My friends in college, several of whom are still my closest companions, would tell you that I was almost obsessed with becoming - fixated on creating - the future that I envisioned for myself: one of expanding to know my fullest self, which I have in no way achieved.

Mahershala Ali

Future You Would

My father, Phillip Gilmore, was very talented. He was getting seriously into dancing. He was on 'Soul Train' and won $2,500. But the Bay Area was too small for him. I don't think he had the space to do what he needed to do.

Mahershala Ali

Space Won Very

I always hope to be a better person tomorrow than today.

Mahershala Ali

Hope Ways Way

Social media has colonized what was once a sacred space occupied by emptiness: the space reserved for thought and creativity.

Mahershala Ali

Space Up Tin

I've never seen 'Gone with the Wind.' I don't know if that's something to be embarrassed about, but I know that I should have seen that movie by now.

Mahershala Ali

Wit Wind Win

What I think I learned from working on 'Moonlight' is you see what happens when you persecute people. They fold into themselves.

Mahershala Ali

Work You Working

I have to say goodbye to things in order to take on bigger things that I've always wanted to do.

Mahershala Ali

Good Ways Way

As an actor, as you grow into where you fit in the industry, you're just trying to find the opportunities, hoping they grow and you get to do more.

Mahershala Ali

You Yin Where

In my humble opinion, the ages 22 to about 27 are the most critical years of your adult life. It's your time to gestate in the cocoon of becoming.

Mahershala Ali

Time Life Age

There are not enough going into production so that we can tout them. Look at 'Precious'... In order for them to stand out, they have to get made in the first place, and that's just not happening enough.

Mahershala Ali

Us Them Tan

As young people, you want to see people who in some way look like you to some degree, because it makes it a little easier for you to aspire to take on the qualities of those people.

Mahershala Ali

Young People Young You

I think Don Cheadle has always done great work.

Mahershala Ali

Work Great Ways

I don't really compare any of the characters I play; I try to go into them being very open to what the characters can offer and what I can bring to them and then bring a being to life.

Mahershala Ali

Life Very Try

The things that people won't totally accept come in all shapes and sizes and forms, and I can relate to that in my own youth.

Mahershala Ali

Youth You Won

I do believe in the potential of like-minded people coming together.

Mahershala Ali

Together Tent Ten

I'm not shy about trying to find what truth there is in any genre, whether that be an action piece, a sci-fi piece, a small indie film, or a play. I'm open to it all.

Mahershala Ali

Truth Yin Whether

There are instances where you're in a space with someone who has been extraordinarily successful, and they don't necessarily connect with you as another person. You can be a prop for them to deliver their stuff, and you're just another element in the scene.

Mahershala Ali

Success Space Men

There was a sadness over me, a melancholy. That's always been a part of me - those are some of the things that lead you to the arts.

Mahershala Ali

Sad Art You

My parents were in high school when I was born. My mom was 16, my dad was 17. They were kids, at the very beginning of coming into their own and finding themselves.

Mahershala Ali

Mom Were Very

It's funny how you can be thought of as somebody who humanizes bad guys, and I'll take that, but it is something that gave me pause, and I started speaking to my team about finding a good guy.

Mahershala Ali

Good Funny Art

I had two jobs coming out of school: I did a play, 'The Great White Hope.' I played the boxer Jack Johnson. And I was the lead in this indie film. Then I moved to Los Angeles because New York was cold and it was really too quiet for me at that time. I was out of school; I was hungry. The auditions were trickling in, and I was antsy and ready to go.

Mahershala Ali

Time Hope Great

Like so many families, we were dealing with limited means. We weren't poor at all, but we had some challenging times financially. When my stepdad got laid off... we were really trying to find our footing for a couple of years.

Mahershala Ali

I grew up on a wide range of stuff. OutKast, they been around for over 20 years, and some of the L.A. cats like Defari, Dilated Peoples and Likwit Crew. I was always going to these shows and catching the KRS-One tennis ball, as he would throw those out, EPMD. I could go on and on.

Mahershala Ali

I don't want to say I took myself too seriously, but I put a lot of pressure on myself coming out of school. I saw so many people leave the business behind, certain opportunities disappear for folks who had to go into other professions. That kind of terrified me. As a result, I wanted things to happen really quickly.

