Book.
Moonlight · Green Book
- Born
- 16 February 1974
- Birthplace
- Oakland, California, United States
More people
Mahershala Ali
An American actor whose performances often use stillness and careful vocal control. His career developed through television before major recognition in independent film.
Early life
Bay Area childhood
Grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in a family connected to performance and faith.
Basketball to drama
Attended Saint Mary’s College on a basketball scholarship, then trained at New York University.
Career
- 2001 onward
Television beginnings
Worked in Crossing Jordan and The 4400.
- 2013–2016
House of Cards
A recurring role widened his audience.
- 2016–2019
Two Oscar wins
Moonlight and Green Book brought consecutive successes within three years.
- 2019
True Detective
Led the third season across several periods of one character’s life.
Selected work
Moonlight
Played Juan, a conflicted adult presence in a boy’s childhood.
Green Book
Portrayed pianist Don Shirley.
True Detective
Played detective Wayne Hays at different ages.
Beyond acting
Music
Recorded hip-hop under the name Prince Ali before his film breakthrough.
Family
Married artist Amatus Sami-Karim in 2013.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Academy Awards ceremony ↗Photo: Gordon Correll. CC BY-SA 2.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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