Top 88 Mahershala Ali Quotes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

I was a sports kid.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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’ is my nickname.

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.

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.

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.’

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.

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

Marvel has such a huge slice of the pie.

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

I just love what Nicholas Britell did with ‘Moonlight.’

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.

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!

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Marvel has such a huge slice of the pie.

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

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

I think selfishly, as an actor, we always want to do more.

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.

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.

I was a sports kid.

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

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.

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.

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

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.