Personal details

Born:
- Birthday: 1974-02-16
- Born Place: Oakland, California, USA
Height:
6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
Also Known As:
Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Mahershala Karim-Ali , 마허샬라 알리, Махершала Али, Hershal Gilmore, Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore, Магершала Алі, マハーシャラルハズバズ・アリ, ماهرشالا علی, مهرشالا علی

Mahershala Ali

Actor

Mahershala Ali (born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore on February 16, 1974, in Oakland, California) is a critically acclaimed American actor and producer celebrated for his depth, versatility, and historic achievements. Raised by his mother, an ordained Baptist minister, he earned a basketball scholarship to St. Mary's College (graduated 1996), where exposure to performance art steered him toward acting. He later earned an MFA in acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2000, and around that time converted to Islam, adopting the surname “Ali”. Ali gained early attention with roles in Crossing Jordan (2001), The 4400, and notable film appearances in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), The Place Beyond the Pines, Predators, Free State of Jones, and Hidden Figures. On TV, he had major roles such as Remy Danton on House of Cards, Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes on Luke Cage, Wayne Hays on True Detective Season 3, and a spiritually grounded imam on Ramy, earning nominations and acclaim for each. Ali is a double Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor: first for Moonlight (2016), becoming the first Muslim actor to win an Academy Award, and then for Green Book (2018), making him one of the few Black actors with two Oscars—and the first Black actor to win twice in the same supporting category . He also holds multiple Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Screen Actors Guild awards, and Emmys for both his acting and producing work . In recent years, Ali has continued to expand his cinematic repertoire, voicing Aaron Davis in Spider‑Man: Into the Spider‑Verse (2018) and its sequel and starring in True Detective Season 3 (2019), Ramy (2020), and narrating Chimp Empire (2023), which earned a fifth Emmy nomination. He is also set to star in the 2025 action film Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother directed by Bassam Tariq. Most recently, Ali plays ship captain Duncan Kincaid in Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025), leading a daring mission alongside Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey on a tropical island to secure life-saving dinosaur DNA. Off-screen, he is married to actress and musician Amatus Sami‑Karim (since 2013) and they have a daughter born in 2017. A devoted hip-hop fan, he often curates character mixtapes, and remains active in charitable and social justice causes, including advocating for Muslim representation and civil rights. At 6′2″ (1.88 m), Ali remains one of Hollywood’s most respected and impactful talents.