When Disney released their live-action remake of Aladdin, it was seriously a dream come true. And as soon as it hit theaters in May 2019, viewers quickly fell in love with the actor who starred as the famous street rat. Yep, Mena Massoud stole everyone’s hearts when he appeared as the Disney prince, but things haven’t been that easy for him since the movie came out. The actor just opened up about it to Daily Beast, and he revealed that despite the film making a billion dollars, he hasn’t gotten a single audition since.
“I’m kind of tired of staying quiet about it,” he said. “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.”
“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,” he continued. “I feel like I’m going to be overlooked and underestimated for a long time because I am a young actor. I’m an up and comer in the sense that I’ve been doing this for 10 years, but to a lot of people, Aladdin‘s the first thing they’ve seen me in. So I think I’m going to be viewed that way for a long time. I’m going to have to work at chipping away at that.”
Before he was cast in the Disney movie, Mena actually starred in a lot. He appeared in the TV shows Poser, The 99, Cut to the Chase, Open Heart, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and more! Fans will also probably recognize him from the movies Ordinary Days, Run This Town and Let’s Rap.
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