Disney’s ruined a few things of late—Star Wars, its classic animated films, Orlando’s former swampland—and it seems like Mena Massoud’s career is thisclose to getting added to the pile, since he can’t seem to get an audition.
In an interview published on Tuesday, Massoud told the Daily Beast he’s been struggling to find work after starring as the titular character in Disney’s live-action Aladdin, even though the film cleared a billion dollars at the box office. “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.’
He added, “It’s none of those things. I haven’t had a single audition since Aladdin came out.”
Granted, Massoud’s got some stuff going on right now. The Daily Beast interview is part of his press tour for Reprisal, a new noir series that drops on Hulu this week, and he had a recurring role as a CIA analyst on Amazon’s Jack Ryan. But considering Aladdin’s financial success and surrounding hype, it is weird Massoud can’t even get anyone to take a look at him.
“It’s like, I’m sitting here being like, ‘OK, Aladdin just hit $1 billion,” he said. “’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?”
Of course, it does not help that the live-action Aladdin wasn’t nearly as magical as the animated version, though that’s much less Massoud’s fault and more Disney’s for its dedication to grinding good things into moneymaking pulp. Give him a chance!
DISCUSSION
In skeezy long-time Hollywood agent voice: “He should try to get on The Mandalorian and get some screentime with Baby Yoda. You see the both of them in the same shot, and he’s set for life; he’s golden, baby.”
More serious, he’s finding out what it’s like to be a person of his background in Hollywood.