Mahershala Ali "definitely had a connection" to original 'Blade' actor Wesley Snipes

Mahershala Ali will soon be seen as the superhero Blade. Previously, actor Wesley Snipes played the iconic Marvel superhero and delivered an amazing performance. In a recent podcast, Mahershala Ali mentioned how people used to always make comparisons between him and Wesley Snipes when Blade first came out. Thus, speaking about the connection, Mahershala Ali spoke extensively mentioning how it was for him growing up with that connection.

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Mahershala Ali and Wesley Snipes' "Blade" connection

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In The Tightrope podcast, the actor mentioned that he always felt connected to Wesley Snipes in a way inside his mind. He recalls his high school days when his friends used to draw comparisons between him and Wesley Snipes at the time. In the podcast, Mahershala Ali mentioned that people used to often joke that he and Wesley Snipes look a lot alike. Now fans are delighted to watch Mahershala Ali following the footsteps of Wesley Snipes as the next Blade actor. Mahershala Ali also further added that as a running joke at school, people would often call him “Shadow”, which is the character name of Wesley Snipes from the film Mo’ Better Blues.

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Mahershala Ali revealed that it was this connection that he witnessed which acted as groundwork for him to choose the role. He added that the connection itself drove him to portray the character in the film and thus he secured the role with no hesitation. Mahershala Ali, however, is not new to the superhero universe and has been part of the Marvel series Luke Cage on Netflix. The actor played the role of Cottonmouth on the series and thus spoke about his experience as well. He mentioned that it was due to his participation in Luke Cage that a bunch of other avenues opened up. He continued that since he was inspired by Wesley Snipes, he essayed into the superhero genre and the world of comics. Thus, when the conversations of Blade began going around, Mahershala Ali hoped that he would be considered for the role in Blade.

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