Ahmed Best (born August 19, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and musician. He is known for providing the voice and motion capture for the character Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars franchise.
Ahmed Best | |
|---|---|
 Best during his first convention appearance at the Big Apple Convention 2010 | |
| Born | August 19, 1973 New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Manhattan School of Music |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse | Raquel Horsford |
Best likewise collaborated with director George Lucas in three films and seven episodes of the cartoon show, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He won the Annie Award for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production for lampooning Jar Jar Binks in Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II.
Early life
editAhmed Best was born in New York City on August 19, 1973.[1][2] Born in Roosevelt Hospital, he lived the majority of his formative years in the Soundview section of the Bronx, before moving to Maplewood, New Jersey in 1984.[3] He attended Columbia High School, graduating in 1991. He then studied percussion at the Manhattan School of Music.[4]
He is the younger brother of Dunia Best Sinnreich, lead singer and co-founder of Brave New Girl, Dubistry and Agent 99 and formerly with The Slackers.
Career
editIn 1994, Best joined the acid jazz group the Jazzhole. He contributed to the success of the group for two years. He co-wrote and co-produced three albums for the group including The Jazzhole, And the Feeling Goes Around, and The Beat is the Bomb. In 1995, he co-wrote and co-produced Escape by Bill Evans.
In 1995, he joined the Obie Award-winning cast of Stomp. He toured with the cast of Stomp throughout the US and Europe.[4]
In 1997, after casting director Robin Gurland had observed his flexible, athletic movements in Stomp, Ahmed was cast as Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999–2005). He reprised the role on the Star Wars–themed episode of Robot Chicken (as well as its sequel), Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and on an episode of Stephen Colbert's The Colbert Report.[episode needed] Best said he put a lot of himself into the character, so when Jar Jar drew hostility from audiences, it sometimes extended toward the actor or he otherwise interpreted it personally. The character of Jar Jar Binks was so disliked that Best considered suicide.[5][6][7] Best later appeared with fellow Star Wars alumni Dee Bradley Baker, James Arnold Taylor, and Daran Norris on the TV show Big Time Rush.[8]
In 2008, he also wrote, directed, and produced the pilot for a television show called This Can't Be My Life.[9]
In late May 2020, Lucasfilm announced that Best would be starring as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in a game-show called Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, with a scheduled release date of June 3, 2020.[10][11] It was later reported that Jedi Temple Challenge's release date had been delayed until June 10 as a result of the unrest surrounding George Floyd's murder.[12][13][14] He would later reprise the role in the third season of The Mandalorian, a live-action series set in the Star Wars universe.[15]
In addition to his acting roles, Best has worked as an adjunct professor at Stanford University.[16] His Stanford classes have touched on subjects such as art and Afrofuturism.[17]
Best also holds the rank of Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Lean on Me | Extra | |
| 1999 | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | Jar Jar Binks (voice and motion capture) | |
| 2002 | Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones | Jar Jar Binks (voice) and Achk Med-Beq | |
| Armitage: Dual Matrix | Mouse (voice) | English version | |
| 2004 | Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! | Louis Booker (voice) | |
| 2005 | Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | Jar Jar Binks (voice) | |
| 2006 | Open Window | Rufus | |
| 2009 | Mother and Child | Julian | |
| 2010 | The Pink House | Actor Judge | |
| 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams | Crow | ||
| 2011 | Poolboy: Drowning Out The Fury | Sidney Moncrief | |
| Some Guy Who Kills People | Mayor Maxwell | ||
| 2012 | FDR: American Badass! | Curtis | |
| 2013 | DJ | Mouse (Armitage segments) | |
| W.M.D. | News Reporter |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Alias | Seth | Episode: "A Free Agent" |
| 2006 | The Colbert Report | Jar Jar Binks (voice) | Episode: "George Lucas" |
| 2007 | Robot Chicken: Star Wars | Jar Jar Binks and AT-AT Driver (voice) | TV movie |
| 2008 | This Can't Be My Life | Ahmed | Episode: "The Pink Pages" |
| Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II | Jar Jar Binks and Stormtrooper (voice) | TV movie Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form | |
| 5 Second Movies | Himself | ||
| 2008–14 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Jar Jar Binks (voice) | 7 episodes |
| 2009 | Cougar Town | Dwayne | Episode: "Mystery Man" |
| 2009–12 | Big Time Rush | Marketer / Rob | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III | Jar Jar Binks and Carl the Stormtrooper (voice) | TV movie |
| 2011 | Law & Order: LA | Dell Gregory | Episode: "Runyon Canyon" |
| Zeke and Luther | Sal Sackelson | Episode: "Bro'd Trip" | |
| In the Flow with Affion Crockett | Black Jock | ||
| 2012 | Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out | Jar Jar Binks (voice) | TV short |
| 2020 | Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge | Jedi Master Kelleran Beq | [15] |
| The George Lucas Talk Show | Himself | Episode: "Best in Show" | |
| 2023 | The Mandalorian | Kelleran Beq | Episode: "Chapter 20: The Foundling"[15] |
| 2024 | Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy | Jar Jar Binks (voice) | [18] |
Short films
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Friendly Criminal | Himself |
| 2003 | The Stockholm Syndrome | Himself |
| There's a Sucker Born Every Minute | Nathan | |
