Full Transcript for “I Made More Money on Reprisal Than Aladdin” — What Hollywood Success Really Looks Like

just looking up at the stars and being like, God, I'm so grateful for being here and getting to do what I love. 35 00:02:00.865 --> 00:02:02.969 What do you think Aladdin cost you? 36 00:02:05.213 --> 00:02:05.554 Well... 37 00:02:13.580 --> 00:02:16.923 Before we get into the episode, I've got a quick favor to ask. 38 00:02:17.324 --> 00:02:19.546 Now, this is the first ever podcast that I've done. 39 00:02:19.666 --> 00:02:23.930 And incredibly, our sponsors backed us before we'd even released an episode. 40 00:02:24.371 --> 00:02:28.815 Now, they did this because they believed in our vision and they believed in what we're trying to build. 41 00:02:29.436 --> 00:02:32.399 If you like what you see, please do hit the subscribe button. 42 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:33.340 It's free. 43 00:02:33.660 --> 00:02:37.902 And it really does help us bring you some amazing guests and will help the channel to grow. 44 00:02:38.463 --> 00:02:40.324 We've taken a lot of time to curate this. 45 00:02:40.664 --> 00:02:46.307 And if you head over to www.stripthescript.com, there's loads of resources there. 46 00:02:46.527 --> 00:02:52.310 And there's other unseen footage and things that will help you on your journey as a creative or entrepreneur. 47 00:02:53.090 --> 00:02:55.491 With all that said, I hope you enjoy the show. 48 00:02:55.972 --> 00:02:58.093 Strip the Script. 49 00:03:02.425 --> 00:03:08.870 Most people see success as a moment, a role, a breakthrough, a door that suddenly opens and everything changes. 50 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:13.273 But what if that destination in that moment is only just the beginning? 51 00:03:13.773 --> 00:03:16.135 Today's guest knows that journey better than most. 52 00:03:16.455 --> 00:03:20.438 He was born in Egypt and raised in Canada, shaped by two worlds. 53 00:03:20.899 --> 00:03:31.627 Mina Masood was introduced to the global stage as the lead in Guy Ritchie and Disney's Aladdin, a role that captivated audiences all over the world and redefined what was possible. 54 00:03:32.247 --> 00:03:34.507 But today isn't just about the spotlight. 55 00:03:34.908 --> 00:03:36.108 It's about the breakthroughs. 56 00:03:36.268 --> 00:03:39.948 It's about the growth after that and identity after the role. 57 00:03:40.529 --> 00:03:47.010 It's about the mindset that it takes to keep on building when potentially the path isn't always as clear as you thought it may be. 58 00:03:47.670 --> 00:03:48.590 It's about ownership. 59 00:03:48.930 --> 00:03:49.890 It's about resilience. 60 00:03:50.250 --> 00:03:52.111 And it's about carving your own lane. 61 00:03:52.691 --> 00:03:54.371 This is Strip the Script. 62 00:03:54.651 --> 00:03:56.832 And today's guest is Amina Masood. 63 00:03:57.172 --> 00:03:58.532 Damn, dude, that was great. 64 00:03:58.972 --> 00:04:00.933 Yeah, well, you know, I had to put a bit of thought into it. 65 00:04:01.013 --> 00:04:02.614 Yeah, yeah, man, that's great. 66 00:04:02.714 --> 00:04:05.756 And I know you always come prepared from working with you on Daniel. 67 00:04:05.776 --> 00:04:07.677 So that was terrific. 68 00:04:07.918 --> 00:04:08.898 Oh, man, I appreciate it. 69 00:04:08.918 --> 00:04:09.478 I appreciate it. 70 00:04:09.498 --> 00:04:26.489 You know, I'm so thankful for you taking your time to sit down with us at Strip the Script and, you know, really peel layers back to sort of see your journey and how you navigate the industry because you've achieved some great stuff and continue to achieve some great things. 71 00:04:26.549 --> 00:04:26.729 Right. 72 00:04:27.049 --> 00:04:32.853 I kind of want to dissect that bit and see if some people can get some tips that they can sort of try and do similar things. 73 00:04:33.073 --> 00:04:33.893 Yeah. 74 00:04:34.093 --> 00:04:45.300 I suppose, you know, it's easy from the outside for someone who may not fully understand the industry to look at you and think from Cairo to Hollywood to leading man. 75 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:46.641 And it's that simple. 76 00:04:47.161 --> 00:04:51.264 Is it that simple or is there sort of a myth there that can be busted open? 77 00:04:52.124 --> 00:04:54.848 No, man, I don't think it's ever that simple. 78 00:04:55.890 --> 00:04:59.836 You know, for me, it was it was a long journey, of course. 79 00:05:00.176 --> 00:05:05.384 You know, I, yes, I was I was born in Egypt and immigrated to Canada when I was three and a half years old. 80 00:05:06.165 --> 00:05:06.546 And then 81 00:05:07.246 --> 00:05:09.428 We didn't have a lot of money growing up. 82 00:05:09.548 --> 00:05:15.814 My parents, you know, my dad was a satellite engineer back in Egypt. 83 00:05:15.854 --> 00:05:18.897 He came to Canada and basically just had to pick up odd jobs. 84 00:05:19.417 --> 00:05:22.680 My mom, the same thing, and my two sisters. 85 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:26.203 And so we were kind of always hustling, and the idea of me being an actor, right? 86 00:05:27.144 --> 00:05:31.488 For me, inside, I always knew that that's what I wanted to do, performing. 87 00:05:32.528 --> 00:05:34.150 But for them, that was very scary. 88 00:05:34.490 --> 00:05:37.993 And so I didn't have a lot of encouragement. 89 00:05:38.013 --> 00:05:40.835 I didn't have a support system when it came to the arts. 90 00:05:41.575 --> 00:05:46.459 And that makes it even more difficult for someone growing up wanting to be an actor. 91 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:49.662 And so I kind of very much had to find my own path for... 92 00:05:50.122 --> 00:05:52.324 I had great people along the way to help me. 93 00:05:53.385 --> 00:06:06.495 My drama school teachers, Dory Elliott and Janie Brennan, they were great champions for me in high school and encouraged me to go through my path and take a shot. 94 00:06:06.575 --> 00:06:11.419 But when you don't have your kind of family infrastructure support, it makes it difficult. 95 00:06:13.977 --> 00:06:24.446 So that was me as a kid growing up, and then went to the University of

