Ali's first name comes from the Bible (Isaiah 8:1) and means, "Quick to plunder and swift to spoil" in Hebrew. It is written there as "Maher-shalal-hash-baz."
Ali played basketball for St. Mary's College in Moraga, California (just east of Berkeley), where he received his bachelor of arts degree in mass communications. He began taking acting classes in his junior year, and in his senior year, he had a featured role in the school's production of "Spunk."