Mahershala Ali wanted to see if he could act in ‘something big’ with Jurassic World Rebirth

Mahershala Ali viewed Jurassic World Rebirth as a test to see if his acting could resonate in a big-budget blockbuster.

After receiving critical acclaim and two Oscars for his performances in the independent dramas Moonlight and Green Book, Ali wanted to see if his acting would translate to a film on a significantly bigger scale.

“Doing something this big is very new to me,” he told Vanity Fair. “It’s a little bit of a test for me personally: Can I exist in a space this large, in something that is so much bigger than you and maybe your own specific talents? It’s just hard to pull it off. I think the bigger things are, the harder that can be.

“But there were people in Jaws and in Jurassic Park, in Star Wars and these huge tentpole films that resonated with authenticity and a certain truth and purpose that made those films worth watching again and again.”

In Jurassic World Rebirth, Ali plays Duncan Kincaid, a black-ops logistics expert who helps Scarlett Johansson’s special operative Zora and Jonathan Bailey’s paleontologist Henry gain access to an island that was once home to Jurassic Park’s first research lab.

The True Detective actor admitted it was sometimes difficult playing such an energetic character during a physically intense shoot.

“I was really going into it hoping to bring something special and buoyant to that character, to really bring an energy and heart to him,” he shared. “These big, blockbuster films, they’re not filmed in a way that’s necessarily going to set you up to feel that all the time because it’s so hard shooting these action sequences and running from a tennis ball and things of that nature.”

Jurassic World Rebirth, the seventh film in the Jurassic franchise, isn’t Ali’s first blockbuster, however. He’s previously starred in big-budget productions such as Predators, both parts of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, and Alita: Battle Angel.

He’s also been attached to play Blade in Marvel’s reboot for almost six years, although there have been several delays.

Jurassic World Rebirth will be released in cinemas on 2 July.