Mahershalalhashbaz Ali is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Richard Tyler

Richard Tyler

Richard Tyler is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Character :One of the first 4400s to be shown, Richard is Lily Tyler's husband, and is the father of her second daughter, Isabelle Tyler....

 on the USA Network

USA Network

USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...

 science fiction television series The 4400

The 4400

The 4400 is a science fiction TV series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with Sky Television, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network. The show was created and written by Scott Peters and René Echevarria, and it stars Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie...

, and "Tizzy" in the 2008 motion picture The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy-drama film directed by David Fincher. The screenplay by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald...

.

Ali was born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore in Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

. Raised a Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

, he later converted to Ahmadiyya Islam.

His father, Phillip, appeared in musical theater. He is named after one of the sons

Maher-shalal-hash-baz

Maher-shalal-hash-baz - "Hurry to spoil!" or "He has made haste to the plunder!" - was the second mentioned son of the prophet Isaiah. The name is a reference to the impending plunder of Samaria and Damascus by the king of Assyria. Maher-shalal-hash-baz is mentioned in the Bible in , which section...

 of Isaiah

Isaiah

Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...

 in the Bible.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Making Revolution	Mac Laslow
2008	Umi's Heart	Ezra	Short film
2008		Tizzy
2009	Crossing Over Crossing Over (film) Crossing Over is a 2009 American independent drama film about illegal immigrants of different nationalities struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles. The film deals with the border, document fraud, the asylum and green card process, work-site enforcement, naturalization, the office of...	Detective Strickland
2010	Predators	Mombasa
2013		Kofi	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001-2002	Crossing Jordan Crossing Jordan Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office...	Dr. Trey Sanders	19 episodes
2002	Haunted Haunted (TV series) Haunted is an American television program first aired in September 2002 on UPN. The program, which was filmed in Vancouver, was canceled in November 2002 due to low ratings. As a result, only seven of the completed episodes were aired. However, all eleven filmed episodes have subsequently been...	Alex Dalcour	Episode: "Abby"
2002	NYPD Blue NYPD Blue NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...	Rashard Coleman	Episode: "Das Boots"
2003	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...	Tombs' Security Guard	Episode: "Lucky Strike"
2003			Episode: "Big Stones"
2003-2004	Threat Matrix Threat Matrix Threat Matrix is a 2003 American drama television series. It lasted 16 episodes. The plot consisted of the events in a United States Homeland Security anti-terrorism unit, led by Special agent John Kilmer....	Jelani Harper	15 episodes
2004-2007		Richard Tyler Richard Tyler Richard Tyler is a fictional character in the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400.- Character :One of the first 4400s to be shown, Richard is Lily Tyler's husband, and is the father of her second daughter, Isabelle Tyler....	31 episodes
2009	Lie to Me Lie to Me Lie to Me is a 2009-2011 American television series.Lie to Me may also refer to:* Lie to Me , a South Korean drama series* "Lie to Me" , an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...	Detective Don Hughes	Episode: "Do No Harm"
2009	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...	Mark Foster	Episode: "Unstable"
2010	All Signs of Death All Signs of Death All Signs of Death is a television pilot based on the 2009 novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston, who also wrote the teleplay. Huston served as executive producer along with Alan Ball who directed the pilot...	Gabe	TV movie
2010		Calvin Willis	TV movie
2011	Lights Out Lights Out (2011 TV series) Lights Out is an American television boxing drama series from the FX network in the United States. It stars Holt McCallany as Patrick "Lights" Leary, a New Jersey native, and former heavyweight champion boxer who is considering a comeback. The series premiered on January 11, 2011 at 10 pm ET/PT. On...	Death Row Reynolds	Episode: "Unaired Pilot"
2011	Treme Treme (TV series) Treme is an American television drama series created by David Simon and Eric Overmyer that premiered on April 11, 2010 on HBO. It takes its name from Tremé, a neighborhood of New Orleans...	Anthony King	3 episodes
2011	Alphas Alphas Alphas is an American science fiction dramatic television series created by Zak Penn and Michael Karnow. The series follows a group of people with superhuman abilities, known as "Alphas", as they work to prevent crimes committed by other Alphas....	Nathan Clay	5+ episodes

External links