Mahershala Ali Quotes

Poitier opened the doors to so many artists, not just black artists. There is a line that goes from black to Latin to Asian with regards to roles.

I never grew up seeing women that looked like me in magazines or on TV and didn't feel like I had a place in the world of fashion. I am honoured to be part of that change.

I've been fortunate that a lot of roles I've done have been professionals and not your TV stereotype of Latinos.

The next Bond ought to be a woman or, at least, a black actor.

There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as any other white actor. That's what I'm trying to get at.

I played Pierre, a white Russian aristocrat, and my co-lead was Denee Benton. Two black leads playing not black people - it was an important moment for the Broadway community to say diversity is possible and it's here.

There are expectations in how you play your character as a black woman, to be sassy and the same kind of feel, as if there are no quirky black women. I struggle with those things constantly, trying to add dimension to my work, and that's the goal, too.

The number of Latino roles is very limited, and it's unfortunate there isn't more color-blind casting.

I used to say in interviews that I don't necessarily want to be the first black woman or first model to do certain things; I just want to see it done.

We don't want to be our own niche. We're filmmakers like everybody. How many years in a row are we going to talk about the fact that we make films and we are women? Enough already.

If you get into multicultural sort of casting for no other reason than to diversify, then it seems false.

I think my roles have been wonderfully varied. Not one has been racially stereotypical, and I have purposely chosen them like that.

In America, I am brown; I'm 'of colour', so I would be offered Latin roles, and I've fought against that. I don't want to be put in a category, to be just offered the same sort of thing. For me, it's all about different roles, telling the stories of the great writers.

I always felt that just being an actor is difficult. Being an Asian-American actor doesn't make it more difficult. I see it as an opportunity and a chance to help other Asian-American actors coming along.

I just want different narratives for people of color, especially women of color. I just want something that's different. I don't want us to be put in a box. I want it to be kind of a redefinition of who were are. If I can even achieve that in a tiny way, I'll be good. I'll be good.

If the Tony Awards want to remain relevant in the American theater conversation, then they need to embrace the true diversity of voices that populate the American theater.

I think that what made people accept Starbuck as a woman was that she was just such an interesting character. I think that once people put their guard down and their preconceived notions of what the show is supposed to be and just allowed it to really be good science fiction.

I want to tell human stories not solely based on race. There are so many great actresses and actors that are out there, and I just want to see them do good work.

The streets of New York are diverse, but when you go into a Broadway show, unless Denzel Washington is in it, or Fantasia's in it, it's a lot of old white people and gay men.

I've played roles that aren't expected of an Asian.

Sooner or later, directors in Germany will start casting without regard to where a person is from. It shouldn't matter anymore.

I never thought acting would be a realistic job for me. Because, quite frankly, I didn't see people who looked like me doing it. I quickly realized, that's all the more reason to try.

The fact that I'm being cast in a show to play a female lead and I'm the dark-skinned Black woman with short hair, it's so incredible.

I am doing what I can to expand the tent and bring up other people and make sure we are telling different kinds of stories.

You get into these executive offices, and people say, 'Oh, we have this project. Wait a minute, guys, we need diversity - let's choose a black actor for this; let's choose a Hispanic actor for this,' instead of saying, 'That's not diverse, that's just normal. That's what makes up America.'