Mahershala Ali Talks Briefly On Luke Cage Role and His Thoughts On Oscars Controversy

Mahershala Ali Talks Briefly On Luke Cage Role and His Thoughts On Oscars ControversyPosted by Brad Balfour

January 21, 2016

When actor Mahershala Ali joined the cast of noted playwright Lydia R. Diamond’s off-Broadway production Smart People, he added another feather in his cap after having tackled both The Hunger Games – Mockingjay 1 & 2 and House of Cards. But his recent casting as the nefarious Harlem nightclub owner Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes he’s taken on a role that will probably garner him a big fan base by being in Luke Cage, the latest Netflix series based on the classic Marvel comic book.

Recently the Smart People cast was assembled to talk with press about its upcoming limited run. In doing so, Ali offered some quick off-the-cuff remarks on what he has gotten from working on his character in Luke Cage. Said the tall 41 year-old actor about his bad guy, “He’s so different from the play’s character coupled with that being done on stage, it is such a different experience from working on [a television series] that I realized how different a world he came from, and from what I know.

Cheo Hodari Coker will serve as executive producer and showrunner of “Marvel’s Luke Cage.” In Luke Cage, Mike Colter, who was first introduced in the second Marvel series for Netflix, A.K.A. Jessica Jones, plays Cage, a wrongly accused man who, granted superstrength by a sabotaged experiment, escapes prison to become a superhero for hire. Stokes, a Harlem nightclub owner, will become an unexpected foe in Luke Cage’s (Mike Colter) life when Stokes’ criminal activities threaten Luke’s world.

Ali also stated, “That guy is such a villain and he’s from such a different world from the one I know that he’s not easy to… But I felt like I was able to successfully transformed myself despite the fact that he was such a challenging character; that’s all I can say now. but I was glad to do a character that was so challenging. 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.”

As for the recent controversy swirling about the Oscars, Ali also offered his own thoughts on the lack of racial diversity: “For me it’s not a new conversation, its been the conversation. It’s not new information for me. For others maybe but for me, where I might be the only Black person on the project, it’s nothing new.

“It’s about very talented writers, directors, producers, and actors being in a position for their projects to be supported but there’s just not enough black projects being made. [That’s the real problem.] There 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.”

Directed by Kenny Leon, Performances for Smart People will begin Off-Broadway on Jan. 26, 2016 at Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theatre, with an official opening night slated for Feb. 11.