When you think of Mahershala Ali, the two-time Academy Award winner, dinosaurs likely don’t spring to mind. Thoughtful indie dramas? Absolutely. Just probe-intense, Academy-awarding-worthy performances? Definitely. But in Jurassic World, Rebirth is not only running from genetically engineered reptiles but also toward one of the biggest challenges of his acting career.
Ali recently revealed how and why he joined the blockbuster pandemonium of the Jurassic Universe, and spoiler alert: It wasn’t for the CGI or the paycheck. “It’s very new to me to do something this big,” he told Vanity Fair. “It’s a little bit of a test for me: Can I exist in a space this big, in something so much bigger than you and maybe your own specific talents? It’s harder to pull off than you realize.” “I think the larger the things are, the more difficult that can be.”
That’s honest stuff from a dude who could’ve stayed in his indie lane with his eyes closed, then picked up a different job in his performance; thanks. But if anyone can inject soul into a dinosaur movie, it’s Mahershala Ali.
In the upcoming Jurassic World Rebirth, Ali stars as Duncan Kincaid, a black-ops logistics expert who already sounds cooler than any plot point we’ve heard in this franchise thus far. He partners with Scarlett Johansson’s Zora, a covert agent with secrets of her own, and Jonathan Bailey’s Henry, a paleontologist with much more than fossils to dig up.
The trio is breaking into an island site of the famous Jurassic Park research facility, and judging by how things sound, it won’t go well. But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill dino-chase sequel. Even with all of that and the prehistoric chaos that will follow it, Ali alone indicates that this chapter might possess a deeper emotional current.
Ali has always taken a deeply personal approach to acting that centers on authenticity and presence. Watching him bring that craft to a blockbustery landscape says volumes not just about where the Jurassic series is going but also about where Ali is willing to go as an artist.
He’s putting himself to the test in a different arena, pushing the boundaries of scale and intimacy. And by doing so, he might redefine what it means to be a leading man in contemporary Hollywood.
If Jurassic World Rebirth is a critical darling and a box office smash or both, Mahershala Ali showed up to do more than survive the island, but he came to evolve.
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