Mahershala Ali gained wider attention for supporting roles in the final two films of The Hunger Games film series, and in House of Cards, for which he received his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
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19 Facts About Mahershala Ali
2.
Mahershala Ali won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances as Juan in the drama film Moonlight, and for his portrayal of Dr Don Shirley in the comedy-drama film Green Book .
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3.
Mahershala Ali is the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar, the first Black actor to win two Academy Awards in the same category, and the second Black actor to win multiple acting Oscars.
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4.
Mahershala Ali was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for both performances.
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5.
Mahershala Ali was raised as a Christian in Hayward, California by his mother, an ordained Baptist minister whose mother, Evie Goines, was an ordained minister in Hayward Baptist Church.
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6.
Mahershala Ali's father was an actor who appeared on Broadway.
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7.
Mahershala Ali attended St Mary's College of California in Moraga, California, where he graduated in 1996 with a degree in mass communication.
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8.
Mahershala Ali became disenchanted with the idea of a sports career because of the treatment given to the team's athletes and developed an interest in acting, particularly after taking part in a staging of Spunk, which later landed him an apprenticeship at the California Shakespeare Theater following graduation.
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9.
Mahershala Ali had considered shortening his name for a while, saying that using his full first name was "a crazy thing to do considering that we're in Hollywood", although he had never been pressured by managers or agents to change it.
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10.
Mahershala Ali decided to use a shorter version of his first name after being told that his full name was too long to fit on the poster for the film The Place Beyond the Pines.
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11.
Mahershala Ali elaborated in an interview to Vanity Fair in October 2016:.
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12.
Mahershala Ali is known for his portrayal of Remy Danton in the Netflix series House of Cards, Cornell Stokes in Marvel's Luke Cage, Colonel Boggs in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 and Tizzy in the 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, his first major film role.
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13.
In 2017, Mahershala Ali joined the video game Madden NFL 18 story mode Longshot, in which he played Cutter Wade, the father of protagonist Devin.
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14.
Mahershala Ali played Don Shirley in the 2018 film Green Book, receiving his second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
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15.
At the annual San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019, Mahershala Ali was announced as being cast to play the supernatural superhero Blade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film of the same name, which was previously played by Wesley Snipes.
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16.
Mahershala Ali was signed to Bay Area recording label Hieroglyphics Imperium during the late 2000s and recorded rap music as Prince Mahershala Ali.
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17.
In 2015 Mahershala Ali appeared on rap artist Hus Kingpin album "House Of Cards" lending his voice to skits and rapping on the track entitled "House Of Card Gods" using his moniker.
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18.
Mahershala Ali converted to Ahmadiyya Islam in 2000, changing his surname from Gilmore to Mahershala Ali.
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19.
Mahershala Ali is married to Amatus Sami-Karim, an actress and musician.
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