Mahershala Ali: BAFTA Playback sponsored by Samsung (Transcript)

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[OPENING TITLE] 

MAHERSHALA ALI: You know, I’ve had other special experiences, but, like, nothing quite like Moonlight. 

There’s no experience I’ve ever had like it. 

… 

ALI: Peace. I’m Mahershala Ali and we’re just here hanging out and playing back some of my favourite clips. Things that just mean something to me. 

We’re starting out with a clip of Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother.

[CLIP OF YOUR MOTHER, YOUR MOTHER, YOUR MOTHER PLAYS] 

ALI: Yeah. I think it’s sort of like the poster in terms of, like, what the…if you’ve seen our film poster, it’s my character or me, Latif, carrying a baby and a sword. And I feel like, what this 

this, this scene sort of captures a bit of the breadth of the film where you see my child, in this case, getting burped and that almost being a bit of a metronome or like a drum in the scene and it’s something that is adding to like, the tension and the urgency, juxtaposed to me and this gentleman about to like, start fighting.  

And so, two things that are like, sort of, with polarity, holding space in, in sort of, the same bubble and, and so I feel like this scene sort of, perfectly encapsulates sort of, the larger experience of the movie.

The stunt work was really stressful on the piece. There was a lot of pressure to nail these and get them right within the time frame that we had. And I also really, really needed to scratch this itch for, for doing my own stunts. It’s a goal of mine. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and sort of like, felt like I’ve needed to do as an actor. I wish we had a little bit more time to work on things, because I’m literally kind of learning pieces of the fight while we’re shooting them. on between takes or between camera setups. 

But it was, it was fun. It was really a dream come true, to be honest with you, to get to immerse myself in something that felt so physical and to get me out of my head and a little bit away from some of the emotionality that I can live in with some of my characters. This was just such a pleasant surprise. It checked so many boxes for me. 

A project like this doesn’t come along very often. I think if you, if you actually see the film, I can confidently say that it stands in its own genre, so to speak. It’s a very difficult film to define, and I think in the best way. And so to have something that sort of exists with such singularity at this point in time in filmmaking, to get to be a part of that feels like a huge accomplishment. 

… 

ALI: One of my favourite clips, and maybe it’s a little trite for people, but, you know, there’s just so much wisdom and Bruce Lee’s Be Like Water, especially that I’ve just in my, my time and my experience in life and not just career, but just in having ambitions and ideas and desires, wants and needs. I think it’s so important to be malleable or to adjust, or to see what life is giving you and to, to sort of respond, to learn how to play defence.  

And I think his Be Like Water quote encapsulates an awareness and a, and a way of being that if we were to consciously embrace, I think it allows everything around life to be maybe more enjoyable or and at the very least, depending on what circumstances, easier to tolerate and to navigate for the time being. And so there’s just such a real intelligence behind being able to shift around and with your environment and still not lose your own form.  

And so we have a clip from Enter The Dragon. So let’s have a look at one of the best martial artists to ever do it. And a great mind in Bruce Lee. 

[CLIP OF ENTER THE DRAGON PLAYS]

ALI: Oh, amazing. Yeah, that’s got to be my next movie night. 

[READING FROM THE SCREEN]:  

Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. 

[CLIP ENDS] 

… 

ALI: Moonlight is such a special film in my personal journey, but it’s a special film within the sort of the canon of movies. So blessed to have been a part of it, to have the opportunity to work with Barry Jenkins and the entire cast.

I’m always very fortunate to shed light on people who have not been at the centre, but especially, you know, within the LGBTQ community to be able to humanise, to assist in humanising, another character is not something to necessarily be taken for granted in my work. And I’m so happy with how Moonlight was embraced ten years ago and how people still have, like, very strong feelings about the film.  

