Isaiah Mustafa
American actor and football player (born 1974)
title: "Isaiah Mustafa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["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", "20th-century-african-american-people", "muslims-from-oregon", "african-american-muslims", "muslims-from-california"] description: "American actor and football player (born 1974)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiah_Mustafa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actor and football player (born 1974) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Isaiah Mustafa |
| image | Isaiah Mustafa by Gage Skidmore.jpg |
| caption | Mustafa at the 2024 WonderCon |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| alma_mater | Arizona State University |
| occupation | {{Flat list |
| years_active | 1997–present |
| spouse | |
| children | 2 |
| module | {{Infobox NFL biography |
| embed | yes |
| name | Isaiah Mustafa |
| position | Wide receiver |
| number | 18 |
| height_ft | 6 |
| height_in | 4 |
| high_school | Oxnard (CA) Santa Clara |
| college | Arizona State |
| undraftedyear | 1997 |
| teams | * Tennessee Oilers ()* |
| :: |
| name = Isaiah Mustafa | image = Isaiah Mustafa by Gage Skidmore.jpg | caption = Mustafa at the 2024 WonderCon | birth_date = | birth_place = Portland, Oregon, U.S. | alma_mater = Arizona State University | occupation = {{Flat list|
- Actor
- football player | years_active = 1997–present | spouse = | children = 2 | module = {{Infobox NFL biography | embed = yes | name = Isaiah Mustafa | position = Wide receiver | number = 18 | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 4 | high_school = Oxnard (CA) Santa Clara | college = Arizona State | undraftedyear = 1997 | teams = * Tennessee Oilers ()*
- Barcelona Dragons (1998)
- Tennessee Oilers ()*
- Oakland Raiders ()*
- Cleveland Browns ()*
- Seattle Seahawks ()*
Isaiah Amir Mustafa (born February 11, 1974) is an American actor and former American football wide receiver. Mustafa is widely known as the main character in a series of Old Spice television commercials, "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like". He is also known for portraying Luke Garroway on Freeform's fantasy series Shadowhunters and adult Mike Hanlon in It Chapter Two.
Childhood
Mustafa was born in Portland, Oregon to Shahidah Mustafa-Davis and John Wali Mustafa, the youngest of seven children in a Muslim family. 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, before transferring to Moorpark College. Mustafa then studied history at Arizona State University, from which he graduated in 1995.
Career
Football
Mustafa played basketball and ran track at Santa Clara High School in Oxnard, California. He did not play high school football, but he tried out for Moorpark College's football team hoping for an athletic scholarship; he became a free safety, 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 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) 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 Oilers signed him to the practice squad, then sent him to NFL Europe's Barcelona Dragons in 1998. After a season on the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns' practice squads in 1999, Mustafa attended the Seattle Seahawks' training camp in 2000.
Acting
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Isaiah_Mustafa_(4999425867),_crop.jpg" caption="Mustafa in August 2010"] ::
After the Seahawks, Mustafa pursued an acting career, playing small roles on various television series, including Ugly Betty and Days of Our Lives.
In 2010, he signed a talent deal with NBC and appeared as a supporting role in the comedy film Horrible Bosses. 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's action drama series Charlie's Angels, portraying Detective Ray Goodson, an ex-boyfriend of one of the Angels. The following year, he guest-starred in two episodes of The CW's spy drama series Nikita, 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 following year, he starred in the pilot episode of the USA Network comedy series Sirens 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, based on The Mortal Instruments series of novels by Cassandra Clare.
In 2019, Mustafa played the adult Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs in his younger version) in It Chapter Two, 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" advertising campaign for Old Spice, 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 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.
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.
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. 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 in Los Angeles in 2000; it has since closed.
Mustafa is a comic book fan; his knowledge of Doctor Doom's first name 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-restaurateur goal of becoming an actor. Mustafa had expressed interest in playing comic book superhero Luke Cage, and appeared as Cage in a Marvel Comics web short, styled after his Old Spice commercials.
Filmography
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Island | Injured Football Player | |
| 2006 | The Last Supper | Moses | Short film |
| 2006 | Even Money | Basketball Player | |
| 2011 | Madea's Big Happy Family | Calvin | |
| 2011 | Horrible Bosses | Officer Wilkens | |
| 2012 | The Three Stooges | Moe's Hip Executive | |
| 2013 | Crush | Coach Evans | |
| 2014 | Back in the Day | T | |
| 2016 | Girl Flu. | Gabriel | |
| 2016 | After the Reality | Garreth | |
| 2019 | It Chapter Two | Mike Hanlon | Shared role with Chosen Jacobs |
| 2022 | Home Team | Porcupine Coach | |
| 2022 | Murder at Yellowstone City | Cicero | |
| 2023 | Boy Kills World | Benny | |
| 2025 | I Know What You Did Last Summer | Andrew | Uncredited |
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Football Wives | Football Player | Television film |
| 2008 | Ugly Betty | Bailiff | Episode: "Odor in the Court" |
| 2009 | Days of Our Lives | Cleveland Cop | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Brent Duffy | Episode: "Search and Destroy" |
| 2009 | Eli Stone | Newlywed Husband | Episode: "Tailspin" |
| 2009 | NCIS | Oliver Newcomb | Episode: "Caged" |
| 2010 | Castle | Team Leader | Episode: "Boom!" |
| 2010–2011 | Chuck | Richard "Rick" Noble | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Hot in Cleveland | Coach Kevin | Episode: "LeBron is Le Gone" |
| 2011 | Love Bites | Captain Craig | Episode: "Sky High" |
| 2011 | Femme Fatales | Raven | Episode: "Speed Date" |
| 2011 | Charlie's Angels | Detective Ray Goodson | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Rags | Reginald Worth | Television film |
| 2012 | Nikita | Cyrus | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Anger Management | Paul | Episode: "Charlie Screws a Prisoner's Girlfriend" |
| 2014 | Sirens | Danny | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2014 | Selfie | Mitchell McMoney | Episode: "Nugget of Wisdom" |
| 2014 | Kroll Show | Hammer | Episode: "Mother Daughter Sister Wife" |
| 2015 | Baby Daddy | Captain Hudson | Episode: "An Officer and a Gentle Ben" |
| 2016–2019 | Shadowhunters | Lucian "Luke" Garroway | Main role |
| 2017 | Total Divas | Himself | Episode: "What Happens in Vegas..." |
| 2018–2021 | Robot Chicken | Various voices | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Grey's Anatomy | Brian Williams | Episode: "Today Was a Fairytale" |
| 2022 | Black-ish | Himself | Episode: "And the Winner Is..." |
| 2024–present | Cross | John Sampson | Main role |
| :: |
Video games
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Gears of War 3 | COG Gear (voice) |
| :: |
References
References
- "Person Details for Isaiah Amir Mustafa, "United States Public Records, 1970–2009"". [[FamilySearch]].
