Just Because You’re the Star of a Hollywood Blockbuster Doesn’t Mean You’ve Got It Made

“I'm sitting here being like, okay, Aladdin just hit $1 billion. Can I at least get an audition?"

He is also an ethnic looking ethnic man... unlike his co-star who is Indian but looks white. She is getting many auditions while he is struggling.

Can he act?

Tell me about it, OP.

WEHT the star of Get Out?

r5 He was in Black Panther and has Oscar buzz for his new movie Queen and Slim

He was actually pretty good in Aladdin. But he's not that hot looking, so that makes it difficult. Also, going on Buzzfeed to complain isn't a smart move, he should be telling everyone he has had LOTS of offers to make himself seem valuable. Maybe he needs a better agent.

R4 He’s actually on season 2 of Castle Rock. Who woulda thunk a show set in Maine would have a high number of Somali actors?

He's a little Middle Eastern man. That's why.

Can’t he play a terrorist on a Jack Ryan episode?

He looks like a terrorist and he probably stinks like curry and camel spit.

Can’t Will Smith help him?

Boo-fucking-hoo.

The chick from Hairspray sells shoes on Long Island.

^^Nikki, Aladdin made $1 Billion while Hairspray made $200 Million. No one expected much of anything from you.

Hes ugly. hes lucky he got Alladin.

I don't think he's ugly. He has a very pretty face. He's a fool if he thought a Disney live action remake was going to make him a star. Look at most of the actors who starred in their live action remakes. Very few if any became stars or only gained recognition from other projects. If I was casting for a film, the last person I'd choose is some pretty boy from a Disney remake.

He’s ugly now, but just wait a few years and he’ll be a monster. Middle eastern men age horribly.

He needs to put some more meat on his bones, then sell his ass to some homed up casting agents.

Exactly.

We DEMAND that we continue to get roles in movies.

He got the role because he was the right nationality. That's it. It wasn't based on looks or talent.

Casting agents confuse his name with mine!

First you're another sloe-eyed vamp, them someone's mother, then your camp!

[quote}He was actually pretty good in Aladdin.

No, I would say rather that......

[quote]He got the role because he was the right nationality. That's it. It wasn't based on looks or talent.

There you go.

[quote]Also, going on Buzzfeed to complain isn't a smart move, he should be telling everyone he has had LOTS of offers to make himself seem valuable. Maybe he needs a better agent.

....and a new publicist. The ones who allowed him to give this interview is doing him no favors. Or maybe they were blindsided by it?

R5, the star of GET OUT - Daniel Kaluuya - was in BLACK PANTHER, WIDOWS, and is the male lead of the new, highly-praised QUEEN AND SLIM.

He's doing just fine.

BOO FUCKIN HOO LITTLE HOMOSEXUAL BOY! NO ONE SENDS ME A SCIPT AND I'M HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY!

The original article is much less whiny.

Fadi Fawaz was far more attractive than him

He needs to change his name. Mena Massoud just doesn't sound like a name that would get top billing in Hollywood.

He looks like a rat with a hairpiece

Hello....

Just look at his face

He’s very dark and he looks like stinks. Has anyone background-checked him? I smell a terrorist attack coming. If it’s in LA I honestly won’t care.

Marry me R33

'He looks like stinks'

I smell the grammar Nazi coming

[quote]Can’t he play a terrorist on a Jack Ryan episode?

The terrorists are Venezuelan this season. No, really.

He's got such a terrible haircut and he wears such horrible clothes.

I guess if they made a third installment of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel or a remake of The King and I , he might have a chance.

Is there a market for dirty, smelly Indian gay porn? I wouldn’t watch but maybe there’s some freak that would.

Reboot of slumdog millionaire is underway . He can be cast in that .

I'm surprised he can't even get work within the Disney machine.

He can do guest role in one of those Dick wolf series /Chicago series

I feel like we’ve met our quota of Indian actors here in the US, what with Mindy Khaling and Aziz Ansari.

Am I the only one that thought this movie sucked goat dick?

and Alok Vaid meneon

I like that two-tone suit jacket he has on in the link. Does anyone know who made it?

is this one of those threads where a deranged OP is talking to himself, or are there really this many delusional, repugnant freaks on DL? Woof.

Yeah his looks is a disadvantage in Hollywood . There are just not too many roles for that. Maybe he’ll have better luck in Bollywood.

He looks like any one of the femme gay Latinos and brown people here in Houston at the bars. Nothing special and a dime a dozen.

Dev Patel or Raza Jaffrey will get all the roles this guy would be considered for.

He can't blame it on his ethnic background. Casting in general is now very aggressively pursuing everything "diverse".

[quote]He can't blame it on his ethnic background. Casting in general is now very aggressively pursuing everything "diverse".

