Yahya Abdul-Mateen II had no intention of wasting his “Marvel money.” This is the same guy who walked away from George Miller’s “Furiosa.”
The move was necessary. By his own admission, six consecutive years of work on The Get Down, Aquaman, Watchmen, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Matrix Resurrections, Black Mirror and The Handmaid’s Tale have left him feeling drained. His conversations with Miller about the Mad Max prequels were warm and respectful, he is careful to note, but the prospect of another nine months of filming overseas clashed with his simple desire for an apartment that was hardly, in his words, a “warehouse.”
“That was exactly where my stuff was,” he recalls.
Dan Dopersky (Variety)
Seven months after leaving Furiosa, he was offered the role of Booth in Broadway’s Topdog/Underdog. He had wanted the role of Booth for 20 years, and it led to his first Tony Award nomination. The stage run reignited something that had been put on the back burner due to burnout. Then, in the middle of the play, another phone call came in. It’s Marvel’s new TV series called “Wonder Man” about an actor who needed a break and had an extraordinary passion for his craft.
When I cheekily asked him if he felt an affinity for the character, he grinned and replied, “Just a little bit.”
The 39-year-old has long been knowledgeable about the economics of participating in a franchise. But he needed to make it important.
“There’s only one thing that makes Marvel money go,” he told Variety. So he took the plunge and asked to speak to the president of Marvel Studios. Adjusting his posture and leaning forward excitedly, he says the words he said to his agent after receiving the script: “Call Kevin Feige!”
He tells the story with a laugh, clearly playing the moment slightly louder than it would play in real time, but the throughline is authentic. “My agents were like, ‘Hmm, I think Kevin’s really busy,'” he recalls. But despite the team’s mild protests, he insisted on a meeting before signing. Ultimately, Zoom will be used to have in-person conversations.
“I told him some of the things I wanted to do,” he recalls. “I said to him, ‘One of the things I love about this character is that he’s funny, and I’m funny, too.’ And I said funny, and he pointed at me as if to say, ‘Yeah!’
Dan Dopersky (Variety)
This kind of affirmation is the driving force behind Wonder Man and why the actor, known for his Emmy-winning role in HBO’s Watchmen, his Oscar-nominated role as Bobby Seale in The Trial of the Chicago 7, and Black Manta in Aquaman, has arrived at this pivotal moment in his career.
Series director and executive producer Destin Daniel Cretton had no superpowers in mind when he cast him. Instead, he saw him on stage at New York’s “Top Dog/Underdog.”
“He brought a kind of insane lightness to certain scenes that had the whole audience rolling on the ground laughing,” Cretton says. “And by the end of the play, I was crying my eyes out.”
For the Hawaiian-Japanese director, that fluency was the essence of his casting. “We needed a really good actor to play opposite Sir Ben Kingsley,” he says. “Someone that I felt reflected the character perfectly.”
Wonder Man gives Abdul-Mateen II permission to go beyond comedy and play a black character who is allowed to be human. He becomes funny (because he is), anxious, and ambitious. This clearly explains why he is eyeing an Emmy nomination for Lead Comedy Actor.
On the surface, the series is the story of a struggling actor with flammable ionic powers that he can’t fully control. But Abdul-Mateen II reframed that premise. “Simon doesn’t believe he’s actually as talented as he thinks he is,” he says. “The ability to overflow is a manifestation of his own self-doubt. And everyone can relate to that.”
Cretton reads the program as well. “I never thought of this as satire,” he says. “I saw this as a realistic portrayal of our collective experience of trying to break into this industry, dreaming big, but sometimes facing the reality of how harsh it can be, how absurd it can sometimes be, and how sometimes our dreams can be kind of twisted and corrupt.”
The on-set partnership with Kingsley, who plays the brilliantly skilled Trevor Slattery, was a masterclass in itself. Abdul-Mateen II has a working relationship with the British veteran, minimizing pre-shoot chats and maximizing trust, citing advice from the older actor that has become a personal mantra. “As an actor, the only time you’re on set is the moment between the action and the cut,” he says, quoting Kingsley. “Everything else is for other people.” For the two actors, who play characters whose friendship grows over the course of the season, the discipline helped with the storytelling. “We didn’t talk much between takes, so the audience really got to see us meet for the first time.”
“Wonder Man” by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley
Suzanne Tenner/Marvel
All of his successes are reflected through the prism of how the New Orleans-born, Oakland-raised and youngest of seven children describes his current position in Hollywood. Abdul-Mateen II is not sentimental and says his younger self “wouldn’t be impressed” with what he is now.
“He said, ‘Is that all?'”
That constant hunger is what’s fueling his next chapter. Netflix’s Man on Fire, which stars John Creasy in a more grounded role than Tony Scott’s, was an exercise in finding “the truth in situations of loss and addiction, loss and grief in alcoholism.”
Throughout, what emerges is not just an actor, but an ambitious producer. Abdul-Mateen II’s production company, House Eleven 10, named after his childhood home in Oakland, focuses on drawing talent from underrepresented communities. The company has begun a creative partnership with Netflix that includes Abdul-Mateen II starring in and producing a film for the streamer. He is currently developing an original feature film, “Bio,” with “Man on Fire” director Stephen Caple Jr.
“My goal, and part of my mission statement, is to promote more Black and diverse stories, with more Black and diverse protagonists, at a level of quality comparable to what I have been able to achieve in my career thus far,” he declares. “Every time I’m on set, I’m looking at how things are done. I’m trying to understand where the money is coming from.”
That lens tells us how he reads the world outside the studio. Abdul Mateen II was raised by a Muslim father and a Christian mother. His own domestic solidarity is the prism through which to read the moment that permeates the political square.
“We had a sense of unity,” he says. “Why can’t you?”
It’s no secret that religion has been weaponized in the current political climate, with Muslims constantly being framed as the bad guys in American discourse. He is careful to direct questions to the people doing the assembling, not the faith being assembled.
“These are not religious issues; these are human issues,” he says. “We’re working on greed. We’re working on human qualities. What I’ve been taught about Islam, and what I’ve learned by looking at the Bible, I’m learning about peace. I’m learning about love. I’m learning about taking care of myself.”
In his view, the trick lies in the framing itself.
“The truth of what’s happening is that people and those in power are using religion as an excuse to fight for more power,” he continues. “If they are guided by a desire to conquer and exploit power, as opposed to a spirit of generosity, love, and peace, then they cannot be guided by a God who is related to me. That is impossible. They are guided by something completely different.”
As for “Wonder Man” itself, Marvel handed Cretton a Season 2 order in March. The writers’ room has already begun work. Cretton declined to give specifics about the map, but said firmly: “We love these characters, and we’re not going to suddenly turn this into a completely different show.”
It’s also worth noting how Abdul-Mateen II watched his first season with his teammates for the first time in his career. He typically takes three years before revisiting his work. On “Wonder Man,” he interacted with YouTube’s reaction community.
“They got it. They’re living the dream. Many of them changed careers to continue living the dream,” he says. “And they watched this guy’s show and were trying to hang on to him.”
As for what he wants from Simon next, he seems to be a fan first and a main character second. “Simon is a star,” he says. “I’d love to have Simon in Independence Day. That’s what I’m excited about.”
He explains himself in his own way.
Styling by Jan-Michael Quammie/The Wall Group. Groomer: Joanna Simkin/The Wall Group. Barber: Nick Castarenos. Full look: Saint Laurent. Shoes: Jimmy Choo; Watch: Jaeger-LeCoultre
