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 know someone from growing up who is in jail right now for the rest of his life, but he was one of the sweetest people I ever knew. – 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
People are really paying attention to the comic-book genre, and there’s a lot of time and attention being invested in these projects with a wonderful sense of quality control. – Mahershala Ali
The work that I do with all of my characters is have some sense of where they come from. I kind of create my own story for myself. What’s going on with my parents? Are they alive? Or family – do I have children? Do you see those things or not? – 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 always felt that Jay Z, if he had a different upbringing, could be on Wall Street or in politics. If you really listen to Jay Z talk, he’s kind of the smartest guy in the room. – Mahershala Ali
My manager called me and said, ‘Hey, there’s a series at Neflix.’ I’m like, ‘Netflix? Oh, boy.’ At that time, it was just a strange thing to hear. It’s like going, ‘There’s a series at Blockbuster.’ – Mahershala Ali