
Mahershala Ali
Known for Acting · 69 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)

Crossing Jordan
2001
as Trey Sanders

The View
1997
as Self

True Detective
2014
as Wayne Hays

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

Alphas
2011
as Nathan Clay

Room 104
2017
as Franco

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 (41)

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)

Green Book
2018
as Dr. Don Shirley

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
2014
as Boggs

Hidden Figures
2016
as Jim Johnson

Alita: Battle Angel
2019
as Vector

Eternals
2021
as Eric Brooks / Blade (voice) (uncredited)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2008
as Tizzy Weathers

Predators
2010
as Mombasa

Moonlight
2016
as Juan

Leave the World Behind
2023
as G.H. Scott

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
2015
as Boggs

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse
2027
as Uncle Aaron (voice)

The Place Beyond the Pines
2013
as Kofi Kancam

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

Supremacy
2014
as Deputy Rivers

Kicks
2016
as Marlon

Roxanne Roxanne
2017
as Cross

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button
2009
as Self
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
2026

Between the World and Me
2020

Stand
2023
as Self - Actor

Jurassic World Rebirth: The Making of a New Era
2025
as Self

Go for Sisters
2013
as Dez
All Signs of Death
as Gabe

Taste the Revolution
2003
as Mac Laslow

Predators: Moments of Extraction
2010
as Mombasa (voice)

The Wronged Man
2010
as Calvin Willis
77 Blackout

Predators: The Chosen
2010
The Personal History of Rachel DuPree
as Isaac Dupree

Adnis
2017
as Adnis
Gubagude Ko
2016
as Ochoro

Umi's Heart
2008
as Ezra
Driver

Blade
as Blade
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 69 credits spanning from 1953 to 2027, Mahershala Ali has appeared in 41 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 CineFlixo, 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)
- Green Book (2018) — as Dr. Don Shirley
- 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 CineFlixo 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.