Isaiah Mustafa
| Isaiah Mustafa | |
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 Isaiah Mustafa, July 16, 2010 |
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| Born | Isaiah Mustafa February 11, 1974 Portland, Oregon |
| Occupation | sportsman, actor, media character |
| Years active | 1997–2000 (sports) 2006-present (acting / media) |
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| Born | February 11, 1974 Portland, Oregon |
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| Career information | |||
| Year(s) | 1997–2000 | ||
| College | Moorpark College (1993–94) Arizona State (1995–96) |
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| Professional teams | |||
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| Career stats | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Isaiah Mustafa (born February 11, 1974)[1] is an American actor[2] and former NFL practice squad wide receiver.[3] Mustafa is widely known as the main character for a series of Old Spice TV commercials, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.
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[edit] Early life
Mustafa was born in Portland, Oregon, the youngest of seven children of Shahidah Mustafa-Davis and Wali John Mustafa, who owned and ran a limousine service in Laguna Hills, California in the early 1980s.[4] His family is Muslim.[4] Mustafa studied history at Arizona State[5] and, in 2000, owned a restaurant called Jo Jo's Barbecue on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles[6] that is now closed.[7]
[edit] Football career
Mustafa played basketball and ran track at Santa Clara High School in Oxnard, California.[3] He did not play high school football, but he tried out for Moorpark College's football team hoping for an athletic scholarship;[7] he became a free safety, later becoming a wide receiver, and eventually earned a football scholarship.[7][3]
After transferring to Arizona State University on a football scholarship in 1995, Mustafa was a starting wide receiver for the Arizona State Sun Devils but had an unspecified "confrontation" with a coach and was benched his senior year.[3] Mustafa played during the 1997 Rose Bowl between the then-undefeated Sun Devils (led by Mustafa's friend Jake Plummer)[5] and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Although Mustafa expected to become a high school teacher after graduation, a sports agent suggested that he try out for NFL teams. The Tennessee Titans (then known as the Houston Oilers) signed him to the practice squad, then sent him to NFL Europe's Barcelona Dragons in 1998.[3] After a season on the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns' practice squads in 1999, he attended the Seattle Seahawks' training camp in 2000.[6][8]
[edit] Acting career
After the Seahawks, Mustafa pursued an acting career, playing small character roles on various television programs. He gained sudden fame in February 2010 as the result of the popular The Man Your Man Could Smell Like advertising campaign for Old Spice, which featured his monologues.[5][9][10][11] Mustafa's first commercial in the series was directed by Tom Kuntz.
Subsequently, a three-day session created a series of humorous, personalized YouTube videos, with Mustafa reprising the character from the original Old Spice commercial. These were directed at members of the public and celebrities, who had asked him questions on websites such as reddit, Facebook and Twitter.[12][13]
On July 26, 2011, Old Spice launched a new campaign on YouTube featuring a challenge between Isaiah Mustafa and Fabio entitled Mano a Mano in el Baño (which translates to "hand-to-hand in the bathroom", although it is supposed to mean "man-to-man in the bathroom"). Mustafa said he wasn't worried, even though Fabio has been "the epitome of the sex symbol as a pitchman." Mustafa emerged as the winner.[14]
Mustafa signed a talent deal with NBC and appeared in the film Horrible Bosses.[15][16] He hosted the TBS special Funniest Commercials of the Year for both 2010 and 2011.[17] He has also appeared as a guest panelist on the popular late-night talk show Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld.[18]
[edit] Personal life
Mustafa is a comic book fan (with Spider-Man and Batman among his favorites), which interest sometimes relates to key events in his life. His knowledge of Doctor Doom's first name accidentally helped him win $47,000 on The Weakest Link for a question on the first name of Doctor Frankenstein; the money helped him pursue his post-restauranteur goal of becoming an actor.[7] Mustafa named his daughter in reference to the Batman character Harley Quinn. He has expressed interest in playing comic book superhero Luke Cage[19] and appeared as Cage in a Marvel Comics web short styled after his Old Spice commercials.[20] He is also a fan of the animated series The Venture Bros.
In the realm of sports, Mustafa remains an avid fan of the Arizona State Sun Devils and expressed his support of the Vancouver Canucks NHL team during their 2010–2011 playoff run. He continues to support his hometown Portland Trail Blazers, as is evidenced in the photograph of him at the top of the page.
