Isaiah Amir Mustafa (born February 11, 1974) is an American actor and former
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
. Mustafa is widely known as the main character in a series of
Old Spice
Old Spice is an American brand offering male grooming products including aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, shaving cream, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble.
Old Spice was launched as Early Amer ...
television commercials, "
The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Smell Like a Man, Man is a television advertising campaign in the United States created by ad agency Wieden+Kennedy for the Old Spice brand of male grooming products, owned by Procter & Gamble. The campaign is commonly referred to as The Man ...
". He is also known for portraying
Luke Garroway on
Freeform's fantasy series ''
Shadowhunters
''Shadowhunters'', also known as ''Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments'', is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Ed Decter, based on the novel series ''The Mortal Instruments'' written by Cassandra Clare. It premie ...
'' and adult Mike Hanlon in ''
It Chapter Two
''It Chapter Two'' is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. It is the sequel to '' It'' (2017) and the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel '' It'' by Stephen Ki ...
''.
Childhood
Mustafa was born in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
to Shahidah Mustafa-Davis and John Wali Mustafa, the youngest of seven children in a
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
family.
[ When Mustafa was 5 years old, the family relocated from Portland to ]Mission Viejo, California
Mission Viejo ( ; language change, corruption of ; ) is a Commuter town, commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest Planned community, master-planned commu ...
, and his father opened a limousine service in Laguna Hills. Several years after the family relocated to California, Mustafa's father was killed in a car accident.
He was educated at Santa Clara High School, and later attended Santa Monica College
Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The coll ...
, before transferring to Moorpark College
Moorpark College is a Public college, public community college in Moorpark, California. It was established in 1967 with enrollment of 2,500 students and enrolled 14,254 students in 2014.
History
The board of the Ventura County Community Col ...
. Mustafa then studied history at Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
, from which he graduated in 1995.
Career
Football
Mustafa played basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
and ran track at Santa Clara High School in Oxnard, California
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...
. He did not play high school football
High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...
, but he tried out for Moorpark College's football team hoping for an athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...
;[''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', Wednesday July 28, 2010.] he became a free safety
Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...
, and later became a wide receiver.
After transferring to Arizona State University in 1995, Mustafa was a starting wide receiver for the Arizona State Sun Devils
The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...
but had an unspecified "confrontation" with a coach and was benched his senior year. He played during the 1997 Rose Bowl between the then-undefeated Sun Devils (led by Mustafa's friend Jake Plummer
Jason Steven "Jake" Plummer (born December 19, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Pl ...
) and the Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...
.
Although Mustafa expected to become a high school teacher after graduation, a sports agent
A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...
suggested that he try out for NFL teams. The Tennessee Oilers
The Tennessee Titans are the professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Previously known as the Ho ...
signed him to the practice squad
In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...
, then sent him to NFL Europe
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...
's Barcelona Dragons in 1998. After a season on the Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
and Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
' practice squads in 1999, Mustafa attended the Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
' training camp
A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...
in 2000.
Acting
After the Seahawks, Mustafa pursued an acting career, playing small roles on various television series, including ''Ugly Betty
''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...
'' and ''Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
''.
In 2010, he signed a talent deal with NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
and appeared as a supporting role in the comedy film ''Horrible Bosses
''Horrible Bosses'' is a 2011 American black comedy crime film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein, from a story by Markowitz. It stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, ...
''. Mustafa hosted the TBS special ''Funniest Commercials of the Year'' in both 2010 and 2011. In 2011, Mustafa guest-starred in two episodes of ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
's action drama series ''Charlie's Angels
''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...
'', portraying Detective Ray Goodson, an ex-boyfriend of one of the Angels. The following year, he guest-starred in two episodes of The CW
The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
's spy drama series ''Nikita
Nikita may refer to:
* Nikita (given name), people with the given name, including variants
* Nikita, Crimea, a town in Ukraine
* Nikita the Tanner, a character in East Slavic folklore
Film and television
*''Little Nikita'', a 1988 film
* ''La Femm ...
'', playing the role of Cyrus, a former agent for Division and a member of the "Dirty Thirty".
In April 2013, Mustafa appeared in a commercial for the Israeli beer Maccabee
The Maccabees (), also spelled Machabees (, or , ; or ; , ), were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. Its leaders, the Hasmoneans, founded the Hasmonean dynasty, whic ...
