Mahershala Ali Quotes

Viola Davis is a perfect example of somebody who's so much better than the parts she has the opportunity to play.

- Mahershala Ali

I wanted to get that Division I scholarship and play ball and go to school for free, and I was always about getting to that next step... I was always ahead of myself in some way, shape or form, and trying to envision how to get further along and closer to fulfilling that dream of being free and having creative agency, so to speak.

- Mahershala Ali

My manager called me and said, 'Hey, there's a series at Neflix.' I'm like, 'Netflix? Oh, boy.' At that time, it was just a strange thing to hear. It's like going, 'There's a series at Blockbuster.'

- Mahershala Ali

Theater will cast in a more open way; Denzel Washington might play Richard III. Television and film don't really cast openly like that. The theater world has always been a leader in diversity.

- Mahershala Ali

If you convert to Islam after a couple of decades of being a black man in the U.S., the discrimination you receive as a Muslim doesn't feel like a shock.

- Mahershala Ali

You can't watch 'Daredevil' or 'Jessica Jones' or the Marvel films and not be aware that the villain has to be awesome. I've always wanted to have more space. And the scope, morally, is more broad for the villain than the hero.

- Mahershala Ali

I really love Tom Hardy. He makes really interesting choices.

- Mahershala Ali

We live in diverse communities with all sorts of people from all sorts of different backgrounds. The more our entertainment can be a reflection of the world we live in, the better it is for all of us.

- Mahershala Ali

Basketball wasn't going particularly well, but in my senior year, I did a play and got a wonderful card from a professor that said, 'I don't know what your plans are after school or if acting is a part of it, but you have something special.' Hearing that from someone who I had so much respect for pointed me in that direction.

- Mahershala Ali

I wanted to take on my full name, which was sort of a crazy thing to do considering that we're in Hollywood.

- Mahershala Ali

I remember clearly, when I was about 4, my Aunt Linda said, 'I'm not babysitting him no more. He's bad.' It was one of the first conscious shifts I remember making. I decided, 'I'm going to be good now.'

- Mahershala Ali

I was supremely fortunate to do several projects that I'm really excited about. So within all that, there's a lot going on this year. I'm excited about 2016.

- Mahershala Ali

At a certain point in my career, I was probably having a difficult time 'holding space.' So you get a character that has to be commanding in order for him to resonate and make sense.

- Mahershala Ali

I really enjoyed working with Mariah, Alfre Woodward's character, because she's a wonderful actor, and I felt we had a natural chemistry that was reflective of real family members.

- Mahershala Ali

Cottonmouth is the result of having to react to his circumstances. He had to, in some ways, take control of the situation and own his circumstances. But as a result of that, he became a person he didn't intend to become.

- Mahershala Ali

Social media has colonized what was once a sacred space occupied by emptiness: the space reserved for thought and creativity.

- Mahershala Ali

It's still amazing, but when I was growing up, Harlem was the Mecca of black culture. I was so inspired by it, the aspirational feeling you'd get spending time there. Experiences that were really specific to that place.

- Mahershala Ali

I converted Dec. 31, 1999. It was a Friday. That was my second time going to the mosque. The woman who is my wife now... was basically raised Muslim - and she was at that point where she was deciding or trying to come to terms with her own relationship with Islam and how to embrace that for herself.

- Mahershala Ali

I watch a lot of home stuff; I like seeing things go from one thing to another and get fixed up.

- Mahershala Ali

At a earlier age, I was kind of into a pretty large scope or range of music from Hieroglyphics and the Hobo Junction guys and all that to like a lot of stuff that was in New York like Diamond D, Nas, Brand Nubian, of course Biggie, OC, Organized Confusion, Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Digable Planets, who I just saw recently, and they killed it.

- Mahershala Ali

My mother is an ordained minister. I'm a Muslim. She didn't do back flips when I called her to tell her I converted 17 years ago. But I tell you now, you put things to the side, and I'm able to see her, and she's able to see me. We love each other. The love has grown.

- Mahershala Ali

To really be conscious of how long the journey is, be patient, push yourself, persevere, and always be working on your craft while waiting for your break. That's what I'm still working on, having done this for 20 years now.

- Mahershala Ali

There are so many women who contributed in a very real way in pushing for the space program during the time in which there was a lot of competition to get into space first, and to know that there were African-American women who were integral in that success is pretty phenomenal.

