Mahershala Ali, the actor known for several iconic movies like Green Book and Moonlight has often found himself talking about sensitive topics like racial profiling and dealing with racist people that do not like people of color.
Talking about the world where Mahershala Ali has to navigate both the light and the dark, the actor revealed that it sometimes feels good that being black makes other people uncomfortable. Giving clarity to his statements, Ali stated that it does not make any difference if other people are uncomfortable with him because he is comfortable in his own skin.
Mahershala Ali Has To Deal With People That Do Not Like Him
Ali portrayed the character of Remy Danton in the 2013 American thriller series, House of Cards. The character of Remy Danton is often found in situations where he is the only person of color.
In an interview with GQ, Mahershala Ali was asked that much like Remy Danton, he is also the only actor of color often found in a sea of white. The interviewer asked Ali how had these situations shaped his identity and the Blade actor had quite the answer.
“I think that black people to a degree need to have a certain level of dexterity. If we want to be at the highest level of whatever our field is, we have to be able to navigate both worlds. We all just know that you gotta be able to put that suit on and have a conversation with people that don’t look like you or your family.”
He further continued,
“But it’s interesting being able to step into some of these worlds with white people who will never come to your house. People who are uncomfortable when you’re in an elevator, but I can still be comfortable even though they’re uncomfortable.”
This wasn’t all since Mahershala Ali continued that in these modern times, stereotypes have to be completely eradicated and that characters cannot be two-dimension people anymore.
Mahershala Ali Wants Characters Written As Humans
Continuing the topic, Ali further stated that he doesn’t want to be a token either. The True Detective actor stated that if he would be involved in a project, he makes sure that the characters that are in the project are written off as humans and not just two-dimensional stereotypes.
“It’s also challenging sometimes because you don’t want to be the token either. We’re in a time now where if you’re going to be the representative of all things on a project, you want them to be written in a three-dimensional way where you’re a human being.“
Mahershala Ali was recently attached to voicing the character of Uncle Aaron in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The actor is currently attached to the role of Blade in the upcoming MCU movie Blade.
Source: GQ
