Ahmed Best

Last updated

Ahmed Best
10.2.10AhmedBestByLuigiNovi.jpg
Best during his first convention appearance at the Big Apple Convention 2010
Born (1973-08-19) August 19, 1973 (age 51)
New York City, U.S.
Alma mater Manhattan School of Music
Occupations
  • Actor
  • musician
Years active1989–present
SpouseRaquel Horsford

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.

Contents

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 portraying Jar Jar Binks in Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II .

Early life

Ahmed 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

In 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

Film

YearTitleRoleNote
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)
2006Open WindowRufus
2009 Mother and Child Julian
2010The Pink HouseActor Judge
2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams Crow
2011Poolboy: Drowning Out The Fury Sidney Moncrief
Some Guy Who Kills People Mayor Maxwell
2012 FDR: American Badass! Curtis
2013DJMouse (Armitage segments)
W.M.D. News Reporter

Television

YearTitleRoleNote
2003 Alias SethEpisode: "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
2008This Can't Be My LifeAhmedEpisode: "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 MoviesHimself
2008–14 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Jar Jar Binks (voice)7 episodes
2009 Cougar Town DwayneEpisode: "Mystery Man"
2009–12 Big Time Rush Marketer / Rob3 episodes
2010 Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III Jar Jar Binks and Carl the Stormtrooper (voice)TV movie
2011 Law & Order: LA Dell GregoryEpisode: "Runyon Canyon"
Zeke and Luther Sal SackelsonEpisode: "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 HimselfEpisode: "Best in Show"
2023 The Mandalorian Kelleran BeqEpisode: "Chapter 20: The Foundling" [15]
2024 Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy Jar Jar Binks (voice) [18]

Short films

YearTitleRole
2002Friendly CriminalHimself
2003The Stockholm SyndromeHimself
There's a Sucker Born Every MinuteNathan
2005EscorchedRichard Prentiss
2007Charlie's Bitch Ass HosMakeafoolofme West
2008This Can't Be My LifeAhmed

Documentary

YearTitleRoleNote
1999From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial MagicHimself
2001The Beginning: Making Star Wars Episode 1Himself
R2-D2: Beneath the DomeHimselfUncredited
2005Science of Star WarsHimself
2009 Black to the Future Himself
2010The Life of Bob Marley Bob Marley
2001 Maniacs: Behind the ScreamsHimself

Music

YearTitleSongs
20102001 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

YearTitleNote
2008This Can't Be My LifeEpisode: The Pink Pages (Theme song)

Director

YearTitleNote
2008This Can't Be My LifeShort film
Episode: The Pink Pages

Video games

YearTitleRoleNote
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: WastelandersCarver Timmerman / James Addison / Jide (voice)DLC [20]
2020 The Last of Us Part II Additional Voices (voice)
2025 South of Midnight Performance and voice director [21]

Producer

YearTitleNote
2007 The DL Chronicles Episodes: Wes & Robert (executive producer)
Boo & Mark (co-executive producer)
2008This Can't Be My LifeEpisode: The Pink Pages (co-producer)

Writer

YearTitleNote
2008This Can't Be My LifeShort film
Episode: The Pink Pages

Theatre

YearTitleRoleNote
1995 Stomp Sarge Winner of Obie Award
1997 The Tempest Lead
2002 Uncle Tom's Cabin Lead
JackSammy
2003VacuumsJ. Buttersworth III

Discography

SongNote
"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 EPas DJ Starfaker

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jar Jar Binks</span> Star Wars character

Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character from the Star Wars saga created by George Lucas. A member of the Gungan race, Jar Jar appears throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy—as a major character in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and with a supporting role in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith—as well as having a role in the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The first fully computer-generated supporting character in a live-action film, he has been voiced by Ahmed Best in most of his appearances, who also acted out the character with prosthetics prior to the CGI work. He also appears in various other media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boba Fett</span> Fictional character in the Star Wars franchise