- Mahershala Ali

I owe a lot to my time on 'House of Cards' because, up until I booked that show, I had been working consistently for 12 years, but I wasn't working on anything that mattered in the way 'House of Cards' did to its audience, to casting directors, to directors and producers. The show hit this sweet spot.

- Mahershala Ali

The real guys that I knew were really cool people, who I played basketball with and traveled with on teams and knew their families and knew that they love their family. They just happen to do something that wasn't all the way legal, but it was a part of their life, and you knew that they hustled.

- Mahershala Ali

I love Michelle Williams. I think she's extraordinary. I was such a fan of 'Blue Valentine,' and I heard stories about how Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams worked on that. They lived together for a period of time as rehearsal. From nine in the morning to five at night, living in a space together. The work is really awe-inspiring.

- Mahershala Ali

There was a sadness over me, a melancholy. That's always been a part of me - those are some of the things that lead you to the arts.

- Mahershala Ali

I saw this documentary he did years ago called 'Fade to Black.' I was always a Jay Z fan - I liked Jay Z - but after I saw that documentary, I loved Jay Z. I realized how intelligent he was.

- Mahershala Ali

My friends in college, several of whom are still my closest companions, would tell you that I was almost obsessed with becoming - fixated on creating - the future that I envisioned for myself: one of expanding to know my fullest self, which I have in no way achieved.

- Mahershala Ali

My dream role is Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion.

- Mahershala Ali

I had two jobs coming out of school: I did a play, 'The Great White Hope.' I played the boxer Jack Johnson. And I was the lead in this indie film. Then I moved to Los Angeles because New York was cold and it was really too quiet for me at that time. I was out of school; I was hungry. The auditions were trickling in, and I was antsy and ready to go.

- Mahershala Ali

I got my Equity card right out of NYU grad school in 2000, doing 'The Great White Hope' at Arena Stage. I played Jack Jefferson. It was an amazing part to walk into, to carry that responsibility for that amount of time. The challenges and the breadth of that role were pretty amazing.

- Mahershala Ali

In terms of pace, I think I just have to revisit my relationship with expectations. That has a little bit to do with comparing ourselves to other people and seeing other people's journey and seeing how they had a certain success at a certain age.

- Mahershala Ali

When you have these surprise breakout films that do well, that have good performances in them, it puts a lot of pressure on the Academy to recognize those projects, so it's more of a conversation about what is greenlit.

- Mahershala Ali

Oakland, by far, is really gorgeous; it still has these pockets that are really dangerous. Certain things are kind of normal. I think kids out there can be tested in a way where his right of passage ties into a bit of violence and how that has become these markers in masculinity and you being kind of validated after having to pass through things.

- Mahershala Ali

It's a lot of wonderful things about the Bay area and Oakland that I absolutely love. I wouldn't change being from there by any stretch.

- Mahershala Ali

I was going to try to get into the creative writing program at Berkeley; it's just that the acting thing worked out.

- Mahershala Ali

I'd always wanted to do a Marvel project, and I'd always imagined getting to play one of the superheroes because it's such a hard thing to get. It's the parts that only go to a few people. The flip side of that is the antagonists are pretty awesome.

- Mahershala Ali

At graduate school in 1999, I finally had the chance to examine why I believe what I believe. I realised that I'd had no period in my life where I'd consciously tried to develop my own theology.

- Mahershala Ali

At that moment in time when we feel like the other, we were not the person embraced, not one of the cool kids, not in the club - when you're that person, it makes you feel smaller, and when they persecute you as a result, that's a difficult position to be in.

- Mahershala Ali

What I think I learned from working on 'Moonlight' is you see what happens when you persecute people. They fold into themselves.

- Mahershala Ali

I have had that same experience where there are several people who have come up in my life at the right time and have made critical contributions to how I see the world and how I see myself.

- Mahershala Ali

There are instances where you're in a space with someone who has been extraordinarily successful, and they don't necessarily connect with you as another person. You can be a prop for them to deliver their stuff, and you're just another element in the scene.

- Mahershala Ali

My mom and stepdad were strict. I couldn't date; I couldn't go out. And I was a kid who was never good at just taking no for an answer. I needed to understand why. And sometimes they weren't interested in explaining.

