Ahmed Best (born August 19, 1973 in New York City) is an American actor, stuntman and dancer.
He is most well known for portraying Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars universe, through motion capture and voice in the prequel trilogy from 1999 to 2005 and through voice acting in other media (which includes parodies of the role). Since June 2020, he hosts a Star Wars-themed Game Show for children, Jedi Temple Challenge, as a Jedi master this time around.
He's also been a Copiously Credited Creator on his own TV show, This Can't Be My Life.
Selected roles:
- Lean on Me (1989) as an extra
- Star Wars as Jar Jar Binks
- The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- The Clone Wars (2008-2014)
- Jedi Temple Challenge (2020-) as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq
- Kangaroo Jack: G'Day USA! (2004) as Louis Booker (voice)
- Robot Chicken (2007-2010) as Jar Jar Binks and Carl the Stormtrooper
- Cougar Town (2009, 1 episode) as Dwayne
- FDR: American Badass (2012) as Curtis
Tropes & Trivia about his works:
- I Am Not Spock: Like fellow Phantom Menace alumni Jake Lloyd, he was hit very hard by the backlash against Jar Jar Binks, who became The Scrappy for the Star Wars fandom for a while. It got so bad that he actually contemplated suicide. Unlike Lloyd however, he got better since, and even gladly returned to his character, voicing him in The Clone Wars, with better writing. Fandom attitudes also changed visibly for the best towards him if the cheering he got at recent Star Wars Celebrations is any indication.
