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Ahmed Best
American actor (born 1973) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
Best likewise collaborated with director George Lucas in three films and seven episodes of the animated 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.
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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]
Best 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.
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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 in the Robot Chicken specials Robot Chicken: Star Wars and Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and 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 star as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in the game show Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, which premiered in June 2020.[10][11][12][13][14] Best reprised the role of Beq in the third season of The Mandalorian, a live-action series set in the Star Wars universe.[15] His character rescued Grogu from Darth Sidious's Jedi Purge. Best received praise for his performance.
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.
Best has attended several conventions as part of Star Wars Celebration as a guest.[18] He attended Star Wars Celebration Japan in April 2025.[19]
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Filmography
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