Whether you were introduced to actor Mahershala Ali as Remy on House of Cards, as Cottonmouth on Netflix’s latest hit drama, Luke Cage, or as the Oscar-nominated star of Moonlight, you know one thing: Mr. Ali has some serious swag. From his cool demeanor and radiant smile to his deep laugh and dope style, the 42-year-old Emmy Nominated Oakland native is one to watch. The actor is married to beautifully woke artist and composer Amatus Sami-Karim, who no doubt helps to keep him grounded in Hollywood as his star continues to rise. Here are six times Mahershala and his love Amatus were picture perfect.
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Mahersala and Amatus met as students at New York University. After Amatus' brother was killed in a Chicago shooting incident, the future Emmy nominee and the artist grew closer and a relationship quickly blossommed because Mahersala was a source of comfort for her during tradegy. "When you go through a tragedy that tears your crap up, you then...decide you're not gonna take anything for granted," Amatus told WNYC on the podcast About Death, Sex & Money. "I was a thousand percent sure about what I truly wanted in my life."
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Mr. and Mrs. Ali are both grounded in their rich Muslim faith. The couple is heavily focused on trying to find balance between faith and fame. Because of his Muslim beliefs, Mahersala is a cat owner to a feline named Nas (yes, after that Nas), prefers Nutella over bacon (obviously) and favors Pellegrino over alcohol.
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Tying the knot in 2013, Mahershala credits Amatus in getting him out of his comfort zone. "My wife, she'll always kind of push it a little bit," he told ELLE. "I'm a little more conservative than she is, so I kind of reel it in for myself. She's always trying to get me to do something, which is great though, that I'm a little uncomfortable with. So she'll like, 'Oh, try this!' I'm like, 'Eh, no.' I get great gifts from her. Great gifts."
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Mahershala admits that sometimes that life in Hollywood becomes a little overwhelming but not one helps bring him back down to life like his wife. "She and I have known each other for a really long time (about) 17 years," he shared. So, at this point, she's seen a big shift in things, but at the same time, she'll ground me real quick if I start feeling myself a little too much. She's very real, like, seriously."
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Selfies with bae are a good idea no matter when or where and Mahershala and Amatus prove they're alwys the coolest pair!
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No matter where life takes them, these two have each other--that's love!
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