Toronto for neuroscience because my parents wanted me to be a doctor. 96 00:06:24.506 --> 00:06:25.827 That's what I thought I was going to do. 97 00:06:26.528 --> 00:06:34.094 I did that for a year, got honor roll at UFT, and hid it from them because I knew it would make it even harder to get out of that situation. 98 00:06:34.214 --> 00:06:36.497 Do they know now or are they going to find out on this podcast? 99 00:06:36.517 --> 00:06:44.907 They might actually find out on this podcast or if they find the little diploma at home because it's at their house, probably in a box or a closet somewhere. 100 00:06:45.688 --> 00:06:50.034 And then, again, Dory Elliott, my drama school teacher, she was the one. 101 00:06:50.114 --> 00:06:52.136 You know, I would go back to visit her in high school. 102 00:06:54.479 --> 00:07:01.487 because I would go back and do some extracurricular acting stuff for her, teaching the kids and talking to the kids and stuff. 103 00:07:02.188 --> 00:07:06.473 And she saw how unhappy I was, and she was like, you got to do this. 104 00:07:06.493 --> 00:07:07.253 You got to try. 105 00:07:07.273 --> 00:07:12.399 Do you want to live with regret your whole life because you didn't take a chance at this? 106 00:07:13.220 --> 00:07:14.981 And so she was right. 107 00:07:15.121 --> 00:07:15.502 I did. 108 00:07:15.622 --> 00:07:17.443 I started auditioning for theater schools. 109 00:07:17.523 --> 00:07:22.006 We had a good theater program in Ontario at the time at Ryerson Theater. 110 00:07:24.048 --> 00:07:26.670 They only took 30 kids, you know, hundreds of. 111 00:07:27.595 --> 00:07:35.904 Student supplied so I just I prepped my audition and everything with her with Dory and then I went audition I never told my parents. 112 00:07:35.924 --> 00:07:46.876 I don't know if I told you the story Okay, so this is new for you, which is great Uh, because you know you and I spoke quite a bit of Daniel so I'm glad we we didn't talk about this so um 113 00:07:47.717 --> 00:07:56.721 They only took 30 kids and I kind of told myself, if I get in, then that's my sign from the universe to pursue this and if I don't, I'll continue down this path. 114 00:07:56.741 --> 00:07:57.422 Go and be a doctor. 115 00:07:57.462 --> 00:08:02.624 Yeah, neuroscience, whether it was gonna be a doctor, a psychologist or something. 116 00:08:03.665 --> 00:08:08.667 And I was gonna audition for the National Theater School as well, but you don't graduate with a bachelor's degree. 117 00:08:08.687 --> 00:08:13.189 I knew that was important to my parents and it was in Montreal a lot further from my parents. 118 00:08:13.609 --> 00:08:14.190 So I was kind of like, 119 00:08:15.030 --> 00:08:17.431 I'm just going to audition for Ryerson and that's it. 120 00:08:17.471 --> 00:08:24.173 And that kind of gives me even less chances because I'm not auditioning for York, which, you know, Rachel McAdams graduated from. 121 00:08:24.193 --> 00:08:25.594 I'm not auditioning from NTS. 122 00:08:26.034 --> 00:08:28.055 I'm just going to go for the Ryerson program. 123 00:08:29.035 --> 00:08:29.615 And I got in. 124 00:08:29.895 --> 00:08:30.876 That's amazing. 125 00:08:31.516 --> 00:08:35.977 And, you know, so I told myself, I was like, you know, I got to hold myself accountable. 126 00:08:35.997 --> 00:08:36.618 I got to do it. 127 00:08:36.678 --> 00:08:37.098 Yeah. 128 00:08:37.178 --> 00:08:40.079 And so I told them and it was it was devastating. 129 00:08:40.119 --> 00:08:40.299 But. 130 00:08:40.579 --> 00:08:40.699 Yeah. 131 00:08:40.719 --> 00:08:59.946 And do you think just because you was talking about just to touch on like I know your parents are super supportive, but obviously at that point in your, you know, when you're growing as a man and making these important life decisions, you know, there is something to be said with a parent who has their sort of best interest in trying to make sure that you take a path that is potentially more stable. 132 00:09:01.947 --> 00:09:08.352 you know, like you said, that can cost you your happiness by doing something that you don't fully believe in. 133 00:09:08.372 --> 00:09:23.765 So I was sort of wondering, at that point, do you think you were only auditioning for that particular drama school to make it harder for you to actually enter the industry so that you may not have to have this conversation with your parents? 134 00:09:25.347 --> 00:09:29.991 Yeah, I think for me it was kind of, 135 00:09:32.055 --> 00:09:33.703 a way to hold myself accountable. 136 00:09:35.623 --> 00:09:47.110 hey, hey, Mina, I'm going to audition for this one program that takes 30 people, and that's the only chance you've got to pursue this, to pursue training professionally. 137 00:09:48.091 --> 00:09:50.813 And if it happens, you've got to do it. 138 00:09:50.853 --> 00:09:52.934 Like no more excuses kind of thing, right? 139 00:09:53.114 --> 00:09:58.778 I was trying to give myself a way in, or you could say a way out, I guess. 140 00:09:59.358 --> 00:10:01.180 And so for me, that was the thing. 141 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:02.881 And then when I got in, I was like, 142 00:10:04.232 --> 00:10:05.673 I gotta do it. 143 00:10:05.693 --> 00:10:09.834 I knew it was gonna upset my parents, but I had to do it for me. 144 00:10:10.595 --> 00:10:11.455 And it did upset them. 145 00:10:11.475 --> 00:10:22.539 I mean, at one point it got so bad that I remember storming out of a family friend's house, running down the street, and basically just running away. 146 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:27.881 And then I called a good buddy of mine and I told him to come pick me up. 147 00:10:28.101 --> 00:10:31.783 And he dropped me off at another friend of mine's house and I kinda just, 148 00:10:32.423 --> 00:10:33.964 didn't speak to them for a few days. 149 00:10:34.325 --> 00:10:34.705 Yeah. 150 00:10:34.765 --> 00:10:35.746 And they freaked out. 151 00:10:35.786 --> 00:10:40.610 I think at that point they knew

