Mahershala Ali, who appeared alongside Greta Gerwig during Season 5 of Variety and PBS’ “Actors on Actors,” said although playing a wide array of character roles allowed him to realize his strengths and weaknesses, he doesn’t want to be a one-trick pony.
“I found myself sort of becoming a character actor, though I don’t know if that would be my natural makeup,” the “Moonlight” actor revealed. “But compared to who I was within a class of 18 actors, and then just trying to survive as an actor getting out of school … As that starts breaking down, you’re like ‘I gotta make this part work.’”
After years of playing supporting characters, Ali is determined to land a lead role.
“I haven’t gotten to do the leading man thing, so I would love to do that!” laughs Ali.
The interview will air in its entirety on Variety’s “Actors on Actors” Season 5, presented by The Venetian Las Vegas, which debuts on PBS SoCal on Jan. 3.
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