Here’s how things would work for actors in an ideal world: you get cast in a movie, movie makes lots of money, you get cast in more movies. Would that it were so simple, to quote a film starring Alden Eihenreich, who later played Han Solo in Solo (see?). Take the case of Aladdin star Mena Massoud: he played the lead role in one of the year’s biggest hits, and even though he was one of the bright spots in an otherwise indifferently received project, he hasn’t landed an audition since the billion-dollar-grosser came out.
“I’m kind of tired of staying quiet about it,” he told the Daily Beast. “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.” Massoud continued:
“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.” (Via)
Sam Worthington also starred in a movie that made over $1 billion — heck, it made over $2 billion — and he’s gotten consistent work ever since, despite… if you don’t have anything nice to say, etc. But I think we can agree that Massoud is a better actor than Sam Worthington. So, where’s his “Hollywood’s A-List Redefined” feature, let alone follow-up movies? Until then, you can check out Massoud in Hulu’s Reprisal, alongside Abigail Spencer.
(Via the Daily Beast)