. The following year, he starred in the pilot episode of the USA Network
USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
comedy series ''Sirens
Siren or sirens may refer to:
Common meanings
* Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies
* Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology that lured sailors to their deaths.
Places
* Si ...
'' as a police officer named Danny. In May 2015, it was announced that Mustafa would portray the werewolf Luke Garroway on the Freeform fantasy series ''Shadowhunters
''Shadowhunters'', also known as ''Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments'', is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Ed Decter, based on the novel series ''The Mortal Instruments'' written by Cassandra Clare. It premie ...
'', based on ''The Mortal Instruments
''The Mortal Instruments'' is a series of six young adult fantasy novels written by American author Cassandra Clare, the last of which was published on May 27, 2014. ''The Mortal Instruments'' is chronologically the third series of a planned s ...
'' series of novels by Cassandra Clare
Judith Lewis (née Rumelt; born July 27, 1973), better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series ''The Mortal Instruments''.
Personal life
Clare was born Judith R ...
.
In 2019, Mustafa played the adult Mike Hanlon ( Chosen Jacobs in his younger version) in ''It Chapter Two
''It Chapter Two'' is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. It is the sequel to '' It'' (2017) and the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel '' It'' by Stephen Ki ...
'', the sequel to the 2017 horror film '' It''.
In 2022, Mustafa played an educated Civil War veteran traveling through the mining town of Yellowstone City, Montana who is unjustly accused of murder after a local miner who just struck gold is found dead, in '' Murder at Yellowstone City.''
Old Spice
In February 2010, he gained sudden fame for his main role in the popular "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Smell Like a Man, Man is a television advertising campaign in the United States created by ad agency Wieden+Kennedy for the Old Spice brand of male grooming products, owned by Procter & Gamble. The campaign is commonly referred to as The Man ...
" advertising campaign for Old Spice
Old Spice is an American brand offering male grooming products including aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, shaving cream, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble.
Old Spice was launched as Early Amer ...
, which featured his monologues. Mustafa's first commercial in the series was directed by Tom Kuntz. Subsequently, a three-day session created a series of humorous, personalized YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
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
Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
, Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
and Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
.
On July 26, 2011, Old Spice launched a new campaign on YouTube featuring a challenge between Mustafa and Fabio entitled ''Mano a Mano in el Baño''. Mustafa said he wasn't worried, even though Fabio has been "the epitome of the sex symbol as a pitchman". Mustafa ultimately emerged as the winner. He resumed his work for Old Spice with a series of advertisements released in January 2014. The campaign featured several webpages selling false products directed at men, which were interrupted with Mustafa suggesting that men buy Old Spice instead. In August 2015, Mustafa once again appeared in Old Spice commercials, this time alongside Terry Crews
Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former professional American football, football player. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/The CW Television Network, CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which air ...
.
Personal life
Mustafa has one daughter with his former wife. He previously dated professional wrestler and actress Catherine Joy Perry, better known by her ring name Lana
Lana may refer to:
*Lana (given name)
*Francesco Lana de Terzi (1631–1687), Italian Jesuit priest and scientist
*Lana Del Rey, American singer-songwriter
*Lana Turner, American actress
*Lana Rhoades, American former adult film actress
* CJ Perr ...
. He married his girlfriend of two years, Lisa Mitchell, on May 26, 2018; they have one son together.
He owned a restaurant, Jo Jo's Barbecue, on Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue (sometimes referred to simply as "Melrose") is a shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles, California, starting at Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills, California, Beverly Hills and W ...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in 2000; it has since closed.
Mustafa is a comic book fan; his knowledge of Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #5 in April 1962, and has since endured as the arch ...
's first name helped him win $47,000 on ''The Weakest Link
''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...
'', for a question on the first name of Doctor Frankenstein. The money helped him pursue his post-restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...
goal of becoming an actor. Mustafa had expressed interest in playing comic book superhero Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
, and appeared as Cage in a Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
web short, styled after his Old Spice commercials.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mustafa, Isaiah
1974 births
21st-century African-American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American football wide receivers
American male television actors
Arizona State Sun Devils football players
Arizona State University alumni
Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) players
Living people
Male actors from Oxnard, California
Male actors from Portland, Oregon
Moorpark Raiders football players
Moorpark College alumni
Santa Monica College alumni
Players of American football from Oxnard, California
Players of American football from Portland, Oregon
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people
Muslims from Oregon
African-American Muslims
Muslims from California
it:Chapter 2