- "''Shadowhunters'' Cast: Isaiah Mustafa". [[Freeform (TV channel).
- Dominguez, Fernando. (October 9, 1993). "Like Bo, Moorpark's Mustafa Has Found a Hobby". [[Los Angeles Times]].
- Weber, Jim. (December 15, 2010). "Catching up with Isaiah Mustafa: Obscure Sun Devil, famous pitch man". [[Yahoo!]].
- Archives, L. A. Times. (December 3, 1991). "Mustafa Scores 20, Pacing Santa Clara Past Granada Hills".
- Dominguez, Fernando. (October 9, 1993). "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.".
- ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', Wednesday July 28, 2010.
- Wharton, David. (April 18, 1998). "Beach Ball". [[Los Angeles Times]].
- Farnsworth, Clare. (July 15, 2010). "Hey, he smells familiar". Seattle Seahawks.
- Stanhope, Kate. (June 11, 2010). "Old Spice Isaiah Mustafa Signs Talent Deal with NBC". [[TV Guide]].
- O., Courtney. (July 27, 2010). "Isaiah Mustafa Set for 'Horrible Bosses'". [[MovieWeb]].
- Stanley, T.L.. "Isaiah Mustafa hosting TBS funny-ads show". [[Adweek]].
- Webb Mitovich, Matt. (August 23, 2011). "Charlie's Angels Exclusive: Isaiah Mustafa Spices Things Up as Angel's Lawman Ex". [[TVLine]].
- Nguyen, Hanh. (September 14, 2012). "Exclusive: Old Spice Guy Isaiah Mustafa to Charm Nikita". [[TV Guide]].
- Wasserman, Todd. (May 9, 2013). "The Old Spice Guy Is Selling Beer in Israel". [[Mashable]].
- Masters, Megan. (October 22, 2012). "TVLine Items: Breaking Bad Vet Visits Parenthood, New Gig for Old Spice Guy and More!". [[TVLine]].
- Petski, Denise. (May 8, 2015). "Matthew Daddario & Isaiah Mustafa Join 'Shadowhunters' On ABC Family".
- Kroll, Justin. (June 9, 2018). "'It Chapter 2' casts Isaiah Mustafa as adult Mike Hanlon".
- D'Zurilla, Christie. (February 16, 2010). "It's the guy in the Old Spice commercial: Isaiah Mustafa". [[Los Angeles Times]].
- (February 19, 2010). "That great Old Spice TV ad: 'I'm on a horse' and how he got there".
- Grant, Drew. (February 20, 2010). "Old Spice's Spicy Ad Campaign". Mediatite.
- Barol, Bill. (February 18, 2010). "The making of 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like'". True Slant.
- "'Old Spice Guy' takes pitch to YouTube, Twitter". CSMonitor.com.
- Kleinman, Zoe. "See Also: Tech Brief". [[BBC]].
- "MSNBC: Old Spice guy wins online hunk-off over Fabio". NBC News.
- (January 21, 2014). "Old Spice, Isaiah Mustafa Stage 'Interneterventions' on 9 Fake Websites for Manly Products". [[Adweek]].
- Monllos, Kristina. (August 6, 2015). "Terry Crews and Isaiah Mustafa Are Now Battling for the Hearts of Old Spice Fans". [[Adweek]].
- Mills, Nancy. (April 22, 2011). "Isaiah Mustafa takes Old Spice fame to big screen". [[USA Today]].
- [http://m.eonline.com/shows/total_divas/news/822697/a-tearful-lana-confesses-her-marriage-fears-to-rusev-after-running-into-her-famous-ex-on-emotional-total-divas-episode A Tearful Lana Confesses Her Marriage ''Fears'' to Rusev After Running Into Her Famous Ex on Emotional Total Divas Episode]
- Gavilanes, Grace. (August 9, 2018). "2018 Celebrity Weddings". [[Time Inc.]].
- (August 9, 2000). "SEAHAWKS CAMP: The long road to the NFL". M.kitsapsun.com.
- (July 1, 2010). "Isaiah Mustafa Reveals Secrets Behind Old Spice Commercial". g4tv.com.
- Goldberg, Matt. (May 31, 2011). "Isaiah Mustafa Campaigns for LUKE CAGE with Fake Teaser Trailer". [[Collider (website).
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