I was serious because I'd never done anything kind of that rebellious or kind of that. 152 00:10:40.970 --> 00:10:43.592 And I think that point they knew I was really serious. 153 00:10:43.953 --> 00:10:48.136 And even though they were upset about it, they were like, I think internally they were like, okay, we got to let them do this. 154 00:10:48.336 --> 00:10:48.576 Yeah. 155 00:10:48.717 --> 00:10:48.937 Yeah. 156 00:10:48.977 --> 00:10:49.177 Yeah. 157 00:10:49.197 --> 00:10:51.259 I suppose that comes that moment where, you know, 158 00:10:51.799 --> 00:11:09.479 they have to decide are we going to fall out and not talk and luckily it sounds like they kind of got on board with it with you although I'm sure it took years listen I'm looking forward to stripping the script back on this with you because I know my journey and I know some of my other friends journeys you know people who I chat to 159 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:13.924 You're also an immigrant from Barbados, so you kind of – your parents, I'm sure, and your community. 160 00:11:13.944 --> 00:11:15.165 Well, do you know what it was? 161 00:11:15.345 --> 00:11:20.451 I was born in London, but at a very young age, I moved to Barbados, and then we just lived there for years. 162 00:11:20.551 --> 00:11:23.814 And then I got used to that way of life, that lifestyle. 163 00:11:24.215 --> 00:11:25.496 But your parents are from there, right? 164 00:11:25.536 --> 00:11:29.801 No, so my dad – my mom's from England, and my dad's from Ghana in Africa. 165 00:11:30.061 --> 00:11:31.062 But he's an immigrant or no? 166 00:11:31.783 --> 00:11:32.924 He was second generation. 167 00:11:32.944 --> 00:11:38.928 So my grandfather came to England just before the war, during the war. 168 00:11:39.069 --> 00:11:42.952 And then my dad and all his brothers and sisters were born in Ghana. 169 00:11:42.972 --> 00:11:44.293 And then there was me there. 170 00:11:44.913 --> 00:11:47.576 So Barbados was just a complete left field move. 171 00:11:48.156 --> 00:11:52.159 And I'm really glad that I did do that when I was younger with my mum because... 172 00:11:53.160 --> 00:11:58.663 It was an environment where sort of creativity can flourish, where it's just a different pace of life. 173 00:11:58.683 --> 00:12:00.164 There is a different value system. 174 00:12:00.184 --> 00:12:09.828 And I think, you know, at that point I was an only child, so it allowed me to explore freely without the dangers or worry about, is someone going to kidnap him? 175 00:12:09.928 --> 00:12:12.770 Or like I would just get up in the morning before my mom would wake up. 176 00:12:13.230 --> 00:12:16.571 run along the beach, go out to sea with the fishermen. 177 00:12:16.811 --> 00:12:18.852 My mom would wake up and be like, has anyone seen jazz? 178 00:12:18.872 --> 00:12:20.453 And they're like, yeah, he's at sea with a fisherman. 179 00:12:20.853 --> 00:12:23.734 And then I'd come back at six o'clock with a fish and we'd cook the fish on

the beach. 180 00:12:24.074 --> 00:12:29.996 So it gave me that sort of, just it allowed my imagination to sort of run free. 181 00:12:30.176 --> 00:12:34.297 And then I just found coming to England after that a bit harder for the first few years. 182 00:12:34.697 --> 00:12:37.598 Cause you don't have as much kind of like freedom, I guess. 183 00:12:37.618 --> 00:12:38.038 Yeah. 184 00:12:38.059 --> 00:12:39.199 Not freedom, but you know what I mean. 185 00:12:39.239 --> 00:12:41.200 Like it's just a different way of, 186 00:12:42.560 --> 00:12:43.961 People view the world in a different way. 187 00:12:44.161 --> 00:12:44.681 Do you know what I mean? 188 00:12:44.701 --> 00:12:55.867 Like if you always grow up in the city and you're used to nine to five and you're used to hustle and bustle and you're used to the standard route that one may take in a working career, you know, that's how your brain's wired. 189 00:12:56.047 --> 00:13:00.250 But if you grow up and experience life somewhere different then you're like, actually, you know what? 190 00:13:00.270 --> 00:13:04.472 I think there's a different way to this and I don't know if my path is gonna be the nine to five path. 191 00:13:04.672 --> 00:13:04.932 Yeah. 192 00:13:06.593 --> 00:13:08.074 So that's really interesting. 193 00:13:08.174 --> 00:13:14.997 And so when you're, you know, so now you've had this conversation with your parents and now you're deciding to go to drama school. 194 00:13:15.557 --> 00:13:17.598 What, at that point there, 195 00:13:18.983 --> 00:13:19.864 as young meek. 196 00:13:19.884 --> 00:13:22.165 So how old were you at that point, firstly? 197 00:13:23.045 --> 00:13:23.866 Let's see here. 198 00:13:23.886 --> 00:13:31.030 Yeah, yeah, I graduated high school in 2008, 2009, I guess. 199 00:13:31.130 --> 00:13:33.111 I was probably 18. 200 00:13:33.571 --> 00:13:33.932 Yeah. 201 00:13:34.032 --> 00:13:37.333 Yeah, because I went to U of T when I was 17, I remember that. 202 00:13:37.353 --> 00:13:39.355 So I was probably 18, 17, 18. 203 00:13:39.755 --> 00:13:43.917 So like an 18-year-old Mina deciding that this is the path for you. 204 00:13:44.578 --> 00:13:46.319 What did you think success 205 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:49.801 as an actor would look like? 206 00:13:50.021 --> 00:13:51.943 At that point, what is a successful actor to you? 207 00:13:52.103 --> 00:13:53.564 And what have you hoped and dreamed to? 208 00:13:53.824 --> 00:14:08.255 Yeah, for me, first of all, I remember after getting this off my chest and telling my parents, I couldn't have been excited for anything more in life than just to go to theater school. 209 00:14:08.295 --> 00:14:11.438 I was so excited because I was finally doing what I wanted to do. 210 00:14:11.958 --> 00:14:13.459 So you can imagine how... 211 00:14:14.667 --> 00:14:19.610 just, I was just like, how do I put this? 212 00:14:19.630 --> 00:14:21.551 Like enthralled in excitement. 213 00:14:21.611 --> 00:14:23.052 I was just like

