At the end of the day we're all spirits having a physical experience. That really comes from my relationship with Islam because it just makes me really conscious of my action. Mahershala Ali More Quotes by Mahershala Ali More Quotes From Mahershala Ali I remember clearly, when I was about 4, my Aunt Linda said, 'I'm not babysitting him no more. He's bad.' It was one of the first conscious shifts I remember making. I decided, 'I'm going to be good now.' Mahershala Ali bad good said remember Social media has colonized what was once a sacred space occupied by emptiness: the space reserved for thought and creativity. Mahershala Ali social-media creativity media space In my humble opinion, the ages 22 to about 27 are the most critical years of your adult life. It's your time to gestate in the cocoon of becoming. Mahershala Ali opinion humble time life Hollywood has to be a better reflection of the world we live in. Mahershala Ali live better reflection world I saw this documentary he did years ago called 'Fade to Black.' I was always a Jay Z fan - I liked Jay Z - but after I saw that documentary, I loved Jay Z. I realized how intelligent he was. Mahershala Ali fade loved always black To really be conscious of how long the journey is, be patient, push yourself, persevere, and always be working on your craft while waiting for your break. That's what I'm still working on, having done this for 20 years now. Mahershala Ali yourself journey waiting long You can't watch 'Daredevil' or 'Jessica Jones' or the Marvel films and not be aware that the villain has to be awesome. I've always wanted to have more space. And the scope, morally, is more broad for the villain than the hero. Mahershala Ali you villain space hero If you convert to Islam after a couple of decades of being a black man in the U.S., the discrimination you receive as a Muslim doesn't feel like a shock. Mahershala Ali you man islam black My mother is an ordained minister. I'm a Muslim. She didn't do back flips when I called her to tell her I converted 17 years ago. But I tell you now, you put things to the side, and I'm able to see her, and she's able to see me. We love each other. The love has grown. Mahershala Ali me you mother love Your life, your circumstances change, and you have to continue to grow as a person, and once you have means and opportunity, you have to make different choices to protect what you have. Mahershala Ali you change opportunity life 'Mahershala' is my nickname. Mahershala Ali nickname I have had that same experience where there are several people who have come up in my life at the right time and have made critical contributions to how I see the world and how I see myself. Mahershala Ali my-life myself time life At that moment in time when we feel like the other, we were not the person embraced, not one of the cool kids, not in the club - when you're that person, it makes you feel smaller, and when they persecute you as a result, that's a difficult position to be in. Mahershala Ali cool moment you time Who is that person that comes around and says, 'You are OK, you are worthy, you are special?' That makes all the difference in the world for many of us. Those are the people we appreciate the most. Mahershala Ali you appreciate people world My friends in college, several of whom are still my closest companions, would tell you that I was almost obsessed with becoming - fixated on creating - the future that I envisioned for myself: one of expanding to know my fullest self, which I have in no way achieved. Mahershala Ali myself you future self Understand that we are all co-creators of our respective destinies. Mahershala Ali respective destinies our understand I do believe that there are creative chakras or different sorts of energy centers. Mahershala Ali different energy creative believe I found myself sort of becoming a character actor, though I don't know if that would be my natural makeup. Mahershala Ali myself know makeup character I haven't gotten to do the leading man thing, so I would love to do that! Mahershala Ali leading thing man love People are really paying attention to the comic-book genre, and there's a lot of time and attention being invested in these projects with a wonderful sense of quality control. Mahershala Ali control quality time people