Ahmed Best

Ahmed Best (born August 19, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and musician. He is known for providing the voice and motion capture for the character Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars franchise.

Best likewise collaborated with director George Lucas in three films and seven episodes of the animated show Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He won the Annie Award for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production for portraying Jar Jar Binks in Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II. He also voices Roux, a powerful mythical being in the video game South of Midnight.

Early life Ahmed Best was born in New York City on August 19, 1973. Born in Roosevelt Hospital, he lived the majority of his formative years in the Soundview section of the Bronx. Best and his family moved to Maplewood, New Jersey in 1984. He attended Columbia High School, graduating in 1991. He then studied percussion at the Manhattan School of Music.

Career 1994–1995: Early work In 1994, Best joined the acid jazz group the Jazzhole and was a member for two years. He co-wrote and co-produced three albums for the group, including The Jazzhole, And the Feeling Goes Around, and The Beat is the Bomb. In 1995, he co-wrote and co-produced Escape by Bill Evans.

In 1995, he joined Stomp. He toured with the cast throughout the US and Europe. This evoked support from fans and some of the cast, including Frank Oz and Star Wars: The Last Jedi film director, Rian Johnson. Jake Lloyd who also faced criticism over his performance also praised Best for his humour, saying, "He is one of the coolest guys that I've ever met." Daniels personally defended Best, praising him for his intelligence and energy and saying that the criticism he faced "was beyond cruel."

In 2019, as part of the 20th anniversary, Best cited the audience for which The Phantom Menace was aimed reaching adulthood and their perspective on the film as some of the reasons for the reappraisal of the prequel trilogy. He said, "the prequels, that's theirs, and they defend the prequels. So I see the same thing. I see the resurgence of The Phantom Menace." Initially, Best was hesitant about attending Star Wars Celebration Chicago in 2019 due to the criticism and spending "most of [his] time defending" the film and his character. Lucas named Jar Jar as his favourite character and praised Best, saying, "Ahmed, you did a fantastic job. It was very, very hard." He also appeared in the second season of the documentary television series Light & Magic and talked about the significance of his character (being Lucasfilm's first CGI character), the experience making The Phantom Menace, as well as the criticism he faced following the film's release.

2020–present: return to Star Wars franchise

"I love the mythology of Star Wars more than anything else. I love that I got to be a Jedi Master rather than me, because Ahmed Best is not a part of the Star Wars galaxy. The suspension of disbelief doesn't happen for the kids if Ahmed Best is the host." Best reprised the role of Beq in the third season of The Mandalorian, a live-action series set in the Star Wars universe. His character rescued Grogu from Darth Sidious's Jedi Purge and acted as his protector preceding the Mandalorian.

Dave Filoni said, "We love Ahmed, and he did such a great job. It was a real thrill for us to get him involved." Filoni and Jon Favreau said that there is a possibility that Best could appear as Kelleran Beq again. He has expressed an interest in exploring Kelleran Beq further and doing "a Star Wars martial arts show". He reprised this role in the video game Fortnite Battle Royale.

Best has attended several conventions as part of Star Wars Celebration as a guest since 1999. He attended Star Wars Celebration Japan in April 2025.

On October 11, 2025, an upcoming Marvel Comics title, Jar Jar Binks, was announced at New York Comic Con. Best and Guggenheim will write the issue and it will feature Best's characters, Jar Jar Binks and Kelleran Beq.

Other work In addition to his acting roles, Best has worked as an adjunct professor at Stanford University. His Stanford classes have touched on subjects such as art and Afrofuturism.

In 2008, he wrote, directed, and produced the pilot for a television show called This Can't Be My Life.

Filmography Film

Theatre

Discography Song Note"The Jazzhole" Co-wrote and co-produced"And the Feeling Goes Around""The Beat is the Bomb""Secret""Falling Apart""Take Time""Mean What You Say""Sweet Child""I Wonder""Is It Worth""Dear James""It's the Jazz"On the album Vitality of Expression by Jeff Peretz"Forms of the Rhythm"Celebrity EPas DJ Starfaker