Biography of Mahershala Ali
Mahershala Ali (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali) is the Oscar winner 2017 for Best Supporting Actor in the drama Moonlight. He became the first Muslim actor who won this honorable award.
Childhood and Early Life of Mahershala Ali
The future actor was born and raised in California. His mother, Willicia, devoted her life to the church, and his father, Phillip Gilmore, was a Broadway actor. The woman was raising her son according to Christian traditions and even named him after one of the prophets Isaiah’s sons by the name of Mahershalalhashbaz. However, when the young man grew up, he converted to Islam and changed his last name from Gilmore to Ali.
Back then, Mahershala didn’t even think about an acting career. He became interested in acting after taking part in a theatrical performance Spunk. Apparently, his father’s genes had come out, and after the debut, Ali started thinking of becoming an actor.
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Career of Mahershala Ali
Mahershala made his first screen debut in the TV show NYPD Blue. Later, he had some secondary roles in other crime TV shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Crossing Jordan.In 2008, he got a small role in the sensational picture The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by David Fincher. The beginning actor got a chance to work with famous Hollywood stars such as Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond, and Jason Flemyng on one set.
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However, a portrayal of a drug dealer Juan in the Oscar-winning drama Moonlight by Barry Jenkins was a real stroke of luck for the little-known actor. His character, a black-skinned homosexual, goes through three stages of life, trying to understand his calling in life.
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Private Life of Mahershala Ali
Before the solemn Oscar Award Ceremony, the actor’s family had got great news. Mahershala Ali became a father for the first time. On February 22, the actor had a daughter, Bari Najma Ali.