SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 24: Mahershala Ali poses for a portrait at the Getty Images Portrait Studio powered by Samsung Galaxy at Comic-Con International 2014 on July 24, 2014 in San Diego, California. (Photo by MJ Kim/Getty Images)
Los Angeles: Actor Mahershala Ali picked up an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Don Shirley in “Green Book” at the 91st Academy Awards.
Ali was competing with Adam Driver (“BlacKkKlansman”), Sam Elliott (“A Star Is Born”), Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Sam Rockwell (“Vice”).
This is Ali’s second Oscar win, after he took the award in the same category in 2017 for “Moonlight”, becoming the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar, reports theguardian.com.
“Green Book”, backed by Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Entertainment’s Amblin Entertainment, is based on a true story of friendship and relationship between working class Italian-American bouncer, who becomes a driver of an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960’s American South.
Ali plays the role of jazz pianist Shirley in the Peter Farrelly-directed biographical drama. The award gala was held here on Sunday night, and aired in India on Monday morning on Star Movies.
Ali took the stage, where he first thanked the man he portrayed, saying, “Trying to capture Dr. Shirley’s essence pushed me to my ends, which is a reflection of the person that he was and the life that he lived, and I thank him.”
He went on to thank his co-star Viggo Mortensen, along with Farrelly, before dedicating the award to his grandmother, who “has been in my ear my entire life telling me, if at first I don’t succeed, try try again”.
–IANS