Yahoo Finance 'Aladdin' star Mena Massoud says he's not had 'a single audition' since billion-dollar Disney hit
Mena Massoud, the star of Disney's Aladdin live-action remake, has said that he's not had 'a single audition' since making the movie.
The 28-year-old actor, born in Egypt and raised in Canada, added that people can't believe that the starring role hasn't cemented his career.
In a frank interview with The Daily Beast, he said: “I’m kind of tired of staying quiet about it. I want people to know that it’s not always dandelions and roses when you’re doing something like Aladdin.
“'He must have made millions. He must be getting all these offers.' It’s none of those things. I haven’t had a single audition since Aladdin came out.”
Read more: Aladdin stars blame early criticism on unfinished CGI
The movie, directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Will Smith in the role of the Genie, made just over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, though it suffered middling reviews.
“It’s wild to a lot of people,” Massoud goes on – the article's writer quick to stress that Massoud does not appear 'whining or complaining or in any way ungrateful'.
“People have these ideas in their head. It’s like, I’m sitting here being like, OK, Aladdin just hit $1 billion. Can I at least get an audition? Like I’m not expecting you to be like, here’s Batman. But can I just get in the room? Like, can you just give me a chance? So it’s not always what you think.”
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He goes on to say: “I think since ‘Aladdin’ my expectations for things releasing and what they’re going to do in my career, I’ve had to really pull them back. Because, you know, I got the same question about ‘Aladdin’ and it was like, ‘Oh, you know, Aladdin’s coming out. How do you feel about what that’s going to do to your career?’
“The big truth is I haven’t really seen a big anything from it. As for whether people are gonna discover me from it or what it’s going to do, I literally have no clue. I can’t tell you I know how things are going to work out anymore.”
Prior to Aladdin, Massoud had appeared in just a handful of indie movies, like 2017's Ordinary Days and 2019's Run This Town with Damian Lewis.
He also had a recurring role in Amazon's reboot of Jack Ryan, while he's next up in the forthcoming Hulu drama series Reprisal, airing its first episode in the US this week.
His co-star, British actress Naomi Scott, who played Princess Jasmine, recently appeared in the box office-challenged Charlie's Angels.
