Ahmed Best
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| Ahmed Best | |
|---|---|
| File:10.2.10AhmedBestByLuigiNovi.jpg
Best during his first convention appearance at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 2, 2010
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| Born | August 19, 1973 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, voice actor, screenwriter, director, producer, musician |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Website | www |
Ahmed Best (born August 19, 1973) is an American actor, voice actor, and musician. He rose to infamy in the 2000s for providing motion capture and voice of the highly unpopular character of Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars franchise. He later turned to television, where he reprised his role as Jar Jar Binks in the Robot Chicken Star Wars special. He also created, wrote, directed and produced his own TV show, which he titled This Can't Be My Life.
Best likewise collaborated with director George Lucas in three films and five 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.
Contents
Early life
Ahmed Best was born on August 19, 1973 in New York City. He lived the majority of his formative years in the Soundview section of the Bronx. He moved to Maplewood, New Jersey in 1984. He attended Columbia High School. He then studied percussion at the Manhattan School of Music.[1]
Career
In 1994, Ahmed 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 cast of the Obie Award winning cast of Stomp. He toured with the cast of Stomp throughout the US and Europe.[1]
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] Unfortunately for Best, Binks drew hostility from moviegoers. Much to his subsequent credit, Best also appeared with fellow Star Wars alumni Dee Bradley Baker, James Arnold Taylor and Daran Norris on the TV show Big Time Rush.[citation needed]
Discography
| 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" |
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Lean on Me | Extra | |
| 1999 | Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | Jar Jar Binks (voice and performance capture) | |
| 2002 | Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones | Jar Jar Binks (voice) and Achk Med - Beq | |
| 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) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Armitage: Dual Matrix | Mouse (voice) | English version |
| 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) | |
| 2008 | This Can't Be My Life | Ahmed | Episode: The Pink Pages |
| Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II | Jar Jar Binks and Stormtrooper (voice) | Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form | |
| Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Jar Jar Binks (voice) | Episode: Bombad Jedi | |
| 5 Second Movies | Himself | ||
| 2009 | Cougar Town | Dwayne | Episode: Mystery Man |
| Big Time Rush | Marketer | Episode: Big Time Audition | |
| 2010 | Episode: Big Time Blogger | ||
| Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Jar Jar Binks and Defense Minister (voice) | Episode: Supply Lines | |
| Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III | Jar Jar Binks and Carl the Stormtrooper (voice) | ||
| 2011 | Law & Order: LA | Dell Gregory | Episode: Van Nuys |
| Episode: Runyon | |||
| Zeke & Luther | Sal Sackelson | Episode: Bro'd Trip | |
| In the Flow with Affion Crockett | Black Jock | ||
| 2014 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Jar Jar Binks | Episode: The Disappeared Parts 1 and 2 |
Short films
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
| 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
| 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
| Year | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | This Can't Be My Life | Episode: The Pink Pages (Theme song) |
Director
| Year | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | This Can't Be My Life | Short film |
| Episode: The Pink Pages |
Video games
| 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 | |
| 2006 | Scarface: The World Is Yours | Unknown (voice) | Uncredited |
| 2007 | Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga | Jar Jar Binks (voice) | Uncredited |
| 2009 | Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution | Unknown Boxer (voice) | |
| Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 | Cloak (voice) | ||
| 2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Jar Jar Binks (voice) | [2] |
Producer
| 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
| Year | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | This Can't Be My Life | Short film |
| Episode: The Pink Pages |
Theatre
| 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 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bio page at Best's official site Archived October 20, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ahmed Best. |
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- 1973 births
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- Living people
- American male film actors
- American male voice actors
- African-American male actors
- Male actors from New York City
- American male stage actors
