Anwar Ali is versatile actor with a natural knack for comedy. (Courtesy photo)
In 2005, Oneworld Publications released bestselling author Donald Bogle’s “Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood” to great acclaim. Entertainment Weekly described it as “shameful, funny, enlightening, and sobering.”
Today, Anwar Ali carries that same torch of storytelling into the digital age.
As a modern archivist of Black Hollywood, Anwar captures the richness and fascination of untold narratives of Black culture and converts them into viral social media moments on TikTok and Instagram. As an actor and orator, he documents the legacy of Black Hollywood to ensure it is preserved and celebrated.
Anwar Ali’s journey into social media began with a quest for footing in a space he was not entirely sure how to navigate. Initially, he created videos centered around spiritual topics like alignment and timing. While the content performed adequately, it lacked personal resonance.
The turning point came when he encountered a TikTok video of a woman humorously critiquing the casting trends in Black sitcoms.
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“If you cast a black sitcom, the daughter is always going to be Yara Shahidi, which I was like, no, that’s not true, but I know what you what you’re trying to say,” he recalled.
Hubert Point-Du Jour as Ralph Abernathy, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Martin Luther King Jr., and Anwar Ali as Andrew Young in “Genius: MLK.” (Courtesy photo)
Disagreeing with her claim but understanding her perspective, Anwar responded with his own video, offering a sharp observation about colorism and representation in Black television. That video went viral, marking a pivotal moment in his creative path.
Encouraged by the response, he began engaging with comments and expanding his content. From unpacking the “Friends” versus “Living Single” debate to uncovering forgotten Black sitcoms and spotlighting Black actors in short-lived shows or films, Anwar discovered his niche: celebrating the often-overlooked stories of Black Hollywood.
At his core, Anwar is an actor first. Even in his content creation and videos, his work is infused with performance. “I’m not just spewing information or reading off IMDb,” he explains. “For me, it’s about creating a performance.” Whether on screen or in his viral social media content, Anwar approaches every project with the soul of an actor, using his craft to captivate and connect with his audience.
Ali’s passion for acting and film began at an early age; however, he kept his love for the arts to himself. “Nobody at school knew anything about my interest in film and television,” he recalls.
Growing up in a community with no school plays or arts programs, Anwar had few opportunities to nurture his creativity. In community college he found an outlet, enrolling in a film and TV class. There, an unexpected opportunity came his way when he stepped in for an absent actor, marking the beginning of his journey into performance.
The following semester he enrolled in acting and speech class. Ali started taking classes around Chicago and enrolled in Aurora University, a small local university, where he performed in his first play, “Trojan Women,” in 2013. “I didn’t have any lines. I played a soldier,” he shares.
Anwar Ali. (Courtesy photo)
While at Aurora University, Anwar Ali attended the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2015, a key experience that set the stage for his future. After graduating in 2016, he joined Brown University’s prestigious MFA program in fall 2017.
Eventually, his hard work led him to Los Angeles, where he began auditioning and making strides in television, the medium he had always dreamed of. “When they say it takes ten years, they never tell you when it starts. But that ten years began when I decided that it started, [and]this is what I want to do,” he reflects.
Now, the seeds Ali planted years ago are finally bearing fruit, and his career is aligning in ways he had always envisioned.
“Seeds were planted, and now there’s growth,” he remarks, his passion and persistence evident at every step.
Like the stories he tells, Anwar’s journey is a bold narrative of dreams realized against the bright lights and boulevards of Black Hollywood.
Follow Anwar Ali’s journey on TikTok and Instagram @theanwarali.
