The best addition to Mahershala Ali’s morning coffee? A Golden Globe nomination

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The best addition to Mahershala Ali’s morning coffee? A Golden Globe nomination

Tre’vell Anderson

The name on the tip of all of Hollywood’s tongues is Mahershala Ali. His captivating turn in Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” has been all anyone can talk about, as evidenced by the countless honors he’s received from critics bodies. On Monday, he added another recognition to that slate with a supporting actor Golden Globe nomination, his first. The Times spoke with Ali via phone moments after he received the “amazing” news.

Tell me, where were you and what were you doing when you got the news this morning?

I usually get up around this time so I was already up, making my coffee and whatnot. I got the call and it was pretty exciting to see my phone buzzing because I knew it had to be something positive.

You’ve been getting a lot of recognition already for this role, nabbing the supporting actor Critics Choice Award last night. How does that feel?

Really humbling, honestly. To have the opportunity to be a part of a project that people have sort of universally embraced is pretty incredible. To be mentioned and in the company of such wonderful actors is all humbling and sort of amazing to me. I appreciate it and am just trying to take it all in and ride the wave. It’s been a really beautiful experience.

What do you think is the purpose of “Moonlight,” for this time period, that seems to be resonating with people?

Well, it’s a deeply personal story, and the more personal something is, I think, the more universal it is. So, the examination of Chiron’s life and how much we go in-depth and on this journey with this character, I think people are really, as humans, responding to the challenges he’s presented with and are rooting for him. And therefore, in some way, they’re connected to that. He’s one of the “others.” He’s on the outside of the circle. He’s one that doesn’t really fit within the tribe of his neighborhood. I think we can all relate to being one of the “others,” one of the outsiders from some period in our life. The story is so honest and really highlights his unique truth, and I think people are responding to that because, in some way, in this time, there are so many people who feel that they’re outside of the center, that they’re not really connected in the same way – especially with what’s going on in our country politically. People just feel like they’re a little bit outside of the loop and want to be supported and loved and represented.

Are you surprised about all of this attention the movie is getting?

A little bit. None of us really anticipated any of this. We were just trying to do our best work, and were there for the right reasons. We kept it at that. I felt the script was special and what we were experiencing on the day felt unique and special. It was just such a wonderful shoot. Now, to have the film out and sharing it with the world, to see people responding to our little film is pretty remarkable.

Diversity has been the name of the game with Hollywood this year. “Moonlight” for many is seen as the perfect antidote to #OscarsSoWhite.

It’s a wonderful position to be in, but I think there is a lot of terrific work this year. What Dev Patel does in “Lion” and of course “Loving” and “Fences,” so there are other projects out there that feature people of color. So, the field is definitely more diverse this year around. I just hope that that’s something that is the norm moving forward, where there are people from all walks of life and different cultures and communities in some way shape or form being represented up there on screen, and their work being appreciated and recognized. That’s my hope, that this is the real start to something we see quite a bit.

So are you doing any celebration of any sort today?

I’m just going to try to get some rest. It’s been a busy couple of months so I’m going to get some rest and relax, have an opportunity to take some time to take it all in.