'I feel like I'm going to be overlooked and underestimated for a long time,' he admits.
Mena Massoud is opening up about his struggles as an actor.
In a new interview with The Daily Beast, the 28-year-old Cairo, Egypt, native claims he hasn't been able to get an audition since Aladdin. In the live-action movie, which was released in May, Massoud beat out 2,000 other actors to play the title character, opposite Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Will Smith as Genie.
"I'm kind of tired of staying quiet about it. I want people to know that it's not always dandelions and roses when you're doing something like Aladdin," he tells the outlet. "'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."
"I feel like I'm going to be overlooked and underestimated for a long time because I am a young actor," he adds. "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."
Next up, Massoud takes on the leading role as Ethan Hart in Hulu's upcoming Reprisal series, but it's important to note that it's a part he booked prior to Aladdin.
"It's wild to a lot of people," he says. "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?' 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? So, it’s not always what you think."
"There's always a wild card or two when you’re casting," he continues. "I'm usually the wild card. In a room of Caucasian guys, a director might be like, 'OK, let’s see, like, two guys who aren't. And maybe they'll be the wild card choice."
ET spoke to Massoud last month at the Napa Valley Film Festival, and he talked about how life has been post-Aladdin.
"You know, everybody's surprised by the answer but more or less the same," he said. "It is. It is, still hustling on the grind trying to get my next job and you know, more people recognize me here and there, but the hustle's the same."
He also said he learned a lot from his Aladdin co-star, Will Smith, about "expectations."
"I just learned to stay grounded and you know, to not have expectations of how things are gonna go," he said. "You kinda got to be fluid and move with the wave and I'm learning that now, you know, so learned a lot from him."
Back in October, ET again caught up with Massoud at New York Comic Con, where he opened up about the possibility of doing another live-action Aladdin movie.
"I don't think it will be Return of Jafar, but I think there's a possibility of a sequel, yes," he stated, referencing the animated 1994 sequel. "I think they should do one just about the animals. Like, Abu, Rajah, Iago and the carpet all get together. Throwing it out there!"
Hear more on Massoud in the video below.
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