Two NYU Tisch alumni won Oscars last night

Here’s hoping it wasn’t another mix-up…

While the La La Land creative family are likely to be a little disappointed after last night’s Oscars, at NYU there’s reason to celebrate – two NYU Tisch Alumni won Academy Awards last night.

Mahershala Ali – who received his MFA for Graduate Acting from Tisch in 2000 – won the Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his role as Juan in Moonlight. He become the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar, and also made history as part of the cast of  Moonlight, the first LGBTQ film to win – after an epic plot twist – the Best Picture Oscar.

In a moment beaming #VioletPride, Ali thanked several of his teachers and professors in his acceptance speech, including Ron Van Lieu and Ken Washington, who both taught at Tisch during Ali’s graduate career.

Tisch alumnus Kenneth Lonergan (BFA Dramatic Writing ’86) also took home an Oscar last night, winning the category of  ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ for Manchester by the Sea. Lonergan was also nominated for the ‘Best Director’ award last night, missing out to Damien Chazelle of La La Land.

 

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