Yahya Abdul-Mateen II recently caught the attention of DC fans for his comments about his Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom role as Black Manta. Now, the actor has tried to clarify his comments with a humurous post on social media.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's career includes roles inThe Matrix Resurrection, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and Candyman. The actor has also starred in the first installment in the Aquaman franchise, and in a recent interview with Vulture, he referred to his role in the Aquaman sequel as clown work.
During the interview about his acting career, Abdul-Mateen stated that he thinks it's important for himself to do a different range of projects. “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.” Despite his comments, Abdul-Mateen went on to share a lighthearted joke on his Twitter, sharing a photo of himself with a clown nose as he promoted Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is coming in December 2023.
Although Abdul-Mateen finds superhero movies to be light work in comparison to his other films outside the genre, other actors have shared their struggles when it comes to putting on the iconic capes and spandex. For example, Chris Evans, who portrayed Captain America, has expressed that he had extreme amounts of anxiety about taking the role. Furthermore, Jake Gyllenhaal's role as Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home had him facing challenges when it came to getting into character for his comic book anti-hero role.
Many other actors have undergone lots of training both physically and professionally when it comes to these roles as well. For example, Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt underwent intense workouts to get in shape for their heroic roles, and Spider-Man actor Tom Holland not only made physical changes but also went to a high school in the Bronx to prepare for his role as Peter Parker, who is a high school aged boy from Queens, New York.
Since Abdul-Mateen cleared the air about his comments, there seems to be no hard feelings among the superhero community, as all the actors who bring these comic book stories to life work very hard, it just seems perhaps some actors find it easier than their counterparts, and that's alright. Nonetheless, as Aquaman 2 makes its way to theaters, fans will get to see the star in the superhero genre once more.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled to be released in theaters on December 25, 2023.
Source: Vulture, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II