- Mahershala Ali

Before I got into grad school, I used to work as a deck hand on these ferry boats in San Francisco, and they did day tours. It wasn't a bad job. I made decent money. But you were sitting down all day, tying up the boat, wiping it down. For some guys, that's a dream job, but for me it was kind of torture.

- Mahershala Ali

Like so many families, we were dealing with limited means. We weren't poor at all, but we had some challenging times financially. When my stepdad got laid off... we were really trying to find our footing for a couple of years.

- Mahershala Ali

Coming off 'House of Cards,' playing someone so straight-laced, I was getting offered a lot of F.B.I. agents.

- Mahershala Ali

I've never seen 'Gone with the Wind.' I don't know if that's something to be embarrassed about, but I know that I should have seen that movie by now.

- Mahershala Ali

Cultures and races are mixing in a very organic way in the world, and that should be reflected in film and television.

- Mahershala Ali

I loved going to superhero films growing up - you come home, and you pretend to be those people, and it ends up informing much of what you aspire to be. And that's what I will say is important about the genre.

- Mahershala Ali

Who is that person that comes around and says, 'You are OK, you are worthy, you are special?' That makes all the difference in the world for many of us. Those are the people we appreciate the most.

- Mahershala Ali

The call for diversity is about recognizing that in order to be in the conversation come awards season, it goes back to the content that is being produced.

- Mahershala Ali

I haven't gotten to do the leading man thing, so I would love to do that!

- Mahershala Ali

I think if you have any desire to be a leading man or to really carry some of these stories, there's this relationship that has to be cultivated with an audience. People have to be able to say your name.

- Mahershala Ali

I prayed every day of my life, and that was instilled in me as a kid, and as I've gotten older, that's just matured in me.

- Mahershala Ali

The things that people won't totally accept come in all shapes and sizes and forms, and I can relate to that in my own youth.

- Mahershala Ali

My father, Phillip Gilmore, was very talented. He was getting seriously into dancing. He was on 'Soul Train' and won $2,500. But the Bay Area was too small for him. I don't think he had the space to do what he needed to do.

- Mahershala Ali

'Free State of Jones' went beyond that. It got into how the South wasn't as homogenous as we thought it was - or even the North for that matter, where we like to assume everyone wanted to free the slaves and they were all abolitionists. It actually shows how complex these ideologies were on both sides.

- Mahershala Ali

What you see in 'Daredevil' and 'Jessica Jones' isn't the Hell's Kitchen of today; it's a version of what it was like.

- Mahershala Ali

I do believe that there are creative chakras or different sorts of energy centers.

- Mahershala Ali

'Luke Cage' is about a reluctant superhero who lives in the shadows in Harlem. He has to decide if he's going to step up and fight for the heart of the city and defend the people against Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes, my character, who kinda wants to keep everything in order and intact. I'm the criminal element in the story.

- Mahershala Ali

You want entertainment in general, every aspect of it, to be more of a reflection of the diverse world that we live in.

- Mahershala Ali

'House of Cards' opened some doors. I've been able to tackle some diverse stories and characters.

- Mahershala Ali

I think #OscarsSoWhite is about there not truly being enough people of color represented.

- Mahershala Ali

If you're throwing someone off a roof, you're throwing them off the roof. It's there. You don't have to do anything extra with that. The audience is obviously going to react to that because it's such a heightened thing to do. But in the other moments, you really look for ways to craft those, because they're more important, honestly.

- Mahershala Ali

If you're not careful as an actor, you can find yourself, at a certain point, a little bit bored.

- Mahershala Ali

I think that black people, to a degree, need to have a certain level of dexterity. If we want to be at the highest level of whatever our field is, we have to be able to navigate both worlds. We all just know that you gotta be able to put that suit on and have a conversation with people that don't look like you or your family.

- Mahershala Ali

I know someone from growing up who is in jail right now for the rest of his life, but he was one of the sweetest people I ever knew.

- Mahershala Ali

I have to say goodbye to things in order to take on bigger things that I've always wanted to do.

- Mahershala Ali

As a kid, my dad would take me to see indie films when I would visit him in New York. Films that I just wouldn't see growing up in the Bay Area.

- Mahershala Ali

People are really paying attention to the comic-book genre, and there's a lot of time and attention being invested in these projects with a wonderful sense of quality control.

