Ahmed Best Reveals The Heartbreaking Reason He'll Never Get Credit For Blazing Hollywood's Mo-Cap Trail

Summary Ahmed Best, known for Jar Jar Binks, discusses the lack of credit for being the first mo-cap actor in Hollywood, especially as a Black man.

Best highlights the industry's failure to give Black artists opportunities in mo-cap roles, hoping for recognition in the future.

Despite some appreciation for his work, Best and his peers still face hurdles in Hollywood due to racial biases, a long-standing issue.

Actor Ahmed Best, known for his portrayal of Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, has revealed the tragic reason why he'll never receive the proper credit as the first mo-cap actor in a movie. While his role of Jar Jar may have been poorly received at first, it has since become more appreciated alongside the rest of the Star Wars prequels. Best has also received his due credit by reprising his role of the Jedi Kelleran Beq in The Mandalorian. One vital thing, however, has yet to receive proper appreciation and credit.

Related Ahmed Best Movie & TV Roles: Where You Know The Phantom Menace Star Ahmed Best is known for portraying Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels but here are some of his other roles in movie, TV shows and video games.

While speaking to Inverse, Best discusses the importance of being the first mo-cap actor in a feature film, especially as a Black man. He highlights the issue with the industry in that he has yet to receive credit for such a trailblazing accomplishment, mostly because "you have to admit that it was a Black man who did that," on top of the fact that he has to be paid. According to Best, "those are two things that Hollywood has a challenging time doing."

Best also highlights a major problem that still exists with mo-cap in Hollywood today, which is the fact that another Black man has yet to do what Best's already done in The Phantom Menace. He cites Zoe Saldaña as the only other Black actor who's played such a large motion capture role in a major movie in the Avatar franchise, but otherwise, "the industry has decided to not deal with Black people, specifically Black men." After twenty-five years, this is extremely disappointing, especially since it's - in Best's words - "a large demographic of artists who are being denied opportunities."

Ahmed Best Is Sadly Right About Hollywood's Problems

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Best's words are unfortunately only the truth about the long-running state of Hollywood, and Star Wars has been no exception for Black actors and characters. Best cites John Boyega, who portrays Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, as an example of another Black man who was ridiculed by the public while bringing his Star Wars character to life. Even Star Wars actors, including Ewan McGregor, had to go to lengths to defend Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Moses Ingram from racist comments online, highlighting how this continues to be an uphill battle for Black artists.

Hopefully, Ahmed Best and his peers will be recognized sooner rather than later for all they have accomplished over the years.

Celebrating Best's accomplishment as the first mo-cap actor, especially as a Black man, will hopefully help him to be more recognized with this trailblazing accomplishment he made 25 years ago in The Phantom Menace. He's gotten some of his due credit, with the reignited love of the prequels and Jar Jar and his return to Star Wars as Grogu's savior, but there are still many steps left to be taken to give him his flowers. Hopefully, Ahmed Best and his peers will be recognized sooner rather than later for all they have accomplished over the years.

Source: Inverse