Unknown actor Mena Massoud was thrust hard and fast into the spotlight earlier this year with his starring role in the live-action remake of the beloved Disney classic, Aladdin. Headlining the film as the titular street rat, you would assume that such a high profile role would catapult the actor into easy stardom, with auditions and offers falling at his feet like much wished for riches. Surprisingly, it turns out that this is far from the case as, according to Massoud, he has yet to have a single audition since the film hit theaters.
“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.”
That is quite the harsh dose of reality for any aspiring actors out there.
Aladdin made just over $1 billion worldwide, but by the sounds of it Massoud has not seen a penny. It may have entered the top ten highest grossing movies of the year at number six, but evidently this has not benefited Massoud much at all. Such huge success has seemingly been rather unhelpful when it comes to the actor’s career, with the only real difference being that more people stop him for selfies and autographs. Massoud continued with his somewhat bitter spoonful of the real world, and how cruel things can get, even after starring in a billion dollar movie.
“It’s wild to a lot of people. 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.”
It all sounds very distressing, and suggests that perhaps us normies have the right idea when we just stay in on a Friday night and don’t go chasing our wildest dreams. It is interesting that Massoud namedrops the Dark Knight though, perhaps he tried to get an audition for Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman and was met with a door in his face. In any case, Massoud seems as surprised by the situation as all of us.
Still, it is not all bad for the young up-and-comer, as he does have a starring role in the revenge drama Reprisal starring alongside Abigail Spencer and due to premiere on Hulu.
Until his luck changes, or he finds a real magic lamp, you can catch Massoud in Aladdin, now available on Blu-ray, Dvd and Digital HD. The film will surely drop onto Disney+ sometime in the near future. This news comes to us from The Daily Beast.
