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Mena Massoud Reflects on Post-Aladdin Career Challenges Ahead of Wish You Were Here Release: 'There's Ups And…’
Mena Massoud who stars in Julia Stiles' directorial debut Wish You Were Here reveals he had trouble landing auditions despite Aladdin's global success. Find the details inside.
Mena Massoud, the break-out star of Disney's Aladdin, is taking a new look at his career's growth and struggles with his new role in Julia Stiles's directorial debut, Wish You Were Here.
Massoud has opened up about how things have changed significantly for him since he previously confessed that he found it hard to get auditions after the worldwide success of Aladdin in 2019.
At the romance film's New York City screening, Massoud talked about the difficult lessons he has learned working in the entertainment industry. The actor told People, "I think it's a mentality shift more than anything. I think we can get stuck in looking at things in a negative way or a positive way."
According to Massoud, maturity and time have enabled him to navigate the highs and lows of the industry with resilience. He reflected on filming Aladdin in 2017 about eight years ago now. He considered himself rather lucky to be able to pursue his passion for acting.
"I think you mature as you go through this industry and you realize like, I mean, look, we're pretty lucky to do what we're doing. There's ups and downs in everything, and I think as long as you keep that passion for what you're doing, that's the most important thing," Massoud added.
Since Aladdin, Massoud has been adding quite diverse projects to his portfolio. These include The Royal Treatment, a Netflix movie released in 2022, and the horror movie The Sacrifice Game (2023).
He now stars in Wish You Were Here, which is the directorial debut of 10 Things I Hate About You actress Julia Stiles. The cast also includes Isabelle Fuhrman, Jennifer Grey, and Kelsey Grammer.
Mena Massoud said he was drawn into the film's themes and was enthusiastic about working with Stiles because of her expertise in the genre of romance. Wish You Were Here arrived in theaters on January 17, 2025.
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