so excited. 214 00:14:24.873 --> 00:14:28.475 And then when I got to theater school very quickly, my idea of success was, 215 00:14:29.635 --> 00:14:37.787 if I can graduate this program and become a working theater actor for the rest of my life, that was my idea of success. 216 00:14:37.927 --> 00:14:39.790 Because it was a theater program, A. 217 00:14:40.371 --> 00:14:43.295 B, I loved theater, I still do, I miss it tremendously. 218 00:14:44.997 --> 00:14:48.198 see in Toronto, we have a great theater scene. 219 00:14:48.738 --> 00:14:56.681 And so I wanted to be a working actor at the Stratford Festival or at the Shaw Festival or even at Soul Pepper. 220 00:14:56.801 --> 00:15:04.743 Like I was, my idea was like, Hey, if I could do my career bouncing from Soul Pepper to Shaw, to Stratford, I'm a happy man. 221 00:15:05.604 --> 00:15:07.744 And so that was, that was my idea of success. 222 00:15:08.365 --> 00:15:09.445 And then, um, 223 00:15:11.446 --> 00:15:21.132 I was going through the program and kind of realizing even though that's what I wanted to do, I needed to kind of open up my options a little bit. 224 00:15:21.733 --> 00:15:30.598 And so I heard from a classmate of mine who's a tremendously successful actor now in Hollywood, Lysla DiOlivera. 225 00:15:31.079 --> 00:15:35.862 She left our program in second – I think in second year – 226 00:15:36.522 --> 00:15:37.803 and she went straight to LA. 227 00:15:38.423 --> 00:15:47.567 And so we had this great friendship where she would kind of keep me posted about what she was doing, how she got her O1 visa, and all that kind of stuff. 228 00:15:47.587 --> 00:15:49.747 And so I was like, okay, I gotta start doing that too. 229 00:15:49.767 --> 00:15:53.649 I wanna finish the program, but I gotta start preparing for that too. 230 00:15:53.989 --> 00:15:56.550 And so I did, I started planning around that. 231 00:15:58.571 --> 00:16:00.232 I remember getting a busboy job. 232 00:16:01.412 --> 00:16:02.553 in the distillery district. 233 00:16:02.573 --> 00:16:03.494 I think I've told you this before. 234 00:16:03.534 --> 00:16:04.235 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 235 00:16:04.255 --> 00:16:05.516 You told me it was one of your favorite jobs. 236 00:16:05.536 --> 00:16:06.597 Did you say it was one of your favorite jobs? 237 00:16:06.617 --> 00:16:09.299 I mean, yeah, it was one of my only jobs. 238 00:16:09.939 --> 00:16:13.522 It was my first job, like, right out of university or while I was in university. 239 00:16:13.542 --> 00:16:21.289 So I got a busboy job in third year or fourth year university, so that by the time I graduated, I'd be a server, and when the manager hired me, 240 00:16:21.989 --> 00:16:27.493 I told him, I was like, hey, I'm going to start off as a busboy, but I'm graduating next year, and you need to make me a server by the time I graduate. 241 00:16:27.893 --> 00:16:28.634 And so he did. 242 00:16:28.654 --> 00:16:29.194 He came through. 243 00:16:29.234 --> 00:16:30.055

He kept his word. 244 00:16:30.615 --> 00:16:31.556 And then I served. 245 00:16:31.696 --> 00:16:39.222 I waited tables for three years, saving up money so that I could pay for my O-1 visa, so that I could move to L.A., so I could do all that. 246 00:16:39.262 --> 00:16:39.462 Yeah. 247 00:16:40.323 --> 00:16:44.886 And so I gave myself three years in Toronto while I was waiting tables to enter the theater scene. 248 00:16:45.186 --> 00:16:51.451 And I think if I had, I probably would have just done that because theater takes so much of your – it's your whole life. 249 00:16:51.691 --> 00:16:53.112 It takes so much of your time. 250 00:16:53.152 --> 00:17:00.558 So if I would have gotten into the Stratford Festival or the Shaw Festival in those three years while I was waiting tables, I think I would have just done that. 251 00:17:00.778 --> 00:17:02.639 And is that three years after graduating? 252 00:17:02.699 --> 00:17:02.919 Yeah. 253 00:17:02.979 --> 00:17:03.479 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 254 00:17:03.560 --> 00:17:04.640 After graduating. 255 00:17:04.860 --> 00:17:08.882 So those years then, when you first left, how did you find that stepping? 256 00:17:08.922 --> 00:17:16.306 Because obviously, you go from theater school, immersed in it every day, 9 to 5 o'clock, probably. 257 00:17:16.326 --> 00:17:17.207 Oh, man, more. 258 00:17:17.247 --> 00:17:18.928 Like 12, 13, 14-hour days. 259 00:17:19.008 --> 00:17:20.228 Yeah, exactly. 260 00:17:21.509 --> 00:17:22.670 But you love it. 261 00:17:23.030 --> 00:17:26.432 And when I look back to when I was at drama school, it's like, 262 00:17:27.694 --> 00:17:42.237 It's such a special time because you, I mean I hope there is another point where I'm acting that much, but I don't think there's another job where you're gonna be rehearsing, breaking down scenes, text, doing character work all day, every day. 263 00:17:42.677 --> 00:17:44.678 It's such a, and you don't think about that once you leave. 264 00:17:44.698 --> 00:17:50.499 So once you've left that environment and you're bussing tables and doing that work for those three years, 265 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:54.021 Are auditions coming to you left, right and center? 266 00:17:54.101 --> 00:17:55.322 Are they few and far between? 267 00:17:55.482 --> 00:17:59.845 And how did you manage your expectations at that period? 268 00:18:02.237 --> 00:18:10.464 Look, my experience as who I am, and I want to say everybody's experience is different as an actor in the industry. 269 00:18:10.704 --> 00:18:13.946 I have friends who get auditions three times a week. 270 00:18:14.006 --> 00:18:16.629 I have friends who get auditions three times a year. 271 00:18:17.950 --> 00:18:23.614 My experience has always been if I'm getting a solid good opportunity a month. 272 00:18:23.934 --> 00:18:24.155 Yeah. 273 00:18:25.055 --> 00:18:25.856 That's good for me. 274 00:18:27.298 --> 00:18:28.320 Not that that's good for me. 275 00:18:28.360 --> 00:18:32.405 I would love more,

