Ahmed Best (born August 19, 1973) is an American actor, stuntman and dancer born in New York City.
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). Starting in June 2020, he portrayed a different character in the franchise, Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, who hosted a Star Wars-themed Game Show for children, Jedi Temple Challenge. In 2023, he reprised the role within the Star Wars canon during the third season of The Mandalorian.
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
- Jar Jar Binks
- The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Attack of the Clones (2002) note
- Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- The Clone Wars (2008-2014)
- Jedi Master Kelleran Beq
- Jedi Temple Challenge (2020)
- The Mandalorian (2023)
- Jar Jar Binks
- Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! (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
Ahmed Best's works provide examples of:
- I Am Not Spock: Best 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. Fortunately, he got better since, and even gladly returned to his character, voicing him in Robot Chicken and The Clone Wars, with better writing. Fandom attitudes also changed visibly for the best towards him if the cheering he got at subsequent Star Wars Celebrations and reactions to his newer character Kelleran Beq (which got wider attention when he appeared in Season 3 of The Mandalorian) is any indication.