| 2005 | Escorched | Richard Prentiss |
| 2007 | Charlie's Bitch Ass Hos | Makeafoolofme West |
| 2008 | This Can't Be My Life | Ahmed |
Documentary
edit| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Magic | Himself | |
| 2001 | The Beginning: Making Star Wars Episode 1 | Himself | |
| R2-D2: Beneath the Dome | Himself | Uncredited | |
| 2005 | Science of Star Wars | Himself | |
| 2009 | Black to the Future | Himself | |
| 2010 | The Life of Bob Marley | Bob Marley | |
| 2001 Maniacs: Behind the Screams | Himself |
Music
edit| Year | Title | Songs |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams | "The South's Gonna Rise Again" "Rot in Hell" "Hey Hey Howdy Howdy Hey" "Fun, Games and Feastin'" "Building From the Ground Up" |
Composer
edit| Year | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | This Can't Be My Life | Episode: The Pink Pages (Theme song) |
Director
edit| Year | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | This Can't Be My Life | Short film |
| Episode: The Pink Pages |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | Jar Jar Binks (voice) | |
| Star Wars: The Gungan Frontier | |||
| 2000 | Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles | ||
| 2001 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | ||
| Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing | |||
| 2005 | Lego Star Wars: The Video Game | Uncredited | |
| 2007 | Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga | Uncredited | |
| 2009 | Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 | Cloak (voice) | |
| 2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Jar Jar Binks (voice) | [19] |
| 2020 | Fallout 76: Wastelanders | Carver Timmerman / James Addison / Jide (voice) | DLC[20] |
| 2020 | The Last of Us Part II | Additional Voices (voice) |
Producer
edit| Year | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The DL Chronicles | Episodes: Wes & Robert (executive producer) Boo & Mark (co-executive producer) |
| 2008 | This Can't Be My Life | Episode: The Pink Pages (co-producer) |
Writer
edit| Year | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | This Can't Be My Life | Short film |
| Episode: The Pink Pages |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Stomp | Sarge | Winner of Obie Award |
| 1997 | The Tempest | Lead | |
| 2002 | Uncle Tom's Cabin | Lead | |
| Jack | Sammy | ||
| 2003 | Vacuums | J. Buttersworth III |
Discography
edit| Song | Note |
|---|---|
| "The Jazzhole" | Co-wrote and co-produced |
| "And the Feeling Goes Around" | |
| "The Beat is the Bomb" | |
| "Secret" | |
| "Falling Apart" | |
| "Take Time" | |
| "Mean What You Say" | |
| "Sweet Child" | |
| "I Wonder" | |
| "Is It Worth" | |
| "Dear James" | |
| "It's the Jazz" | On the album Vitality of Expression by Jeff Peretz |
| "Forms of the Rhythm" | |
| Celebrity EP | as DJ Starfaker |
References
edit- ^ Star Wars: A Visual History. DK. 2021. p. 27. ISBN 9780744055665.
- ^ Baym, Nancy K. (2018). Playing to the Crowd: Musicians, Audiences, and the Intimate Work of Connection. NYU Press. p. 207. ISBN 9781479896165.
- ^ Givens, Roy. "Jar Wars: Fame & Blame", New York Daily News, June 3, 1999. Accessed July 15, 2022. "Best himself was born at Roosevelt Hospital and grew up in the Soundview neighborhood in the Bronx. Best's family moved to Maplewood, N.J."
- ^ a b "Bio page at Best's official site". October 20, 2009. Archived from the original on October 20, 2009.
- ^ Newbold, Mark (January 5, 2019). "Ahmed Best: That Moment I Opened Up About Suicide". Fantha Tracks. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- ^ Nordine, Michael (January 5, 2019). "Jar Jar Binks Actor Ahmed Best Opens Up About Racism-Fueled Backlash". IndieWire. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- ^ "Star Wars actor: 'I considered suicide'". BBC News. July 4, 2018. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020.
- ^ Parker, Ryan. "Jar Jar Binks Actor Says He Considered Suicide After 'Star Wars' Backlash". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020.
- ^ "This Can't Be My Life". IMDb. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- ^ "Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge to debut on 3 June on Star Wars Kids". StarWars.com. Lucasfilm. May 27, 2020. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ Gemmill, Allie (May 27, 2020). "The Force Is Strong With This Epic 'Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge' Trailer". Collider. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ "Updated: Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge to debut on June 10 on Star Wars Kids". StarWars.com. Lucasfilm. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ Laman, Douglas (June 4, 2020). "Star Wars Jedi Temple Challenge premiere delayed in light of protests". CBR.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ Forward, Devon (June 4, 2020). "Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge Show Delays Premiere". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c Ross, Dalton (March 22, 2023). "Meesa back! Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best returns to Star Wars as a Mandalorian Jedi". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ Tiet, Amanda (March 3, 2022). "Masters of Creativity: Overcoming Creative Blocks w/ Ahmed Best". stanford.edu. Stanford University. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ^ "Ahmed Best on His Surprise Return as Kelleran Beq in The Mandalorian". starwars.com. Lucasfilm. March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ^ Edwards, Molly (May 7, 2024). "Star Wars is basically releasing its own version of Marvel's What If – and it features the franchise's most popular fan theory". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Avalanche Software. Disney Infinity 3.0. Scene: Closing credits, 5:39 in, Featuring the Voice Talents of.
- ^ Bethesda Game Studios Austin (April 14, 2020). Fallout 76: Wastelanders DLC. Bethesda Softworks. Scene: Credits: Voice & Music – Cast.
External links
edit
- Ahmed Best at IMDb