'Aladdin' star Mena Massoud says starring in a Disney film hasn't helped his career at all

He admitted his Middle-Eastern heritage is a hindrance in his acting career

Starring in a Disney flick has not helped Mena Massoud, apparently. After playing Aladdin in this year's live-action remake of the animated classic, the actor's career has not gotten the sort of bump that he and others had expected, reported InStyle.

Massoud admitted to this in a recent interview, revealing the truth that comes with being in a blockbuster and not seeing it pan out. "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 must have made millions. He must be getting all these offers.' It's none of those things," the youngster said. "I haven’t had a single audition since Aladdin came out. The big truth is I haven't really seen a big anything from the film."

PHOTO:FILE

Aladdin made more than $1 billion at the box office worldwide and was actually Will Smith's most successful project to date. Despite all that, the Disney magic hasn't worked for Massoud. "It's wild to a lot of people. They have these ideas in their head. It's like, I'm sitting here being like, okay, 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?Can you just give me a chance?"



The actor also noted that his Middle Eastern background is still a hurdle when it comes to the roles that he does get. He has only been offered roles of terrorists - something that he has no intention of doing. "In a room of Caucasian guys, a director might be like, 'Okay, let's see, like, two guys who aren't.' And maybe they'll be the wild card choice." he said.



Massoud will next appear in Reprisal, which also stars Abigail Breslin. He got the role pre-Aladdin, he says, before producers associated him with a Disney street rat.

"I think since Aladdin my expectations for things releasing and what they're going to do in my career, I've had to really pull them back," he confessed. "As for whether people are going to discover me from it or what it's going to do, I literally have no clue."

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