During September of 2011, Mustafa appeared on E! News Lives with anchor Giuliana Rancic to promote an upcoming guest appearance on Charlies Angels. During his interview he was asked about what he's looking for in a mate. Mustafa, listed admirable qualities such as athleticism and honesty but then asserted that his ideal woman has to have "good hair". When Rancic, who is known for wearing hair extensions, followed up his ambiguous statement by questioning if the hair had to be real, Mustafa stated "Yes, it does have to be real hair. I want my kids to have nice hair so she better have good hair. Cause, I don't know if you've checked my hair out lately. Aside from today it's normally nice. Today it's slightly nappy."[21] However, after a small explosion of outrage from fans and viewers, Mustafa issued an apology for his "irresponsible" comments via Twitter.[22]
Mustafa is also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, rushing while attending Arizona State University.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Last Supper | Moses | |
| 2006 | Even Money | Basketball Player | |
| 2007 | Football Wives | Football Player | (TV) |
| 2008 | Ugly Betty | Bailiff | (TV) (One Episode) |
| 2009 | Days of our Lives | Cleveland Cop | (TV) (Two Episodes) |
| 2009 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Brent Duffy | (TV) (One Episode) |
| 2009 | Eli Stone | Newlywed Husband | (TV) (One Episode) |
| 2009 | NCIS | Oliver Newcomb | (TV) (One Episode) |
| 2010 | Castle | Team Leader | (TV) (One Episode) |
| 2010–2011 | Chuck | Greta/Rick Noble | (TV) (Two Episodes) |
| 2010 | Funniest Commercials of the Year: 2010 | Host | (TV) |
| 2011 | Madea's Big Happy Family | Calvin | |
| 2011 | Horrible Bosses | Police Officer | |
| 2011 | Hot in Cleveland | Coach at Cleveland Cavaliers | (TV) (One Episode) |
| 2011 | Love Bites | Astronaut | (TV) (One Episode) |
| 2011 | Gears of War 3 | COG Gear | Video Game |
| 2011 | Charlie's Angels | Detective Ray Goodson | (TV) (Recurring) |
| 2011 | Funniest Commercials of the Year: 2011 | Co-host | (TV) |
[edit] References
- ^ "Isaiah Mustafa Career Stats". The Football Database. February 11, 1974. http://www.footballdb.com/players/isaiah-mustafa-mustais01. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ Isaiah Mustafa at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ a b c d e Wharton, David (April 18, 1998). "Beach Ball". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/18/sports/sp-40513. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ a b Dominguez, Fernando (1993-10-09). "Like Bo, Moorpark's Mustafa Has Found a Hobby : Junior colleges: A standout in track and field, he gives football a go and winds up as the Raiders' starting free safety". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-10-09/sports/sp-43983_1_moorpark-college/3.
- ^ a b c "It's the guy in the Old Spice commercial: Isaiah Mustafa". Los Angeles Times. February 16, 2010. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2010/02/isaiah-mustafa-old-spice-commercial.html. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ a b "SEAHAWKS CAMP: The long road to the NFL » Kitsap Sun Mobile". M.kitsapsun.com. August 9, 2000. http://m.kitsapsun.com/news/2000/aug/09/seahawks-camp-the-long-road-to-the-nfl/. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ a b c d The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Wednesday 28 July 2010.
- ^ Farnsworth, Clare. "Hey, he smells familiar". Seattle Seahawks, 15 July 2010.
- ^ "That great Old Spice TV ad: 'I'm on a horse' and how he got there". Entertainment Weekly. February 19, 2010. http://watching-tv.ew.com/2010/02/19/old-spice-tv-ad/. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ Grant, Drew (February 20, 2010). "Old Spice’s Spicy Ad Campaign". Mediatite. http://www.mediaite.com/online/old-spices-spicy-ad-campagin/. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ Barol, Bill (February 18, 2010). "The making of ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’". True Slant. http://trueslant.com/billbarol/2010/02/18/the-making-of-the-man-your-man-could-smell-like/. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ "'Old Spice Guy' takes pitch to YouTube, Twitter". CSMonitor.com. http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/0714/Old-Spice-Guy-takes-pitch-to-YouTube-Twitter. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ Zoe Kleinman. "See Also: Tech Brief". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/seealso/2010/07/tech_brief_48.html. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ MSNBC: Old Spice guy wins online hunk-off over Fabio
- ^ "Old Spice Isaiah Mustafa Signs Talent Deal with NBC". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Isaiah-Mustafa-NBC-1019530.aspx.
- ^ "Isaiah Mustafa cast in Jennifer Aniston movie". CNN. http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/28/isaiah-mustafa-cast-in-jennifer-aniston-movie/.
- ^ Stanley, T.L.. "Isaiah Mustafa hosting TBS funny-ads show". AdFreak. http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2010/12/isaiah-mustafa-hosting-tbs-funny-ads-show.html. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
- ^ http://activitypit.ning.com/video/isaiah-mustafa-explains-the
- ^ "Isaiah Mustafa Reveals Secrets Behind Old Spice Commercial". g4tv.com. July 1, 2010. http://g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/moviesandtv/71300/Old-Spices-Isaiah-Mustafa-in-Studio.html. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d3RqCUvK3g&feature=player_embedded
- ^ {{citeweb|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/29/isaiah-mustafa-the-old-sp_n_988116.html}
- ^ {{citeweb|url=http://www.styleite.com/beauty/isaiah-mustafa-good-hair-apology/ }