Exactly. He's implying that race is a factor, but -- sorry, Mena, we just don't buy it. Must be some OTHER reason you're not getting auditions...

True^^^ they’re casting disgustingly obese black women in goddam near every show (Lizzie Beating- types) and it’s repulsive.

I was wondering that myself, r48. Lots and lots of ugly trolls posting on this thread.

He should start by getting a new hairstyle. It looks like a mushroom on top of his head.

Is he presenting hole to the right people

R57 et al, Are you joking or giving honest advice? If the latter, there are countless actors who'd do the same thing for even a minor role so then who gets lucky? The actor who gives the best head?

You guys do realize he already IS in Jack Ryan right?! He plays the CIA officer Tarek Kasser...

Quit bitching.

Hollywood is very diverse now, regardless of the SJWs who will bitch until there is not one white or white adjacent person on TV or in movies and beyond.

Foreigners believe the USA to be 50% black based on movie and media representation, if anything many ethnicities are over represented in relation to their population in the US.

He should move to the UK, they're required to cast ethnic actors in all their shows.

Maybe he should re-think the hair.

R60 Bitch we've been here for 400 fucking years. Dammit, it's time we appear in everything.

White is not the end all be all asshole. Black people have always been heavily featured all throughout American history. So it makes complete since that we would appear all over American media and entertainment. There is no America without black people.

It's not like this is europe, or even the UK where all they do is period pieces. This is America, and black people have been here since before America was America. But you knew that already dumbass.

Also why does other ethnic groups come to America expecting to just have roles handed to them? Hes not even from here. He was born in Egypt and moved to Canada as a kid. He said so the other night on Jimmy Kimmel.

Dosen't Canada have an entertainment business?

R60 I’m assuming your one of those white people that “wants there country back” and think they’re losing rights although still being overly represented in every aspect of American culture.

Their. Wants THEIR country back.

Should not have been cast as Aladdin. He was not good, not cute, no charisma, no singing. couldn't dance, NOTHING. And he has nappy hair with a bad flat iron job. BYE BYE.

after Pensacola FL terror attack, unless Trump intervenes, his job prospects just got harder

after Pensacola FL, not a chance

test

I wonder who this is about....?

This Aladdin guy really needs someone to sit down with him and explain that the film business has really changed. Very very few, fewer than ever before become 'stars' and really most of them should just be happy to be getting work. He should take whatever roles he if offered and make the best. Aladdin will probably turn out to be the only mega-hit he has appeared him and it may be the last thing he ever does.

Also does anyone who even saw the film even know his name? Most likely not and most don't care. Any of the actors appearing in the Marvel films could be replaced at anytime and nothing much would give a fuck. It is the nature of the business now so suck it up or go get another job.

R72

[quote] He should take whatever roles he if offered and make the best.

Um, it’s not like he’s complaining about not being offered a Marvel role. His problem is that he can’t get into a room for an audition. There’s nothing to make the best of.

R73 He has gotten roles in the past - check out his profile on imdB. Perhaps he should remove Aladdin from it. Sure it was successful but beyond Will Smith no one gave a fuck about who else was in it.

You could at least have posted the Daily Beast interview, OP.

[quote] He has gotten roles in the past

How said he didn’t?

Unfortunately he will have to play guys with 77 virgin 12-year-old brides if he wants work. A role in next season’s Blacklist as a terrorist.

The right thing is if Ava DuVernay and Lee Daniels and John M. Chu who claim to support POC give him work. They cast a lot less appealing people.

What about television? Guest star or regular? Daytime? There is always room for another actor, right?

R27 He's got Gay Teeth Syndrome, that's why

DL's problem with him is that, hes not 6'1, white blonde hair and blue eyes with chiseled looks. Hes not this sites standard of a white male, so therefore he's not worthy.

It would be something if he went on to become a big deal anyway. They said the same thing about Danny devito, Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce, the Obamas, yeah not entertainers but people still had their doubts, and now look. And so many other people.

Never count anyone out. White is not the end all be all. Their also not the cultural creators either, pop culture has always heavily tilted to the side of POC in America, which usually goes on to influence the rest of the world. Not white society.

NEVER COUNT ANYONE OUT.

And R67 Nappy hair? Your a fucking racist. I see you.

Also other people who went on to have huge Hollywood careers Viola Davis, Whoopi Goldberg, Bette Midler, Mindy kaling, Tyler Perry, although he created his own opportunities and studios and hes also a billionaire now etc. A the list goes on and on.

Once again, don't ever count anyone out.

R79 - TBH nappy hair is kinda gross.

Nappy hair is like pubes on your head.

Who's his competition for roles? Riz Ahmed?

Riz is a better actor and better looking than him, so maybe that explains his current plight.

R81 And R82 Take it up with mother nature then. I guess it's kinda like how white people start aging like milk and hit a wall at a very young age. And how most look very old and hard while still in youth.