Mahershala Ali

I got my Equity card right out of NYU grad school in 2000, doing 'The Great White Hope' at Arena Stage. I played Jack Jefferson. It was an amazing part to walk into, to carry that responsibility for that amount of time. The challenges and the breadth of that role were pretty amazing.

Mahershala Ali

To really be conscious of how long the journey is, be patient, push yourself, persevere, and always be working on your craft while waiting for your break. That's what I'm still working on, having done this for 20 years now.

Mahershala Ali

I really enjoyed working with Mariah, Alfre Woodward's character, because she's a wonderful actor, and I felt we had a natural chemistry that was reflective of real family members.

Mahershala Ali

My dream role is Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion.

Mahershala Ali

Basketball wasn't going particularly well, but in my senior year, I did a play and got a wonderful card from a professor that said, 'I don't know what your plans are after school or if acting is a part of it, but you have something special.' Hearing that from someone who I had so much respect for pointed me in that direction.

Mahershala Ali

I'd always wanted to do a Marvel project, and I'd always imagined getting to play one of the superheroes because it's such a hard thing to get. It's the parts that only go to a few people. The flip side of that is the antagonists are pretty awesome.

Mahershala Ali

I was a sports kid.

Mahershala Ali

Cottonmouth is the result of having to react to his circumstances. He had to, in some ways, take control of the situation and own his circumstances. But as a result of that, he became a person he didn't intend to become.

Mahershala Ali

I'm so appreciative that people have begun to recognize my work in a way where it can afford me more opportunities.

Mahershala Ali

I have had that same experience where there are several people who have come up in my life at the right time and have made critical contributions to how I see the world and how I see myself.

Mahershala Ali

I loved going to superhero films growing up - you come home, and you pretend to be those people, and it ends up informing much of what you aspire to be. And that's what I will say is important about the genre.

Mahershala Ali

I believe that everything has a shelf life.

Mahershala Ali

We live in diverse communities with all sorts of people from all sorts of different backgrounds. The more our entertainment can be a reflection of the world we live in, the better it is for all of us.

Mahershala Ali

If you convert to Islam after a couple of decades of being a black man in the U.S., the discrimination you receive as a Muslim doesn't feel like a shock.

Mahershala Ali

My friends in college, several of whom are still my closest companions, would tell you that I was almost obsessed with becoming - fixated on creating - the future that I envisioned for myself: one of expanding to know my fullest self, which I have in no way achieved.

Mahershala Ali

Understand that we are all co-creators of our respective destinies.

Mahershala Ali

Viola Davis is a perfect example of somebody who's so much better than the parts she has the opportunity to play.

Mahershala Ali

I really wasn't into comic books growing up.

Mahershala Ali

I was supremely fortunate to do several projects that I'm really excited about. So within all that, there's a lot going on this year. I'm excited about 2016.

Mahershala Ali

For my characters, it's important to get really specific about what they listen to. Because it affects how they move in the world.

Mahershala Ali

There are so many women who contributed in a very real way in pushing for the space program during the time in which there was a lot of competition to get into space first, and to know that there were African-American women who were integral in that success is pretty phenomenal.

Mahershala Ali

I love hip hop. It's such an appendage for me. It's something that's always shaped my experience out in the world.

Mahershala Ali

It's still amazing, but when I was growing up, Harlem was the Mecca of black culture. I was so inspired by it, the aspirational feeling you'd get spending time there. Experiences that were really specific to that place.

Mahershala Ali

I saw this documentary he did years ago called 'Fade to Black.' I was always a Jay Z fan - I liked Jay Z - but after I saw that documentary, I loved Jay Z. I realized how intelligent he was.

Mahershala Ali

I prayed every day of my life, and that was instilled in me as a kid, and as I've gotten older, that's just matured in me.

Mahershala Ali

I got out of grad school in 2000. I was about 26 years old. I've always said that I was late to acting because I didn't really start doing it in a focused way until I was in my early 20s.

Mahershala Ali

I watch a lot of home stuff; I like seeing things go from one thing to another and get fixed up.

Mahershala Ali