Hollywood’s Breakout Star Mahershala Ali covers The Hollywood Reporter & talks Growing Up Around Drugs, Depression & his Spiritual Awakening

After seeing “Luke Cage”, “House of Cards” and “Moonlight”, Mahershala Ali is our newest crush and he takes the cover of THR‘s new issue.

Here’s what the star had to share with the mag:

On depression: “I was borderline depressed for years. There was a sadness over me, a melancholy. That’s always been a part of me — those are some of the things that lead you to the arts. It’s something I still think about, not that it brings me sadness at this point; it’s a void or fracture that happened so early that now I have to address it in the healthiest way.”

On growing up around drugs and drug dealers: “As I got older, I started seeing things happen to people. I started seeing cousins go to jail for armed robbery, drugs. My friend’s mom was a drug dealer, but I didn’t know she was a drug dealer. Drugs were a way for people to support themselves without advertising it. It was done covertly. Today, we are used to seeing all these chains and these cars, when a lot of times it was done discreetly and to support someone’s income.”

On his spiritual awakening: “I was around 23 or 24 years old when I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I was going back in time and trying to find out why I believed what I believed, and it always ended with my mother, and with what I was told — not my own epiphany or studies.”

For more from Mahershala, visit HollywoodReporter.com.