Ahmed Best

American actorTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actor[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]
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**Ahmed Best** (born August 19, 1973) is an American actor who provided motion capture and the voice of the character of Jar Jar Binks in the *Star Wars* franchise.

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 lampooning Jar Jar Binks in *Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II*.

## 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 and graduated from there in 1991. He then studied percussion at the Manhattan School of Music.

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.

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*.Template: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 contemplated suicide. Best later appeared with fellow *Star Wars* alumni Dee Bradley Baker, James Arnold Taylor, and Daran Norris on the TV show *Big Time Rush*.

In 2008, he also wrote, directed, and produced the pilot for a television show called *This Can't Be My Life*.

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. It was later reported that *Jedi Temple Challenge*Template:'s release date had been delayed until June 10 as a result of the unrest surrounding George Floyd's death.

## Filmography

### Music

"Rot in Hell"
"Hey Hey Howdy Howdy Hey"
"Fun, Games and Feastin'"
"Building From the Ground Up"

### Producer

 2008

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bio page at Best's official site". October 20, 2009. http://www.ahmedbest.com/ahmedsite.html.
2. ↑ Newbold, Mark (January 5, 2019). "Ahmed Best: That Moment I Opened Up About Suicide". https://www.fanthatracks.com/news/film-music-tv/ahmed-best-that-moment-i-opened-up-about-suicide/.
3. ↑ Nordine, Michael (January 5, 2019). "Jar Jar Binks Actor Ahmed Best Opens Up About Racism-Fueled Backlash". https://www.indiewire.com/2019/01/jar-jar-binks-actor-ahmed-best-racism-suicide-contemplation-1202032520/.
4. ↑ "Star Wars actor: 'I considered suicide'", *BBC News* (July 4, 2018).
5. ↑ Parker, Ryan. "Jar Jar Binks Actor Says He Considered Suicide After 'Star Wars' Backlash", *The Hollywood Reporter*.
6. ↑ "This Can't Be My Life". https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1255807/.
7. ↑ "Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge to debut on 3 June on Star Wars Kids". Lucasfilm. 27 May 2020. https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-jedi-temple-challenge-premiere.
8. ↑ Gemmill, Allie (27 May 2020). "The Force Is Strong With This Epic ‘Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge’ Trailer". Collider. https://collider.com/star-wars-jedi-temple-challenge-trailer-youtube/.
9. ↑ "Updated: Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge to debut on June 10 on Star Wars Kids". Lucasfilm. https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-jedi-temple-challenge-premiere.
10. ↑ Laman, Douglas. "Star Wars Jedi Temple Challenge premiere delayed in light of protests". https://www.cbr.com/star-wars-jedi-temple-challenge-premiere-delayed-in-light-of-protests/.
11. ↑ Forward, Devon. "Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge Show Delays Premiere". https://screenrant.com/star-wars-jedi-temple-challenge-show-premiere-delay/.
12. ↑ Template:Cite video game

## External links

Template:Portal Template:Commons category

* Template:IMDb name
* Ahmed Best on WOOKIEEPEDIA

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