Best Of: Mahershala Ali / Writer Yiyun Li

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

This message comes from Capella University. That spark you feel? That's your drive for more. Capella University's Flex Path learning format lets you earn your degree at your pace, without putting life on pause. Learn more at capella.edu.

Tonya Mosley (0:15)

From WHYY in Philadelphia, this is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Tonya Mosley in Los Angeles. Today, Mahershala Ali.

In his new film, Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother, Ali plays a devout Muslim father and professional killer whose life is upended when he suddenly has to care for his children on his own. The role brings together a lot of what has shaped Ali as an actor, including an attraction to characters who live in morally complicated places.

Mahershala Ali (0:44)

That's why I think someone like myself signs up to do a part like this, because it isn't simple. It isn't easy. It's a little nasty. It's a little gray, but it just makes for great drama.

Tonya Mosley (0:59)

Also, we hear from writer Yiyun Li.

She won a Pulitzer for her memoir about the suicides of her two teenage sons. In her new novel, she escapes the present and writes about two piano prodigies who marry. He wants amuse, she wants equality. But it's about more than that.

Yiyun Li (1:17)

I have written everything I've known about life into this novel.

Tonya Mosley (1:22)

That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.

SPEAKER_5 (1:26)

Stay tuned for the following announcements and messages from our sponsors.

SPEAKER_1 (1:30)

This message comes from Bowland Branch.

Change the way you sleep with soft, 100% organic cotton sheets from Bowland Branch, designed to help you fall asleep faster, with airy blankets, cloud-like duvets and breathable sheets. Experience pure comfort on night one and feel your sheets get softer with every wash. Discover the difference with 15% off your first order at bowlandbranch.com with code NPR. Exclusions apply. See site for details.

SPEAKER_5 (1:58)

This message comes from Bombas. Whether you're outdoors or just lounging around the house, cool weather calls for cozier footwear. Bombas makes the perfect slippers and shoes, built with smooth premium suede, plush sherpa, and warm sheepskin shearling, all with layers of cloud-like cushioning. Perfect for staying in, stepping out, and keeping things cozy all season long. Visit bombas.com/npr and use code NPR for 20% off your first purchase.

SPEAKER_1 (2:30)

This message comes from Capella University. That spark you feel? That's your drive for more. Capella University's FlexPath learning format lets you earn your degree at your pace, without putting life on pause. Learn more at capella.edu.

Tonya Mosley (2:45)

This is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Tonya Mosley.

A hitman drives across Houston with his newborn in the backseat, searching for breast milk. His wife has just died, and nothing in his line of work has prepared him to keep their three children safe without her. That's Latif, the man at the center of Mahershala Ali's new film, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. The character he plays is a devout Muslim, a devoted father, and a contract killer.

And this film is hard to categorize. It's an action thriller, a family drama, and a meditation on faith set in a world movies rarely show, Black Muslim life in America. And the title comes from an Islamic teaching about the singular place of mothers.

It's the kind of role Ali is especially good at, men who look composed while something much more complicated is happening underneath. In True Detective, he played a man whose life and memory unfold across decades. In the 2021 film Swan Song, he played a dying man who arranges to be secretly replaced by a clone of himself. And in Moonlight and Green Book, that same restraint helped him win two Oscars. And Mahershala Ali, welcome back to Fresh Air.

Mahershala Ali (4:00)

Thank you for having me. It's good to be here.

Tonya Mosley (4:03)

Well, you know, I have never seen a character quite like this one, the one that you play in this movie, because Latif, I mean, he knows how to kill people. He's an assassin. What he does not know is how to take care of his own kids. We have not seen that play out in the same movie. What interested you about that contradiction?

Mahershala Ali (4:23)

I think exactly that, the contradiction or the breadth of that character's responsibilities.

You know, as an actor, you were searching for your new mountain to climb and someone to climb it with you, Basam Tark, in this case. And the director, yeah, the director and writer, yes. And so just upon reading it, I was just blown away by just all that came along with trying to fill the shoes of this character and bring him to life, which was, yes, being a contract killer, which was inherently already interesting. Him being a Muslim, which is rare for me to see and to meet on the page, and especially with such dimensionality. And then also a father of three, and specifically the infant that we're really dealing with in this case. And so all these elements sort of stitched together, just jumped out to me on the page. And so it was kind of like I couldn't say no to it.