but that on average, I've been doing this a long time now. 276 00:18:32.906 --> 00:18:37.973 On average, if I'm getting one a month, that's my average. 277 00:18:37.993 --> 00:18:38.955 That's been my average. 278 00:18:38.995 --> 00:18:40.717 And that has nothing to do with... 279 00:18:41.478 --> 00:18:51.023 you know, anybody else but just the industry, and that's been my average, because I keep track of this stuff, and that's my average. 280 00:18:51.243 --> 00:18:53.284 So I think, let's call it average. 281 00:18:53.344 --> 00:18:58.266 I don't know what it was those three years specifically, but let's say it was once a month, it was probably less at the time. 282 00:19:00.392 --> 00:19:05.174 But because I had a goal in mind, Jazz, I was happy. 283 00:19:05.214 --> 00:19:07.195 I was focused because I had a goal. 284 00:19:07.635 --> 00:19:18.560 And my goal was I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna wait tables for two to three years, I'm gonna save up money to go to LA, I'm gonna apply for my O1 visa at this time and hopefully I get it. 285 00:19:18.580 --> 00:19:24.583 And obviously not all things went to plan all the time, but because I had a goal, I was happy. 286 00:19:24.603 --> 00:19:28.965 Like I was happy at the restaurant waiting tables because I knew there was a bigger picture. 287 00:19:29.585 --> 00:19:30.606 and goal in mind. 288 00:19:31.027 --> 00:19:38.212 And every day when I was walking away with money, I was like, this is getting me closer to my dreams and to my goal. 289 00:19:38.693 --> 00:19:40.895 So I was perfectly happy doing it. 290 00:19:40.915 --> 00:19:42.736 It was a great time in my life. 291 00:19:43.337 --> 00:19:52.885 I think that sounds really cool because I think it's, for one thing that when I've been chatting to other people on the series or even friends or private chats that we may have had, I think if, 292 00:19:53.585 --> 00:20:04.187 an actor at that stage of their career is only focused on the acting and the audition and whether or not they did well in the audition and when's the next audition coming. 293 00:20:04.707 --> 00:20:11.928 That can all start to become a bit overwhelming and there's so much pressure on it that you start to sort of become unhappy with it. 294 00:20:12.228 --> 00:20:21.010 But the fact that you had your side job that you were doing, which obviously is not the dream job that you want to do, but it served a purpose and you had a goal that you were trying to get to. 295 00:20:21.950 --> 00:20:24.451 It sounds like having that goal is something that's quite helped you. 296 00:20:24.611 --> 00:20:26.231 Well, and I just believed. 297 00:20:26.391 --> 00:20:29.412 I just believed to my bones. 298 00:20:29.592 --> 00:20:39.093 I mean, I woke up every day thinking about my career and my goals, but I just believed to my bones that once I got to LA, something good would happen. 299 00:20:39.553 --> 00:20:45.194 And that I would have these opportunities and that I would meet these casting

directors and they would see something special in me. 300 00:20:45.514 --> 00:20:47.675 And I just believed that, you know? 301 00:20:48.555 --> 00:21:01.277 And so, you know, and going back to what we were saying, like, it's funny because I was actually happier waiting tables, you know, saving up money to get to L.A. 302 00:21:03.097 --> 00:21:07.481 at some point in my life than I was post-Aladdin, and we'll get to that. 303 00:21:08.001 --> 00:21:15.928 But I was just happy doing that because I knew that I had a goal in mind and I was getting somewhere. 304 00:21:16.508 --> 00:21:17.989 So yeah, that's what I did. 305 00:21:18.029 --> 00:21:28.998 I waited tables for three years, I got my own one visa, I moved to LA, I rented a closet in a bedroom and bought a $70 air mattress from Target, and that's what I slept on until I booked Aladdin. 306 00:21:29.418 --> 00:21:29.698 Really? 307 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:31.000 Yeah, that was it. 308 00:21:31.100 --> 00:21:33.623 You know, I wanted my money to last me as fast as I could. 309 00:21:34.084 --> 00:21:36.727 And with an O-1 visa, I couldn't pick up odd jobs in LA. 310 00:21:36.767 --> 00:21:38.288 That's the unfortunate thing. 311 00:21:38.408 --> 00:21:40.130 And those jobs aren't coming all the time. 312 00:21:40.251 --> 00:21:40.971 Yeah, yeah. 313 00:21:41.011 --> 00:21:41.692 So that was it. 314 00:21:41.752 --> 00:21:42.974 So I moved to LA. 315 00:21:43.014 --> 00:21:47.719 And then, of course, when I first got to LA, I was just, you know, I was just taken back by 316 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:53.043 the whole city, you know, sunny all the time, the weather was beautiful, the people were beautiful. 317 00:21:53.884 --> 00:21:56.886 And I lived in West Hollywood for a while. 318 00:21:56.926 --> 00:22:04.091 I lived in West Hollywood where I was renting this closet so I could just walk out my door and walk outside and it was just beautiful. 319 00:22:04.491 --> 00:22:05.172 And so I think, 320 00:22:05.952 --> 00:22:12.395 I think a big part of my success early on, not I think, I know, was my mindset. 321 00:22:12.915 --> 00:22:19.618 Just the utter belief that I was in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing for me. 322 00:22:20.178 --> 00:22:22.619 I just, that was a big part of my success. 323 00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:25.241 And when you lose that like I did, 324 00:22:26.161 --> 00:22:28.422 Everything kind of starts to spiral downwards. 325 00:22:29.202 --> 00:22:37.684 But that wide-eyed naivete that I had going into LA, I honestly think that's what brought me so much success. 