It all has to be taken up with mother nature suppose.

The racists have taken over Datalounge

BlindGossip is such BS. They always take the news from the day before and say "I wonder who it could be" with a neon trail of breadcrumbs

He is ugly

He has major chemistry with Will. They're cute together.

R85 - how is describing hair as nappy a racist comment? It’s a fact. Like someone has curly or straight hair.

R89 The word nappy is usually meant to be disparaging coming out of the mouth of anyone not black. And the word your looking for is kinky or coarse. Not nappy.

But you knew that already, you moronic asshole.

Please go educate yourself about other people's hair. Black, Hispanic, or middle eastern etc. Just go educate yourself.

[quote]Please go educate yourself about other people's hair

Could you suggest some more worthwhile topics?

R90 - I don’t give a fuck about other people’s hair.

He is cute and talented...something is wrong here

ttttttttttt

Let me be sure I understand this, an actor isn't getting the auditions he thinks he deserves. That'd NEVER happen.

I said don't count anyone out! Once again!@!@!@!@@#!!@

R92 Enjoy it while it lasts bitch.

[quote]I feel like we’ve met our quota of Indian actors here in the US, what with Mindy Khaling and Aziz Ansari.

Which has exactly what to do with an actor of Egyptian heritage?

R98, and someone like that thinks you're being "pc" if you don't freely allow him to be THAT much of a moron.

I didn't see the movie. Did he do his own singing?

Yeah you go dude! Just keep telling the powers-that-be that they're wrong and you deserve an audition.

Fight the good fight brother!

[quote]It's not like this is europe, or even the UK where all they do is period pieces. This is America, and black people have been here since before America was America. But you knew that already dumbass.

Although it wasn't specifically stated, I'm sure the reference was to period pieces. In many if not most cases, the casting of people of color in various roles in shows and movies set during the first half of the 20th century or earlier makes no sense and is equivalent to rewriting history. If you don't understand that, you are the dumbass.

r31, he looks pretty cute in those pictures. I have a role for him, he just needs to buy or finance the screenplay/film I wrote.

r84 thinks HIS racism is cute and SJW-compliant.

We see your nasty rage, Mary!

R I wouldn't call it singing. R79 I'm puerto rican with curly hair so calm down.

[quote]Please go educate yourself

...said the sanctimonious cunt who can't use "you're" or "their" properly, and considers Danny DeVito non-white.

It’s indisputable that he is conventionally attractive to a large segment of audiences, regardless of race. He may not be everyone’s taste, but neither is Bradley Cooper and yet... certainly good looking enough to compete for a wide variety of roles.

Henry Goulding came from nowhere in a very small role in a popular movie, and for many opportunities afterwards BUT that movie also happened to kickstart a turning of the tides for Asian stories and roles.

Billy Magnussen is getting a movie about his Aladdin character on Disney+ and the Wokes are royally pissed about that.

I love Billy Magnussen, but I thought his character in ALADDIN stuck out like a sore thumb, and I can't imagine Disney developing a whole movie around that silly, one-joke character. What can they be thinking?

The sad fact is, though it is slowly improving, Hollywood is still massively skewed towards white actors, with any non-white ones being cast purely for the pertinence to the character (as he demonstrates in Aladdin). Casting directors are very rarely colour-blind.

[quote]...with any non-white ones being cast purely for the pertinence to the character...

An irritatingly circular argument. Casting gets pilloried if they ever cast a white person as a POC character, but now they're also wrong for casting POC actors in POC roles? GMAB

[quote] [R27] He's got Gay Teeth Syndrome, that's why

You bitches are so cruel and hateful.

However, I do hope his headshots are unsmiling because he looks much better with his mouth closed. I didn't know it until now but there is also such a thing as "gay-smile." I thought he was cute but that photo at r27 made me reconsider.

[quote]The sad fact is, though it is slowly improving, Hollywood is still massively skewed towards white actors, with any non-white ones being cast purely for the pertinence to the character (as he demonstrates in Aladdin). Casting directors are very rarely colour-blind.

If you think this is true, you must not have seen many or any Hollywood movies over the past five years or so. Because, if anything, the OPPOSITE of what you say is now the general situation.

r113

So why does Will Smith not have a spinoff while the forgettable white actor does? The genie is much more interesting

R114, are you on hallucinogens? Do you actually believe the "white actor" in ALADDIN is getting a spin-off "over" Will Smith because he's white? Will Smith is a far, far bigger star than the "white actor" in question. and that trumps all. I have NO IDEA why the stupid minor character played by that "white actor" in ALADDIN is getting a spin-off movie, but it's CERTAINLY not because of his race.

The stupidity and reverse racism in this thread are breathtaking.

