In Hollywood, as in life, there are “overnight successes” that closer inspection reveals have been years in the making. Oprah wasn’t born Oprah, you know? It takes time to become fully formed, and no US actor embodies that more than Mahershala Ali. This is his moment.
Ali, 42, is the hot favourite to win the best supporting actor Oscar next weekend, for his role in Barry Jenkins’ masterpiece Moonlight (he won the SAG award last week, delivering an emotional acceptance speech touching on the perils of persecution). But not everyone has seen him in that movie (a deeply nuanced performance), so thank heaven for Netflix. Ali starred in House Of Cards (as Frank Underwood’s former chief of staff, Remy Danton) and more recently in Marvel’s Luke Cage.
The overwhelming vibe of Ali is… smooth. He has a voice like buttered velvet (he could read the phonebook and make you believe it was high literature), and a slow smile that will either charmingly fry your brain or leave you thoroughly menaced.
Ali always seems coiled and controlled, fleshing out minor TV and movie roles, such as in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, until he fills the screen. Physically, he is commanding (6ft 2in, broad-shouldered and a killer suit-wearer), perhaps an indication that, after a career rooted in the interesting-but-supporting mould (he preps for each by making a character playlist), more lead roles are coming his way.
In the meantime, Ali’s momentum is undeniable. He has a role in another Oscar contender, Hidden Figures, and is filming the Robert Rodriguez/James Cameron sci-fi film Alita: Battle Angel. The long overnight is hopefully over.
