Mahershala Ali first appeared in the crime drama television series āCrossing Jordanā in 2001. He played the role of āDr. Trey Sandersā in the series and remained a part of the show till 2002. After appearing in television series, such as āHauntedā (2002), āNYPD Blueā (2002), āCSI: Crime Scene Investigationā (2003), and āThreat Matrixā (2003-2004), Ali got his breakthrough role as 'Richard Tyler' in the science fiction series āThe 4400ā (2004 ā 2007).Ā
Mahershala Ali made his big-screen debut in the 2008 fantasy romantic drama film āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā directed by David Fincher. The film was praised by critics and was a box office success. After his successful debut, Ali went on to star in films like āCrossing Overā (2009), āPredatorsā (2010), āThe Place Beyond the Pinesā (2012), and āGo for Sistersā (2013).Ā
In 2014, Ali starred as āBoggsā in the dystopian science fiction adventure film āThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay ā Part I.ā The film was a tremendous success at the box office and went on to become the fifth highest-grossing film of 2014. Mahershala Ali reprised his role as āBoggsā in āThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay ā Part 2ā (2015). The year 2016 saw the release of the coming-of-age drama film āMoonlightā in which Ali played the character of Juan, a drug dealer. The role proved to be one of the most successful in his career and earned him many awards, including an āAcademy Award,ā and a āGolden Globe Award.āĀ
Mahershala Ali won his second āAcademy Awardā for his performance as āDon Shirleyā in the 2018 biographical comedy-drama film 'Green Book.' The film earned universal acclaim upon its release and was a phenomenal success at the box office. Ali was last seen in the 2019 cyberpunk action film āAlita: Battle Angelā directed by Robert Rodriguez.Ā
He is all set to appear in the upcoming Benjamin Cleary-directed science-fiction drama film 'Swan Song.ā He will also be seen in the upcoming Marvel superhero film āBlade.ā