I still get emotional talking about the movie if I’m asked about certain scenes, because those memories all pop up for me and there’s no experience I’ve ever had like it. You know, I’ve had other special experiences, but like, nothing quite like Moonlight and really grateful to have to have been a part of that. And for that to be a part of my life and, and part of like how I am known and perceived in the world is in part due to that film. 

So here’s a little clip that – of Moonlight.  

[CLIP OF MOONLIGHT PLAYS] 

ALI: It’s sort of, the climax of their story. It’s where Chiron holds Juan accountable. Clearly, the little boy is so appreciative and drawn to him from how he pours into him, how he takes care of him, how he really loves him.  

But there’s nothing like a child’s connection with their mother. And this little boy’s is in part, in the position that he’s in and experiencing some of the things that he’s experiencing because of his mother’s illness or addiction with, with drugs.  

And so for him, for the little boy for, for Little or Chiron to put together “Oh, my mother has a drug problem, and she’s supposed to love me and take care of me a certain way. You are loving me and taking care of me a certain way, but you are in part associated with and attached to her illness.” How do I make sense of that?  

There’s like two betrayals that the boy is dealing with, at least in his mind. And so it’s, it’s such a delicate scene and moment that really, honestly speaks to and frames their relationship. So I think it’s one of the more, more powerful scenes that I’ve ever had an opportunity to experience and perform. And, and I think it, it spoke to a lot of people just seeing and experiencing or watching that conflict play out before us and like, no one can. expose truths like children. 

… 

ALI: Athena is a powerful film that I think I got to see about four years ago. I believe the director’s name is Romain Gavras. The opening of this scene is too long to share, because it’s like 11 minutes. It’s essentially a oner. However they pulled this off, I don’t know, they could have cheated and used the little technology, but if they did and how they did, it’s so seamless and it’s beautiful. 

But the film is totally captivating, and you are essentially experiencing a community response, responding to the death of a child or a 13-year-old kid at the hands of the law enforcement. 

So here’s Athena, the openimg, an extraordinary, extraordinary, extraordinary scene and moment.  

[CLIP OF ATHENA PLAYS

ALI: Come on. [LAUGHS] 

That’s just a piece of it, but from the opening moment all the way through until they really land this shot in the projects, and the story sort of, has its second beginning is, yeah, that’s- the shot just continues. And I just think it’s a fascinating film and pretty wonderful character study. So, so that is Athena. 

… 

I had such a wonderful time growing up in, in the 80s, essentially, and with the real introduction of arcades and video games. And so I love that choosing a video game was, was one of my options, because I can always revisit in some iteration, playing Pac-Man.  

It brings up a lot of memories and a lot of feelings. I think there’s like a genius in the simplicity of the game. Some things stay fun and remind you of all the wonderful things in childhood. And so I do love, revisiting a good, a good Pac-Man from time to time. 

….

[CAMERA PANS AROUND AT VARIOUS MEMORABILIA] 

Wow, oh goodness. 

I see Prowler, a dinosaur. 

Ahh! Green Book, piano. 

Police badge, True Detective. The dolls. 

Wow. Cottonmouth. 

Yeah, the deer from Leave the World Behind. 

This is good stuff. Oh, gosh. I immediately got stressed out…and the grills too, from Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother. 

[POINTING AT BABY BOTTLES] Hopefully that’s breast milk, not formula. That sounds weird, but if you see the movie, you’ll get it! 

Amazing. Little BAFTA. 

PRODUCER: Where’d you keep your awards?  

ALI: You know what? Right now, they are honestly in a cabinet. I put them up. I think I got a little too comfortable with them on some level. So, no offense to any award, but I had to put them up, because I want to be careful to falling too in love with, with awards though I, of course, appreciate them. I just was getting a little too comfortable looking at them, I think. So, I have my own my own process of like, putting them out of my eyeline for right now and making sure that I’m doing the work for the right reasons. 

PRODUCER: Thank you so much, Mahershala. 

ALI: Thank you. I appreciate you all.  

Thank you, thank you, thank you for having me. Appreciate you.