Just because a film absolutely smashes it at the box office doesn’t mean an automatic flood of job offers for the cast. Take it from Aladdin star Mena Massoud, who recently admitted he hasn’t had an audition since the film came out earlier this year.
In a recent interview with the Daily Beast, Massoud said he was “kind of tired of staying quiet” about his struggle to find work since his role as the main character in Aladdin.
“I want people to know that it’s not always dandelions and roses when you’re doing something like Aladdin,” he said. “‘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.”
Later, Massoud said, “The big truth is I haven’t really seen a big anything from [Aladdin].”
“It’s wild to a lot of people,” he said. “People have these ideas in their head. It’s like, I’m sitting here being like, okay, 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?… Can you just give me a chance?”
Massoud isn’t wrong – Aladdin performed exceedingly well at the box office. The film made a worldwide total of $1.051 billion against a production budget of just $183 million.
In its second weekend of international release, the film had already made $78.3 million from 54 countries and by the end of June 2019, it had surpassed Independence Day and become the highest-grossing film of Will Smith’s career.
Despite the monetary success of the film, Massoud says he feels as if he’ll be “overlooked and underestimated for a long time” because of his age and lack of experience in ‘big’ movie roles. “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.”
Massoud also said that his Middle Eastern background makes him the “wild card” during casting calls. “There’s always a wild card of two when you’re casting,” he said. “…In a room of Caucasian guys, a director might be like, ‘Okay, let’s see, like, two guys who aren’t.’ And maybe they’ll be the wild card choice.”
Massoud’s comments are real and raw, but they’re also pretty refreshing in an industry where you’re expected to become an overnight success just because your movie performs well at the box office.
The good news is, Massoud had secured a role in Hulu’s new revenge series Reprisal alongside Abigail Breslin prior to Aladdin’s release. Here’s hoping he gets the attention he truly deserves.
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