Mahershala Ali

Personal context

Summary

Mahershala Ali is an actor and producer known for Moonlight, Green Book, Hidden Figures, Luke Cage, and True Detective. His screen work ranges from crime and superhero stories to dramas about family, race, sexuality, and American history. In interviews, he has discussed racial profiling and anti-Muslim prejudice, and at the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards he spoke about tolerance after the Trump administration’s travel ban. As a producer on Swan Song, he said he wanted black actors to lead stories in genres where they were rarely seen; he also signed the Artists4Ceasefire letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.