326 00:22:37.844 --> 00:22:38.704 Yeah, I think you're right. 327 00:22:38.724 --> 00:22:55.148 I think, and I can only talk from my experience and listening to you, but I think in this industry, I think you have to want it more than anything, and you have to believe in yourself more than anything, because there are times where, as you'll know, 328 00:22:56.828 --> 00:23:25.504 the audition comes in and potentially the person who I'm playing opposite is just a bigger name than me and I don't really look like his brother yeah and it can just literally come down to that it's not about talent so if you start if you start doubting your talent um it can be a slippery a slippery slope where where the belief goes and then you wonder about what what your purpose is um so once you get to LA and you're on your mission you you're you're firm in your belief that this is going to work out for you how long was that process till things started to roll 329 00:23:26.064 --> 00:23:26.965 Man, not fast. 330 00:23:27.286 --> 00:23:28.307 I mean, not slow. 331 00:23:28.327 --> 00:23:28.867 Not slow. 332 00:23:28.887 --> 00:23:29.448 Very fast. 333 00:23:29.628 --> 00:23:30.249 Yeah, yeah. 334 00:23:30.309 --> 00:23:31.370 It was fast, man. 335 00:23:31.430 --> 00:23:32.151 It was fast. 336 00:23:33.997 --> 00:23:36.618 I got to LA and like the whole world opened up for me. 337 00:23:37.038 --> 00:23:37.898 It was strange. 338 00:23:37.978 --> 00:23:41.639 So I got to LA in January of 2017. 339 00:23:43.739 --> 00:23:48.400 Again, after waiting tables for three years and like really earning that. 340 00:23:49.260 --> 00:23:53.241 And in March, I get an audition for a show called Jack Ryan. 341 00:23:53.421 --> 00:23:56.762 I had just been binging The Office for the second time. 342 00:23:57.302 --> 00:24:01.122 So it's like I was watching John, you know, day in and day out. 343 00:24:01.142 --> 00:24:03.483 And then I get this audition to be in a show with him. 344 00:24:04.023 --> 00:24:06.665 So I was like, oh my God, I think I manifested this. 345 00:24:06.745 --> 00:24:08.587 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 346 00:24:08.727 --> 00:24:09.127 True, though. 347 00:24:09.307 --> 00:24:10.108 Yeah, it's true. 348 00:24:10.168 --> 00:24:13.110 I was just kind of, you know, and I, yeah. 349 00:24:14.171 --> 00:24:32.927 And so I ended up sending this audition, and I think the tape might be on my YouTube channel, but it was this, like, it's for this villain character, and they kind of want him to be, in the sides they sent us, I can't remember if it was from the actual show, but from the sides they said, they kind of wanted him to be a creep, like he was kind of creepy and, 350 00:24:33.768 --> 00:24:42.661 Um, and so I send this audition, I put lipstick on my teeth to make it seem like he had rotting teeth and I was sucking on a lollipop. 351 00:24:43.783 --> 00:24:44.604 And, um... 352 00:24:45.648 --> 00:24:49.469 They book, I get it, I book the job, but for a completely different character. 353 00:24:50.150 --> 00:24:50.850 It's not that character. 354 00:24:50.870 --> 00:24:51.910 This guy's just not creepy. 355 00:24:51.950 --> 00:25:03.275 Yeah, yeah, like this guy's, so they book me for another job, and I end up finding out that it's for one of the, you know, for one of the analysts, 356 00:25:04.135 --> 00:25:24.575 that's working alongside jack ryan don't play

by john so i'm like holy crap like i'm gonna have scenes with with john um and so that's what i end up doing and it's shooting in montreal so i go back to canada you know after spending so many years trying to get out of canada it takes me back to canada in montreal in march april of uh 2017. 357 00:25:26.276 --> 00:25:31.980 And it was my first time I had done a series regular before, but it was on a Canadian TV show called Open Heart. 358 00:25:32.500 --> 00:25:37.803 This was the first time on an American TV show as, you know, a series regular. 359 00:25:38.603 --> 00:25:42.145 And so it was a great experience because I got to meet some incredible directors. 360 00:25:42.386 --> 00:25:47.709 I obviously got to meet John and Wendell Pierce, who's a gem of human being. 361 00:25:48.029 --> 00:25:49.610 He really believed in me, too. 362 00:25:49.690 --> 00:25:49.790 And. 363 00:25:50.170 --> 00:25:56.474 You know, he'd go out to the bar with all the youngins and really talk to us and stuff like he was such a sweetheart. 364 00:25:57.094 --> 00:26:00.036 And so, you know, I'm thrilled at this point. 365 00:26:00.136 --> 00:26:04.758 I'm like three months in to being in L.A. and I've already booked a job. 366 00:26:05.118 --> 00:26:07.440 Didn't pay me that much money because they booked me as a Canadian. 367 00:26:08.360 --> 00:26:10.682 But but it was something which is great. 368 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:13.401 And you're on set and you're working. 369 00:26:13.561 --> 00:26:14.982 Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. 370 00:26:15.042 --> 00:26:17.663 I'm like, and you know what, and being in LA is paying off. 371 00:26:17.683 --> 00:26:18.023 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 372 00:26:18.043 --> 00:26:20.865 Because I don't know that I would have got that audition if I was in Toronto. 373 00:26:21.065 --> 00:26:21.865 Yeah. 374 00:26:22.706 --> 00:26:32.551 And so I do that, and then a couple of months go by, well actually around the same time, I get an audition for Aladdin, it's a self tape, 375 00:26:33.131 --> 00:26:37.112 and I end up having one of my friends help me, and I remember shooting it in Toronto. 376 00:26:37.132 --> 00:26:38.892 I was back in Toronto for some reason. 377 00:26:38.972 --> 00:26:43.193 Maybe it was for Jack Ryan before I headed to Montreal. 378 00:26:43.614 --> 00:26:55.496 So I end up shooting the tape, and my agent, God rest her soul, Rhonda Cooper at the time, she ends up sending it in, but then I go to Montreal to shoot Jack Ryan. 379 00:26:55.516 --> 00:26:58.337 I kind of forget about it because it's been probably two, three months. 380 00:26:58.357 --> 00:26:59.397 I haven't heard anything. 381 00:26:59.838 --> 00:27:01.138 I come back to LA, 382 00:27:01.798 --> 00:27:10.141 And now it's July and my agent calls me and she's like, Hey, remember that show? 383 00:27:10.201 --> 00:27:12.482 Remember that project that you really wanted? 384 00:27:12.522 --> 00:27:15.823 And I was like, no, I don't, I don't, I have no idea what you're