- Mahershala Ali

To get to play someone who was in some capacity the King of Harlem, that meant something to me. Deep within my bones. I was inspired by the energy that I knew to be a real thing.

- Mahershala Ali

It's funny how you can be thought of as somebody who humanizes bad guys, and I'll take that, but it is something that gave me pause, and I started speaking to my team about finding a good guy.

- Mahershala Ali

I believe that everything has a shelf life.

- Mahershala Ali

'Mahershala' is my nickname.

- Mahershala Ali

Kids feel like they have to puff up or shrink. These reclusive qualities begin to develop because you feel that who you are is going to either be accepted or rejected by your family and friends.

- Mahershala Ali

Your life, your circumstances change, and you have to continue to grow as a person, and once you have means and opportunity, you have to make different choices to protect what you have.

- Mahershala Ali

I'm so appreciative that people have begun to recognize my work in a way where it can afford me more opportunities.

- Mahershala Ali

Come on, we would be foolish to say that there's never been African-American leads in some capacity, people of color in some capacity, leading shows or what have you. But it hasn't happened enough and in a manner that is an accurate reflection of the world that we live in.

- Mahershala Ali

In my humble opinion, the ages 22 to about 27 are the most critical years of your adult life. It's your time to gestate in the cocoon of becoming.

- Mahershala Ali

One thing that the audience, and perhaps critics, aren't aware of is that, especially in a film like 'Moonlight,' you always shoot a lot more footage than makes the cut of the film.

- Mahershala Ali

I started traveling by myself as early as 5 to see my dad. I'd go to Toronto or Los Angeles, depending on what show he was doing, but most often New York, and we would hang out, and he'd take me to museums and Broadway plays. The ones that had the biggest impact on me were the George C. Wolfe productions.

- Mahershala Ali

I don't have a wallet. I carry my driver's license and a couple of credit cards in my phone. That, and a money clip.

- Mahershala Ali

I always felt that Jay Z, if he had a different upbringing, could be on Wall Street or in politics. If you really listen to Jay Z talk, he's kind of the smartest guy in the room.

- Mahershala Ali

It's about very talented writers, directors, producers, and actors being in a position for their projects to be supported, but there's just not enough black projects being made.

- Mahershala Ali

Understand that we are all co-creators of our respective destinies.

- Mahershala Ali

In thinking about it, the villains often have a little bit more range because their morality is different. You can have just a really good time as an actor, and there is just more there that you can explore on that side of the story.

- Mahershala Ali

I don't want to say I took myself too seriously, but I put a lot of pressure on myself coming out of school. I saw so many people leave the business behind, certain opportunities disappear for folks who had to go into other professions. That kind of terrified me. As a result, I wanted things to happen really quickly.

- Mahershala Ali

There's nothing fun about 30 people standing around watching you, like, pretend to pleasure someone. Nothing enjoyable about it, believe me.

- Mahershala Ali

When I was growing up, in the '80s and '90s, I just never really saw myself reflected in the things that I had a liking for. It makes a difference.

- Mahershala Ali

I grew up on a wide range of stuff. OutKast, they been around for over 20 years, and some of the L.A. cats like Defari, Dilated Peoples and Likwit Crew. I was always going to these shows and catching the KRS-One tennis ball, as he would throw those out, EPMD. I could go on and on.

- Mahershala Ali

I've never seen anyone - and I've had the opportunity to work with some really terrific actors in my time - but Philip Seymour Hoffman is definitely the best I ever had the opportunity to work with.

- Mahershala Ali

'Moonlight' is a project that resonated with me more than anything else. I wouldn't have done 'Luke Cage' if they hadn't made time for 'Moonlight.'

- Mahershala Ali

I'm excited about 'Luke Cage' with Michael Colter, who plays Luke Cage. I play the villain, Cottonmouth. It takes place in Harlem. It'll just be amazing for people to get to see an African-American superhero, which there weren't any when I was growing up.

- Mahershala Ali

Regardless of theology or however you see life or relate to worshiping God, as an artist, my job is to tell the truth and then try to connect with these characters and people as honestly and deeply as possible.

- Mahershala Ali

Family are the people that can hurt you the most.

- Mahershala Ali

As young people, you want to see people who in some way look like you to some degree, because it makes it a little easier for you to aspire to take on the qualities of those people.

