Disney has been rolling out a lot of live adaptation of their classical animation films lately with one of them being “Aladdin”. Despite getting mixed reception from critics, the film still earned a whopping $1 billion at the box office.
In most cases, starring in a film that earned over the billion dollar mark would seem like a gateway to Hollywood stardom for many. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case for actor Mena Massoud, who revealed that he hasn’t been in an audition once since the release of “Aladdin”.
In an interview he did with The Daily Beast, the 28-year-old let loose about his frustration over his current situation. The star shared he was getting tired of keeping quiet over the ordeal and wanted to tell people that it’s not all “dandelions and roses” even if you starred in a big time Hollywood film.
“I’m kind of tired of staying quiet about it,” the Egyptian said. “I want people to know that it’s not always dandelions and roses when you’re doing something like “Aladdin”.”
He continued by saying that many people had assumed that he became super rich and has received plenty of offers, all of which he revealed was far from the truth, “‘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.”
Massoud further added that he didn’t expect people to just hand him big time roles, but he would have preferred if Hollywood just gave his a chance, “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?”
This experience has caused the “Aladdin” actor to “pull back” on some of his expectation. “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,” he told the interviewer.
The Hollywood newcomer continued, “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.”
He concluded the interview by stating that he doesn’t know what the future holds for his career, “As for whether people are gonna discover me from it or what it’s going to do, I literally have no clue,” he says. “I can’t tell you I know how things are going to work out anymore.”
We do hope that he will be given more opportunities in the future, as it will be ashamed if Hollywood cast out an actor that has been in such a successful film.
Source: The Daily Beast.
