Mahershala Ali
Known for Acting · 68 credits
- Born
- 1974-02-16 (age 52)
- Place of birth
- Oakland, California, USA
- Also known as
- Mahershalalhashbaz Ali · Mahershala Karim-Ali · 마허샬라 알리 · Махершала Али · Hershal Gilmore · Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore
Biography
Mahershala Ali (/məˈhɜːrʃələ/ mə-HUR-shə-lə; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore on February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019, and in 2020, The New York Times ranked him among the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century.
After pursuing an MFA degree from New York University, Ali began his career as a regular on television series Crossing Jordan (2001–02) and Threat Matrix (2003–04), before his breakthrough role as Richard Tyler in the science fiction series The 4400 (2004–07). His first major film role was in the David Fincher-directed fantasy The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). He gained wider attention for supporting roles in the final two films of the original The Hunger Games film series and in House of Cards, for which he received his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
Ali won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances as a drug dealer in the drama Moonlight (2016) and as Don Shirley in the comedy-drama Green Book (2018). He is the first Black actor to win two Academy Awards in the same category and the second Black actor to win multiple acting Oscars. Ali won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program for executive producing We Are the Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest (2020).
In 2019, he played a troubled police officer in the third season of the HBO anthology crime series True Detective, and in 2020, he starred in the second season of the Hulu comedy-drama series Ramy. He was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for both performances. Ali has also played Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes in the first season of the Netflix series Luke Cage (2016) and voiced Aaron Davis in the animated films Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Mahershala Ali, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
TV Shows (28)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
as Mark Foster
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000
as Tombs' Security Guard
The Daily Show
1996
as Self
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self
The Graham Norton Show
2007
as Self
INVINCIBLE
2021
as Titan (voice)
The View
1997
as Self
True Detective
2014
as Wayne Hays
Crossing Jordan
2001
as Trey Sanders
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
as Self
House of Cards
2013
as Remy Danton
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
2014
as Self
Lie to Me
2009
as Detective Hughes
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
2015
as Self
The 4400
2004
as Richard Tyler
The Oscars
1953
as Self - Presenter
Marvel's Luke Cage
2016
as Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes
Room 104
2017
as Franco
Alphas
2011
as Nathan Clay
Alcatraz
2012
as Clarence Montgomery
Threat Matrix
2003
as Jelani Harper
Ramy
2019
as Sheikh Ali Malik
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self
Amend: The Fight for America
2021
as Self
Race for the White House
2016
as Narrator
A World of Calm
2020
as Narrator
Stand Up to Cancer
2008
as Self
Chimp Empire
2023
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Movies (40)
Jurassic World Rebirth
2025
as Duncan Kincaid
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2023
as Uncle Aaron (voice)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
2018
as Uncle Aaron (voice)
Hidden Figures
2016
as Jim Johnson
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
2014
as Boggs
Alita: Battle Angel
2019
as Vector
Eternals
2021
as Eric Brooks / Blade (voice) (uncredited)
Green Book
2018
as Dr. Don Shirley
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2008
as Tizzy Weathers
Predators
2010
as Mombasa
Moonlight
2016
as Juan
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
2015
as Boggs
Leave the World Behind
2023
as G.H. Scott
The Place Beyond the Pines
2013
as Kofi Kancam
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse
2027
as Uncle Aaron (voice)
Free State of Jones
2016
as Moses Washington
Swan Song
2021
as Cameron Turner
Wildwood
2026
as Brenden (voice)
Crossing Over
2009
as Detective Strickland
The Mockingjay Lives: The Making of the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
2015
as Self - Boggs
The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button
2009
as Self
Supremacy
2014
as Deputy Rivers
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
2026
Kicks
2016
as Marlon
Between the World and Me
2020
Roxanne Roxanne
2017
as Cross
Go for Sisters
2013
as Dez
Jurassic World Rebirth: The Making of a New Era
2025
as Self
Stand
2023
as Self - Actor
All Signs of Death
as Gabe
Predators: Moments of Extraction
2010
as Mombasa (voice)
Predators: The Chosen
2010
Taste the Revolution
2003
as Mac Laslow
The Wronged Man
2010
as Calvin Willis
77 Blackout
The Personal History of Rachel DuPree
as Isaac Dupree
Adnis
2017
as Adnis
Gubagude Ko
2016
as Ochoro
Driver
Umi's Heart
2008
as Ezra
About Mahershala Ali
Mahershala Ali (/məˈhɜːrʃələ/ mə-HUR-shə-lə; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore on February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019, and in 2020, The New York Times ranked him among the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century. After pursuing an MFA degree from New York University, Ali began his career as a regular on television s… With 68 credits spanning from 1953 to 2027, Mahershala Ali has appeared in 40 films and 28 TV shows.
Fans searching for Mahershala Ali movies, Mahershala Ali filmography, or the latest projects starring Mahershala Ali can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Mahershala Ali Movies
- Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) — as Duncan Kincaid
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) — as Uncle Aaron (voice)
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) — as Uncle Aaron (voice)
- Hidden Figures (2016) — as Jim Johnson
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) — as Boggs
Where to Watch Mahershala Ali Films
Most Mahershala Ali movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Mahershala Ali, check our movies catalogue and browse page.