- Mahershala Ali

People do bad things, but that doesn't mean they don't have other colors or qualities.

- Mahershala Ali

I do believe in the potential of like-minded people coming together.

- Mahershala Ali

Marvel has such a huge slice of the pie.

- Mahershala Ali

The more you work and get known for something, sometimes things begin to narrow a bit, and your opportunities get more... specific.

- Mahershala Ali

It's important for people of colour to have the opportunities to play characters that are as nuanced - as three-dimensional, as human - as the characters who we traditionally see getting to play the protagonist. The good guys and the bad guys. The reason that is important is because it's a better reflection of the reality of the world we live in.

- Mahershala Ali

I got out of grad school in 2000. I was about 26 years old. I've always said that I was late to acting because I didn't really start doing it in a focused way until I was in my early 20s.

- Mahershala Ali

There are not enough going into production so that we can tout them. Look at 'Precious'... In order for them to stand out, they have to get made in the first place, and that's just not happening enough.

- Mahershala Ali

I thought, 'I've been doing this for 16 years professionally. I have a window where I want to play leading parts.'

- Mahershala Ali

I really wasn't into comic books growing up.

- Mahershala Ali

Now, being one who lived in the era of Obama, there are so many markers of improvement made. It's hard to be mindful of that, in the same way you're going, 'Oh everything's cool now!' and it isn't. But I try to be mindful of how much of an improvement there has been because that gives hope. You need hope. I need hope!

- Mahershala Ali

I just love what Nicholas Britell did with 'Moonlight.'

- Mahershala Ali

As an actor, as you grow into where you fit in the industry, you're just trying to find the opportunities, hoping they grow and you get to do more.

- Mahershala Ali

I think it's important for people of colour to have similar opportunities to white people; that's what is most important.

- Mahershala Ali

I'm not shy about trying to find what truth there is in any genre, whether that be an action piece, a sci-fi piece, a small indie film, or a play. I'm open to it all.

- Mahershala Ali

I approach things from my feeling first. I have to get a feel for the character. I'll do that through music; I'll do it through what is naturally popping up for me when I read the script. My ideas or whatever the occupation of the character might be.

- Mahershala Ali

I do think that there are people who are able to connect with and empathize with anyone who is going through something difficult, just naturally. I don't think it's a world of effort for everyone.

- Mahershala Ali

I'd never been around or seen a black showrunner, and in some ways you wish that it wasn't a big deal.

- Mahershala Ali

A lot of actors know they want to be actors a little bit earlier on. I didn't even really start studying until I was about 22.

- Mahershala Ali

My parents were in high school when I was born. My mom was 16, my dad was 17. They were kids, at the very beginning of coming into their own and finding themselves.

- Mahershala Ali

There's this Method Man album called 'Tical.' It's his first album. I would just listen to that every day, because the album feels like, if it were a film, it would be black and white. It feels like there's a war percolating throughout the album itself. It's dark, and it has a nice forward pace to it.

- Mahershala Ali

I've been working almost 20 years, and I think I've worked with maybe one black director of photography in that time. Maybe two women directors or DPs. Maybe. And I've done a lot of TV. That's a lot of people I've worked with.

- Mahershala Ali

I love hip hop. It's such an appendage for me. It's something that's always shaped my experience out in the world.

- Mahershala Ali

For my characters, it's important to get really specific about what they listen to. Because it affects how they move in the world.

- Mahershala Ali

The people that I admire have a wonderful balance of self-belief and humility.

- Mahershala Ali

Hollywood has to be a better reflection of the world we live in.

- Mahershala Ali

People will burn through a show in two or three days, and then you're left feeling empty for 51 weeks.

- Mahershala Ali

I found myself sort of becoming a character actor, though I don't know if that would be my natural makeup.

- Mahershala Ali

I don't really compare any of the characters I play; I try to go into them being very open to what the characters can offer and what I can bring to them and then bring a being to life.

- Mahershala Ali

I always hope to be a better person tomorrow than today.

- Mahershala Ali

The work that I do with all of my characters is have some sense of where they come from. I kind of create my own story for myself. What's going on with my parents? Are they alive? Or family - do I have children? Do you see those things or not?

- Mahershala Ali

I think Don Cheadle has always done great work.

- Mahershala Ali

I was a sports kid.

- Mahershala Ali