talking about. 385 00:27:15.903 --> 00:27:16.143 Yeah. 386 00:27:16.183 --> 00:27:19.484 She's like that, that one, the one that you really wanted to. 387 00:27:19.945 --> 00:27:21.285 And I was like, what's it called? 388 00:27:21.305 --> 00:27:23.726 I was like, Rhonda, I have no idea what you're talking about. 389 00:27:24.006 --> 00:27:24.866 She's like Aladdin. 390 00:27:25.347 --> 00:27:26.647 And I was like, I had, 391 00:27:26.907 --> 00:27:29.992 I put myself on tape for that like six months ago. 392 00:27:30.052 --> 00:27:30.272 Yeah. 393 00:27:30.613 --> 00:27:34.458 She's like, well, yeah, they want you to put another tape together. 394 00:27:35.079 --> 00:27:41.729 And so I come to find out that the reason because that's really not normal, you know, in our industry, like you don't hear back. 395 00:27:41.849 --> 00:27:43.910 for a month, it's over, it's done. 396 00:27:43.930 --> 00:27:46.371 They've booked someone else, you kinda move on with your life. 397 00:27:46.691 --> 00:27:47.572 This is six months. 398 00:27:47.852 --> 00:27:53.794 What I come to find out is that they were testing people all within that six months, but they just couldn't find the guy that they wanted. 399 00:27:54.395 --> 00:27:57.076 They find out that I've booked Jack Ryan. 400 00:27:57.776 --> 00:28:03.540 And so they look – they hit up the casting director because the casting director is all over the world at this point. 401 00:28:03.900 --> 00:28:05.001 They hit up the casting director. 402 00:28:05.021 --> 00:28:08.063 They're like, do we have a tape for this guy named Mina Masood? 403 00:28:08.083 --> 00:28:12.066 He just booked this show on Jack Ryan, this role on Jack Ryan. 404 00:28:12.366 --> 00:28:16.268 And she goes – she probably searches it up or whatever, and she goes, oh, yeah, I have a tape for him. 405 00:28:16.669 --> 00:28:17.969 And they're like, okay, we want to see it. 406 00:28:18.330 --> 00:28:18.550 Yeah. 407 00:28:18.890 --> 00:28:20.932 Before that, they had never seen my tape. 408 00:28:21.012 --> 00:28:22.274 No, no, dude. 409 00:28:22.334 --> 00:28:26.679 My tape went into the ether, wherever. 410 00:28:26.719 --> 00:28:28.641 They hadn't seen it. 411 00:28:28.681 --> 00:28:33.506 Not to say that nobody had seen it, but they hadn't seen it, and they were the producers on the project. 412 00:28:34.227 --> 00:28:35.668 So then they watch it. 413 00:28:36.977 --> 00:28:38.837 And they're like, put together another tape. 414 00:28:39.598 --> 00:28:42.018 I had a trip book with my family. 415 00:28:42.158 --> 00:28:43.759 I told them I'm not coming. 416 00:28:43.799 --> 00:28:44.679 I was like, I'm not coming. 417 00:28:44.699 --> 00:28:45.599 I gotta prep for this. 418 00:28:46.199 --> 00:28:51.440 I had to prepare a song and like two scenes or maybe two songs and a couple of scenes, whatever it was. 419 00:28:52.121 --> 00:28:53.241 And so I do that. 420 00:28:53.401 --> 00:28:57.962 And then they're like, we want you to come to

London to a screen test for this. 421 00:28:59.523 --> 00:29:03.226 And so yeah, two trips to London later, I booked the job. 422 00:29:03.246 --> 00:29:06.088 So that was in June, July of 2017. 423 00:29:06.608 --> 00:29:09.290 So when I say things happen fast for me, I really. 424 00:29:09.390 --> 00:29:11.292 Yeah, yeah, yeah, that did happen fast. 425 00:29:11.312 --> 00:29:15.995 You didn't have a sort of a chance to doubt the process at all up until this phase really. 426 00:29:16.055 --> 00:29:19.218 No, and I was still so positive. 427 00:29:19.238 --> 00:29:19.978 Like, you know what I mean? 428 00:29:19.998 --> 00:29:23.841 It was just nothing, nothing could get me out of that positivity. 429 00:29:24.322 --> 00:29:25.383 And the irony is, 430 00:29:26.626 --> 00:29:29.687 Aladdin coming out took me out of that positivity. 431 00:29:29.807 --> 00:29:34.609 It's insane how that happens, but at the time, nothing could take me out of my positive mindset. 432 00:29:34.929 --> 00:29:42.332 I was just so optimistic and had such utter belief in myself that nothing could take me out of that mindset. 433 00:29:42.352 --> 00:29:43.513 I love that, I love that. 434 00:29:44.053 --> 00:29:52.677 So then, so yeah, so you book Aladdin, and what do you, when you've done the different tests for it, you've got the role now. 435 00:29:53.768 --> 00:29:58.891 What do you say to yourself in that moment where you get the call and it's like, yeah, you're going to be the guy. 436 00:29:59.531 --> 00:30:01.433 And what do you think? 437 00:30:01.813 --> 00:30:04.194 Do you start thinking post-Aladdin? 438 00:30:04.454 --> 00:30:06.576 Do you start thinking about what life could be like? 439 00:30:06.856 --> 00:30:07.596 What could happen? 440 00:30:07.756 --> 00:30:09.257 Well, here's what I'll tell you what happened. 441 00:30:09.277 --> 00:30:11.058 I think this is what's screwed me. 442 00:30:11.178 --> 00:30:12.559 Are you an R-rated show? 443 00:30:13.320 --> 00:30:13.900 No, you can do it. 444 00:30:13.920 --> 00:30:14.920 You can say what you want to do. 445 00:30:14.940 --> 00:30:15.581 Yeah, all right. 446 00:30:15.601 --> 00:30:17.062 This is what fucked me over a little bit. 447 00:30:17.082 --> 00:30:18.082 Yeah. 448 00:30:19.403 --> 00:30:22.286 So I've always been good at high pressure moments. 449 00:30:22.346 --> 00:30:23.186 I actually love them. 450 00:30:23.346 --> 00:30:23.987 Yeah. 451 00:30:24.127 --> 00:30:27.230 You know, I was valedictorian in elementary school and high school. 