*Simply put, Mahershala Ali is one bad dude when it comes to acting and he’s got two Oscars to prove it. There’s pretty much nothing he can’t do on the screen.
Notice, we said there’s pretty much he can’t do on screen. However, there is ONE thing he WON’T do on screen and that is a sex/love scene
We found out what that one thing is when he was a guest on Common’s new podcast “Mind Power Mixtape.” Ali explained that he would never do a love scene because of his Islamic beliefs.
He brought up his previous role in 2008’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and his scene with Taraji P. Henson which required intimacy between them.
“So my old agent called me and said, ‘Mahershala, you got the part.’ And I said, ‘There’s just one thing… There is that one sex scene where they kiss… If there’s a sex scene, I can’t do it.’”
The 46-year-old actor also said:
“I don’t do simulated sex.”
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Ali said he was able to take on the part as director David Fincher helped him maintain his morals.
“Taraji and I begin to kiss, and we fall out of the frame… It wasn’t clear if [Fincher] was trying to have like some bumping and grinding … which I doubt he was.”
He added:
“But for me even … at that time, 15 years ago, I was still like, ‘OK, I can only go up to this point,’ just because of — just trying to hold a space of respect for my religion.”
It must be noted, however, that not all filmmakers have been so accommodating. Last year he told Esquire that he was forced to turn down a role in HBO’s “The Duece” because his character was scripted to have sex on the show.
“I asked them, ‘Do you guys foresee my character needing to have sex and show it?’ And they did. So, you know, I had to pass!”
