Mahershala Ali keeps Oscars in cabinet to get back to work

Mahershala Ali keeps his two Oscars in a cabinet where he cannot see them.

The actor said he put the trophies out of his sightline so he could get back to work. He spoke during a Screen Talk session at a London cinema on Saturday as part of the 70th BFI London Film Festival, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Ali won Academy Awards for his roles in Moonlight and Green Book. The Oscars are the film industry's best-known prizes, voted on by members of the acting and filmmaking professions.

He told the London audience the two wins gave him a sense of accomplishment. That feeling, he said, is different from fulfilment. He favours staying focused on the next job rather than living with the trophies in view.

He keeps working. The wins did not close the book. They cleared the desk.

His next job is Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. Ali said it is only his second lead role after Swan Song. A lead, in plain terms, is the central part that carries the story, while supporting players orbit that character.

In the new film he stars as Latif, a devout Muslim contract killer who travels across Houston to protect his three children after his wife's death. A contract killer is a person paid to kill. Here the story ties that violent trade to family duty and faith.

Ali described the part as a rare chance to lead, according to The Hollywood Reporter. For an actor with two Oscars, two leads is a small count. Most of his screen career has been built in supporting roles and television.

That earlier work includes a role in the third season of True Detective, the crime anthology series in which each season tells a new story with a new cast, as noted by The Playlist. It also includes Green Book, the drama film by Peter Farrelly, as noted by the same outlet.

What makes this stand out is the gap between prizes and parts. Two Academy Awards often suggest a long run at the top of the cast list. Ali told the festival audience that run is only now beginning.