The Oscar-nominated 'Moonlight' actor gushes to ET about the newest addition to his family.
It’s been a busy week for Mahershala Ali!
The Oscar-nominated Moonlight star welcomed his first child, a daughter, with wife Amatus Sami-Karim on Wednesday, and the 43-year-old actor was over the moon about the new addition to his family.
“It’s been remarkable. I know I really get to get into it tomorrow because awards season is done after tonight, but it’s been remarkable,” Ali told ET on the Academy Awards red carpet on Sunday. “It’s such a blessing to be a father.”
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Welcoming his daughter, Bari Najma, into the world gave Ali more appreciation for his wife’s toughness during pregnancy and birth.
“Hands down, women are the toughest beings on the planet,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’m not saying that to be cool. I don’t care if you have children, choose to have children. I don’t care if you took every pain medication in the world to have children.”
Ali revealed that his wife, did not have an epidural during his daughter’s birth.
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“She did not [have an epidural]. She had it natural,” he said. “I’m telling you, women are the toughest beings on the planet -- incredible seeing this eight-pound being come out of your body and just work that out. Unbelievable.”
Nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Ali recalled the moment he first met his child as being the moment he cherished, sharing that his daughter came “quickly.”
“Seeing my baby, of course. But she just kicked in so quickly that the doctor came in sprinting, sweating. The doula came in, like, ‘What?!’ It just started happening really quickly and my wife just knocked it out. I don’t have the words, honestly,” he said in awe of his wife.
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Ali noted that he did have words of praise reserved for his wife in his acceptance speech should he be lucky enough to win the Oscar.
“I just want to tell her I love her and she’s gonna know that every day. Every day I’m around, she’s going to know that,” he sweetly said.
Ali's Moonlight co-stars spoke to ET about what it meant to be at Hollywood's biggest night. Watch ET's exclusive interview below.