Warning: This article contains spoilers forLeave the World Behind.
Mahershala Alisays there’s a certain level of fear involved when he chooses a role.
And his latest,Leave the World Behind, certainly fits the bill.
Mahershala Ali as G.H. and Julia Roberts as Amanda in ‘Leave the World Behind’.JoJo Whilden/NETFLIX
It all goes to hell, though, when the rental’s owner G.H.
How am I going to do this?
JoJo Whilden/NETFLIX
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The characters of G.H.
Mahershala Ali as G.H., Myha’la Herrold as Ruth, Julia Roberts as Amanda, and Ethan Hawke as Clay in ‘Leave the World Behind’.JoJo Whilden/ Netflix
But I do think that there’s something really intriguing about his approach to how he studies the market.
He can derive other things from that information.
And in his experience, he has been right before.
Some of those things are in the book.
Some of those things were in the script.
But that information was still there for me as an actor to pull from to help develop the character.
Each character in the film handles the apocalypse very differently.
Which character do you feel you’d most be like in this disaster scenario?
I feel like I probably would have elements of all those characters there’s elements with G.H.
that I recognize in myself.
And I’m sure I would worry in the way in which Julia’s character worries.
Did working onLeave the World Behindmake you think more about cyberattacks or apocalypses in general?
Was the likelihood of that a topic of discussion on set?
So there’s a real awareness that things were and are changing in the world.
JoJo Whilden/ Netflix
The ending of the film is somewhat ambiguous.
We get flashes of what’s going on in the outside world nothing good!
but not a ton more answers.
No amount of money is really going to improve anything for anyone.
What conversations do you hope people are having after watchingLeave the World Behind?
Do we love and trust?
And are we willing to help and be generous and look out for each other?
Or do we all become isolationists in some way, shape, or form?
What is the impact of not being able to do basic things without the help of technology?
Leave the World Behindis available to stream now on Netflix.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
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