Mahershala Ali Talks Growing Up Around Drugs

Mahershala Ali takes the cover of THR‘s new issue.

Here’s what the 42-year-old Moonlight star had to share with the mag:

On depression: “I was borderline depressed for years. There was a sadness over me, a melancholy. That’s always been a part of me – those are some of the things that lead you to the arts. It’s something I still think about, not that it brings me sadness at this point; it’s a void or fracture that happened so early that now I have to address it in the healthiest way.”

On growing up around drugs and drug dealers: “As I got older, I started seeing things happen to people. I started seeing cousins go to jail for armed robbery, drugs. My friend’s mom was a drug dealer, but I didn’t know she was a drug dealer. Drugs were a way for people to support themselves without advertising it. It was done covertly. Today, we are used to seeing all these chains and these cars, when a lot of times it was done discreetly and to support someone’s income.”

On his spiritual awakening: “I was around 23 or 24 years old when I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I was going back in time and trying to find out why I believed what I believed, and it always ended with my mother, and with what I was told – not my own epiphany or studies.”

For more from Mahershala, visit HollywoodReporter.com.

FYI: Mahershala is wearing Ermenegildo Zegna Couture knitwear on the cover.