Boba Fett is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. First appearing in the Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel film trilogies. In the original trilogy, the character is a supporting antagonist and was mainly portrayed by Jeremy Bulloch and voiced by Jason Wingreen. Notable for his taciturn demeanor and for never removing his helmet, Fett appears in both The Empire Strikes Back (1980), employed by the Galactic Empire, and Return of the Jedi (1983), serving the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. While seemingly killed in Return of the Jedi after falling into a sarlacc, he has since appeared in Star Wars media set after the film, confirming his survival within the new canon, portrayed by Temuera Morrison. Daniel Logan plays a preteen Boba in the prequel film Attack of the Clones (2002), which reveals the character's origins as the genetic clone and adoptive son of Jango Fett, also a famous bounty hunter. Morrison appeared first in Star Wars media playing Jango. The animated series The Bad Batch further reveals Boba to have been born Alpha, and to have a biological twin sister, Omega. The series also reveals that he has another sister named Emerie Karr.

<i>Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace</i> 1999 film by George Lucas

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas in his first directorial effort since 1977. The film stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, and Frank Oz. It is the fourth film in the Star Wars film series, the first film of the prequel trilogy and the first chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set 32 years before the original trilogy, during the era of the Galactic Republic, the plot follows Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi as they try to protect Padmé Amidala of Naboo in hopes of securing a peaceful end to an interplanetary trade dispute. Joined by Anakin Skywalker—a young slave with unusually strong natural powers of the Force—they simultaneously contend with the mysterious return of the Sith. The film was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox.

Languages in <i>Star Wars</i> Fictional languages and scripts

The Star Wars space opera universe, created by George Lucas, features some dialogue spoken in fictional languages. The lingua franca of the franchise is known in-universe as Galactic Basic, which refers to the language of the film or work itself, be it English or a language that the work was dubbed or translated into.

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company and computer animation studio that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began production on the original Star Wars, now the fourth episode of the Skywalker Saga.

The Star Wars prequel trilogy, colloquially referred to as the prequels, is a series of epic space-opera films written and directed by George Lucas. It was produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The trilogy was released from 1999 to 2005 and is set before the original Star Wars trilogy (1977–1983), chronologically making it the first act of the Skywalker Saga. Lucas had planned a prequel trilogy before the release of the original film, but halted major Star Wars films beyond the original trilogy by 1981. When computer-generated imagery (CGI) had advanced to the level he wanted for the visual effects he wanted for subsequent films, Lucas revived plans for the prequels by the early 1990s. The trilogy marked Lucas's return to directing after a 22-year hiatus following the original Star Wars film in 1977, as well as a 16-year hiatus between the classic and prequel trilogies.

<i>Star Wars: The Clone Wars</i> (2008 TV series) American animated television series

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an American animated television series created by George Lucas. It is part of the Star Wars multimedia franchise, and is set predominantly between the events of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). Lucas, who closely collaborated with supervising director Dave Filoni on the series, called it a continuation of the previous Genndy Tartakovsky-produced 2003 Clone Wars series. The series began with a theatrical feature film that was released on August 15, 2008, and debuted on Cartoon Network two months later on October 3, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robot Chicken: Star Wars</span> 2007 American TV series or program

"Robot Chicken: Star Wars" is a 2007 episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken, airing as a one-off special during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block on June 17, 2007. It was released on DVD on July 22, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahsoka Tano</span> Fictional character in the Star Wars franchise

Ahsoka Tano is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. She was introduced as the 14-year-old Togruta Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) before appearing in the subsequent animated television series ; the sequel series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018); in the live-action film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) as a voiceover cameo; and in the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022), voiced by Ashley Eckstein. In 2020, Ahsoka made her live-action debut in the second season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Dawson reprised the role in a 2022 episode of the spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, and the 2023 series, Ahsoka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Filoni</span> American film director (born 1974)

David Filoni is an American director, producer, and screenwriter currently serving as the Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm. He directed multiple episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, before being hired by George Lucas to oversee direction on the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars as well as directing and writing numerous episodes, including its theatrical film. He was the creator of follow-up series Star Wars Rebels, and served as a supervising director, executive producer and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandalorians</span> Fictional group of warrior people in the Star Wars universe

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapter 8: Redemption</span> 8th episode of the 1st season of The Mandalorian

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<i>The Mandalorian</i> season 3 Season of television series

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapter 13: The Jedi</span> 5th episode of the 2nd season of The Mandalorian

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapter 20: The Foundling</span> 4th episode of the 3rd season of The Mandalorian

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