I would be completely fine if an asteroid hit earth and killed all forms of life. This world really needs to come to an end. Human beings are not going to do right, ever. Just end the entire existence of earth and all life, put all of us out of our misery.

r114 everyone hates Will Smith

r116 someone's off his meds

R118 Your talking about yourself bitch.

This twink isn't even ethnically correct. Aladdin was a Chinese boy living in a fabricated Arab world created by an ignorant French storyteller who didn't know shit about geography or world culture, like the black racist troll who comes here to accuse everyone of being a KKK member when we dare to criticize a non white person for whatever reason.

Right now blacks are overrepresented in the Entertainment industry there are way more than 12% of you in every show or film. Meanwhile we Latinos who make up the largest minority population in the country, are still waiting for the same treatment. You couldn't care less.

You got mad in this thread because someone suggested he could be lumped with Indian actors and guess what? He could. Instead of hiring him to play Indian, Pakistani any Middle Eastern, South American or even a Sephardi Jew (like Salma Hayek has played many times), your stupid woke culture with its unreachable demands created this reality where your character can only play himself or a character like him to a tee. So no job.

Congratulations, you cornered this kid to play only some Egyptian whatever he is and studios won't hire him to do anything else at the risk of being cancelled. Hope you're happy with your Oscars so white bullshit.

R120 YES! I'm Puerto Rican and it's like Latinos don't even exist.

Latinos have their own tv channels.

Avan Jogia needed to be cast as Aladdin. Facts are Facts.

[quote]I would be completely fine if an asteroid hit earth and killed all forms of life. This world really needs to come to an end. Human beings are not going to do right, ever. Just end the entire existence of earth and all life, put all of us out of our misery.

R116 is the same psycho cunt at R63, R79 and R90

THE who plays who played Jafar will definitely have a long lasting career

You just know that Louis B. Mayer would have sent him off to electrolysis like Rita Hayworth. There's a six months work on that hairline alone.

R123 PERIOD. R122 Cut the crap. It's like one channel and that's for Spanish speakers. Latinos are not represented in Film and TV on the level black people are. Not even close. You see a Latino in a supporting role once in a blue moon. Never a lead. When someone wants to cast a POC it's ALWAYS a black person. These days, even Indians are getting more play and opportunities.

I hear Alexandria Ocasio story will star an Albino actress... what?

He's no Rami Malek.

He is great in Hulu's Reprisal. Also Reprisal is such a good show.

You see more black people on film and television and in the media these days, because theres more of us creating content for black people. Tyler Perry has his own studios in Atlanta now, and he's giving black film makers somewhere to create and work.

You have black film makers like, Eva Duvernay, Will Packer, Spike Lee, Lena Waithe, Steve McQueen, Jordan Peele, Lee Daniels Ryan Coogler, and the list goes on. I can't believe Latinos would begrudge African Americans anything after the history we've had and continue to have in this country. But at the same time, theres always been something problematic about Latinos in regards to black people, from a historic standpoint. So I'm not surprised at the resentment of black success in entertainment and media.

But we definitely paid our dues too. Hispanics had leads in movies and co headlining roles on television and film when you never would have seen that with African American actors. Desi Arnez played opposite his wife Lucille Ball in I love Lucy, back in 1950s American television. That could never happen with a black person during that era. They were still lynching us in America at that time.

Theres also a lot more black people in position's of power too. And when your in position, you create more opportunities for your own people. It's been a long time coming for black America. Maybe instead of bitching about black representation in Hollywood, maybe you should ask people like Jennifer Lopez why she isn't doing more for Latinos and creating more opportunities for her own people? Instead of attacking another minority group who's payed their dues, debts, and given blood, sweat, and tears to this country for centuries on end with nothing ever given back to its people.

Fuck who ever don't think black Americans don't deserve the good fortune we have when it comes to our success and visibility in entertainment, media, sports, and business. We've earned everything we have. No one has ever handed black America anything, and everyone knows that.

Fuck the haters.

Whenever I happen to see the Spanish language stations like Telemundo I'm struck by how nearly everybody on every show is white Hispanic. Many of them are so white they could pass for Anglo. You rarely see Mestizo Hispanics on these channels. Interesting, because the overwhelming majority of Hispanics in the United States are Mestizo.

"I would be completely fine if an asteroid hit earth and killed all forms of life. This world really needs to come to an end. Human beings are not going to do right, ever. Just end the entire existence of earth and all life, put all of us out of our misery."

A perfectly reasonable and measured response to the Alladin guy being unable to get an acting audition.

^HA!

I'm filming "Twin Towers". Call me.

Is R120 Gina Rodriguez??

Why? Just get Jake Gyllenhaal to play a Persian guy.

[quote]And the word your looking for is kinky or coarse. Not nappy.

As a member of the BDSM community, I find your comment offensive.

R138 I find your comments impertinent. How very dare you.