Mahershala Ali wanted his first major role in the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button cannot be seen in a sex scene. The scene would have been contrary to his faith, he says in the podcast Mind Power Mixtape.
When the actor learned in 2008 that he had landed the role, his agent pointed out to him that the role would include a sex scene. In it he was supposed to kiss with actress Taraji P. Henson, but Ali as a practicing Muslim did not want to do that.
“If that sex scene is in, then I can’t do it. I don’t do acted sex,” the actor then told his agent. The director of the film, David Fincher, understood Ali’s objection and decided to adapt the script accordingly.
“Eventually you see me and Taraji go out of the picture, just before the kiss was to take place. Then I thought: okay, I want to go that far. I thought it was important that there was respect for my faith and that that was taken into account. became.”
Ali won in 2017 for his role in Moonlight the first Muslim ever to receive an Oscar for Best Actor. In 2019 he won another Oscar for his role in Green Book, making him the first black man to win an Oscar twice in the same category.
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