Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has been quite the in-demand actor of late, starring in Oscar-prestige bait and genre projects. Lately, the work has skewed genre heavy, starring in the award-winning HBO series “Watchmen” that earned him an Emmy statue, the Michael Bay-directed actioner “Ambulance,” Nia DaCosta’s “Candyman” soft-reboot, and he also played the new version of Morpheus in Lana Wachowski’s “The Matrix Resurrection.” While those genre roles certainly help with the exposure, it doesn’t sound like he’s always impressed or challenged by that kind of work.
The actor recently spoke to Vulture, where he compared his role as the villainous Black Manta in the billion-dollar hit “Aquaman” to “clown work” compared to his own more acting-focused projects like the acclaimed Aaron Sorkin drama, “The Trial of The Chicago 7.”
“Everything should be about getting to the truth. But sometimes you got to know which movie or genre you’re in,” Abdul-Mateen said. “Something like ‘Aquaman,’ that’s clown work. ‘Aquaman’ is not ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7.’ You have got to get over yourself.”
He continued to reflect on doing all sorts of varied projects as an actor’s requirement to keep getting work.
“In order to survive [as an actor] and to do it well, you have to play that game and then be crafty about when you want to surprise the audience, the director, or yourself with a little bit of ‘Wow, I didn’t expect to see a Chekhovian thing or August Wilson and Aquaman, but I did.’”
Quite the biting commentary on the superhero pic; then again, those projects do ask for different tools from actors and might not be as grueling for Abdul-Mateen II as on other more dramatically-focused film/television roles.
Abdul-Mateen II is returning as Black Manta for James Wan’s “Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom,” whose release date was delayed to December 25, 2023. He had also been previously attached for a role in George Miller’s highly anticipated “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel, “Furiosa,” but bowed out with Tom Burke (“Mank”) replacing him.