Mahershala Ali lost sleep over his voice for 'Blade'

His voice can be heard in the closing credits of 'Eternals'

It's fair to say there's some expectation on the shoulders of Mahershala Ali. He's about to take over from Wesley Snipes in one of the most iconic roles over the last few decades.

Even with Snipes' blessing and some advice, the two-time Oscar winner still lost sleep over how he was going to sound in the upcoming Marvel film.

Speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the 'Green Book' star discussed what it was like to carry such expectation from the beginning of filming.

"The anticipation is so great. My excitement for any role is pretty equal, honestly. I've never walked into a role where the anticipation of it were so great, where people were already so familiar with the character and have their own opinions and point of view."

"There's clearly an added layer of pressure, which I will embrace," he added.

Colbert asked Ali how he chose his voice in 'Eternals' despite not even shooting a scene as Blade yet.

Ali responded, "You lose a lot of sleep over it. I was losing a lot of sleep over this line. Ideally you want to be talking while you are filming."

"100% of the time, first day on any set, I hate it, I hate how I sound. I don't believe myself. So, you're trying to get comfortable in the character. To have to talk before you're even filming is challenging."

Despite the challenges, Ali said he was "grateful for it, because it makes it feel real. It's like 'OK, now we're going.'"