Mahershala Ali Reveals Incredibly Humble Reaction After Losing to Sam Rockwell at SAG Awards

Mahershala Ali has taken his latest awards show loss in stride. The actor was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for his role as Wayne Hays in season three of HBO’s True Detective. However, after he lost the statue to Sam Rockwell for his portrayal of Bob Fosse in the FX miniseries Fosse/Verdon, Ali took to Instagram to celebrate Rockwell’s win.

“[SAG Awards], thank you for the nom. Congratulations to my Brother Sam Rockwell,” Ali wrote in the caption.

During his acceptance speech, Rockwell mentioned his fellow nominees, as well as his Fosse/Verdon co-star, Michelle Williams, per The Hollywood Reporter. “I share this with you,” he said of the other four actors before calling Williams his “wonder twin,” adding, “I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else but you.”

The other three nominees were Russell Crowe for The Loudest Voice, Mad Men star Jared Harris for his work on Chernobyl, and Jharrel Jerome for his stirring performance in Netflix’s When They See Us.

It was announced at SDCC over the summer that Ali would be starring in Blade, bringing the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Wesley Snipes previously starred as Blade in his own film trilogy in the late ’90s and early ’00s, which helped usher in the modern era of comic book movies. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige later revealed that Ali called him personally with the pitch he’d play the vampire-hunting daywalker.

“When Mahershala calls, you answer,” Feige told THR at the time.

Ali’s last major big-screen role was as Dr. Don Shirley in the 2018 movie Green Book. It chronicled Shirley’s tour through the Jim Crow south and the friendship he formed with out-of-work bouncer Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), who Shirley hired to drive him. Despite being labeled as problematic by many moviegoers, Ali won Best Supporting Actor and the film ended up winning Best Picture at last year’s Academy Awards.

Writer Nick Vallelonga addressed some of the controversies behind the film at the Academy Awards last February, specifically the issue that none of the filmmakers spoke to Shirley’s family to get their perspective.

“If you’re discussing the Don Shirley family thing, that falls on me,” Vallelonga said, according to PEOPLE. “Don Shirley himself told me not to speak to anyone. He told me the story that he wanted to tell. He protected his private life and all the things about him, miraculous things about him.”