Mahershala Ali stars in action thriller exploring faith, family at Toronto festival

Actor Mahershala Ali was excited when he got a call from filmmaker Bassam Tariq about playing a three-dimensional character in a film in which his weapon of choice was a blade.

This time, it was not a "Blade" reboot by Marvel Studios.

The two men walked the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival ahead of the world premiere of "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother," an action thriller that explores faith, family and motherhood.

Ali plays the character of Latif in the film, a devout Muslim and contract killer, who is grappling with raising a young family as a single father after losing his beloved wife.

"It was exciting... he wrote a... really three-dimensional character, and one that was going to be challenging to pull off," Ali, who won Oscars for "Moonlight" and "Green Book", told Reuters from the red carpet.

Pakistani-born American writer-director Tariq and Ali were previously set to collaborate on the Marvel project, which ultimately fell apart.

Tariq said it was miraculous that the two finally got to work together.

"It's miraculous. There's no other way to put it... There's no better person to play this than him, and it all just worked out," he said.

The film's title is a reference to an Islamic hadith signifying the importance of motherhood.

Tariq's inspiration for the film came from his wife and his upbringing in the U.S. as a Muslim.

"It's very American, it's rooted in Black Muslim culture... I kind of also wanted to explore different parts of my own upbringing, different parts of experiences that I've been a part of," he said.

John Cho — known for "Harold & Kumar" and "Star Trek" films — plays an Army veteran turned Texas pastor, while Giancarlo Esposito and Tramell Tillman play supporting roles.

Cho said his fans would be surprised by the look of his character, who wears cowboy hats and spurs and carries a gun.

"I don't think of him as a villain. Actually, I think of him as someone in a lot of ways who shares a lot in common with our hero," Cho said.

The film will be released in U.S. theaters on September 25 by Amazon MGM Studios.

-Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; Editing by Jamie Freed/Reuters