Age: 52
male
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.
Mahershala Ali
Andrew Stroud
for Andrew Stroud in Soulful Reverie: The Nina Simone Story
Suggested by kamsismith
In the racially divided America of the 1950s and '60s, Nina Simone's music transcended boundaries, uniting people with the force of her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. "Soulful Reverie" takes audiences on an emotional rollercoaster through Nina's life, highlighting pivotal moments such as her early struggles in the segregated South, her rise to fame in the jazz and blues scene, and her transformation into a fearless advocate for civil rights. The film explores Nina's complex relationships, particularly her deep connection with her music, her tumultuous marriage to Andy Stroud, and her friendships with iconic figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Lorraine Hansberry. It paints a vivid portrait of a woman who used her music as a weapon for change, as she composed anthems like "Mississippi Goddam" and "To Be Young, Gifted and Black." "Soulful Reverie" showcases the incredible highs and devastating lows of Nina's life, including her struggles with mental health and her quest for artistic authenticity. Through powerful performances and raw emotion, viewers will witness the evolution of an artist who refused to be silenced.