452 00:30:28.491 --> 00:30:29.992 You know, I like I like the pressure. 453 00:30:30.092 --> 00:30:31.173 I like pressure moments. 454 00:30:32.094 --> 00:30:33.014 It's what I live for. 455 00:30:33.435 --> 00:30:39.220 And so when I book the job, when I hear I finally get the job, I'm telling myself, all right, this is it. 456 00:30:39.640 --> 00:30:41.061 This is everything you've ever wanted. 457 00:30:41.662 --> 00:30:46.526 And now you have to put your head down and grind harder than you've ever grinded before. 458 00:30:47.778 --> 00:30:58.221 Um, and if you do that, you're gonna, this is it that you're gonna be this, you know, you're gonna get everything in life that you want to get if you just do that. 459 00:30:58.501 --> 00:30:58.661 Yeah. 460 00:30:58.741 --> 00:30:58.921 Right. 461 00:30:59.041 --> 00:31:02.662 And maybe it was my way of hyping myself up, but I believed it. 462 00:31:02.822 --> 00:31:03.002 Yeah. 463 00:31:03.382 --> 00:31:04.122 And that's what I did. 464 00:31:04.302 --> 00:31:07.183 You know, I got to London six weeks before the shooting. 465 00:31:07.503 --> 00:31:10.704 You know, you can, I'm pretty confident you can ask anybody I've worked with. 466 00:31:10.724 --> 00:31:13.745 They'll tell you like, you know, he, he was, he was working hard. 467 00:31:13.905 --> 00:31:14.125 Yeah. 468 00:31:14.505 --> 00:31:14.685 Um. 469 00:31:15.625 --> 00:31:27.936 And so I was, you know, between dance rehearsals, vocal training, I was, you know, physical body training twice a day, six days a week with a trainer. 470 00:31:28.296 --> 00:31:29.317 You know, I was doing it all. 471 00:31:29.457 --> 00:31:30.158 Yeah. 472 00:31:30.218 --> 00:31:35.663 I was learning how to play the oud because Aladdin was actually supposed to play the oud in one of the scenes in Aladdin. 473 00:31:35.723 --> 00:31:38.045 And then last minute Guy Ritchie wanted Jasmine to play it. 474 00:31:38.065 --> 00:31:40.227 So when you watch a movie, you'll see Jasmine playing the oud. 475 00:31:40.527 --> 00:31:42.348 where it's up in the top of where you live. 476 00:31:42.388 --> 00:31:43.188 Yeah, in his tower. 477 00:31:43.248 --> 00:31:44.148 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 478 00:31:44.208 --> 00:31:47.509 So she's actually playing it, but for a while we thought Aladdin was gonna play it. 479 00:31:47.669 --> 00:31:54.891 So I was learning how to play the oud, I was learning how to camel ride, I had to train to scuba dive because I wanted to do the drowning scene myself. 480 00:31:55.331 --> 00:31:56.351 So I was doing all that. 481 00:31:56.411 --> 00:31:57.852 So I was like- You was all in. 482 00:31:58.112 --> 00:32:01.553 I was all in, I was like, if you do that, you'll get everything you want. 483 00:32:03.570 --> 00:32:04.550 and it worked. 484 00:32:04.790 --> 00:32:06.051 I mean, we made a billion dollars. 485 00:32:06.091 --> 00:32:07.132 It was great. 486 00:32:07.532 --> 00:32:07.912 It worked. 487 00:32:08.192 --> 00:32:11.194 It's one of the highest grossing, or it is the highest grossing Disney. 488 00:32:11.734 --> 00:32:16.517 I mean, I think Disney, if you count Marvel, they've got a ton of movies that are making over that. 489 00:32:16.597 --> 00:32:17.337 It did good numbers. 490 00:32:17.558 --> 00:32:21.780 It did really good numbers, and it exceeded expectations, and everything worked. 491 00:32:21.820 --> 00:32:30.925 Chemistry between me and Will, and me and Naomi, and Naomi and Will, and

everything and everything, and Guy Ritchie's directing, and the producing, and Disney just hit it out of the ballpark. 492 00:32:30.945 --> 00:32:31.686 So everything worked. 493 00:32:32.407 --> 00:32:34.645 But I think because I had told myself 494 00:32:35.738 --> 00:32:41.122 if you work your ass off and this movie does well, you will never have to want again. 495 00:32:42.183 --> 00:32:48.268 I think that ended up screwing me over because then when that didn't happen, my world fell apart. 496 00:32:49.209 --> 00:32:51.591 I was like, what happened? 497 00:32:52.372 --> 00:32:53.212 Like what happened? 498 00:32:53.232 --> 00:33:01.599 You told, you know, this was all supposed to work out and it worked out for the movie and the studio and everything, so why isn't it working out for you? 499 00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:03.080 And I think that's kind of, 500 00:33:04.266 --> 00:33:09.454 Why I started going to such a negative, dark place after. 501 00:33:09.774 --> 00:33:10.275 You know what I mean? 502 00:33:10.295 --> 00:33:15.262 So it might have been the result of me trying to hype myself up that I started buying that Kool-Aid. 503 00:33:15.603 --> 00:33:18.507 When in fact, maybe I should have told myself, you know... 504 00:33:19.168 --> 00:33:20.468 Don't have any expectations. 505 00:33:20.488 --> 00:33:21.549 You don't know what's going to happen. 506 00:33:21.769 --> 00:33:27.571 But then maybe if I would have told myself that, I wouldn't have worked as hard or I wouldn't have been as good on screen. 507 00:33:27.651 --> 00:33:30.372 And so it kind of just – it all just worked out that way. 508 00:33:30.452 --> 00:33:31.092 Yeah, listen. 509 00:33:31.112 --> 00:33:33.133 I don't think – I think anyone – 510 00:33:34.673 --> 00:33:45.020 Me included in this, like if that had been me and that I was in your shoes and that opportunity and I was about to go and do that, I think it'd be hard not to think what you were thinking. 511 00:33:45.101 --> 00:33:45.721 Do you know what I mean? 512 00:33:45.741 --> 00:33:46.882 I'm about to go and play Aladdin. 513 00:33:46.982 --> 00:33:51.465 I mean, I'm smiling thinking about that, thinking that that's actually me going to do that. 514 00:33:51.485 --> 00:33:53.647 I'm going to work with Will Smith and Guy Ritchie. 515 00:33:53.887 --> 00:33:57.910 And, you know, it'd be hard not to think that everything would fall into place like that. 516 00:33:58.690 --> 00:34:02.513 What do you think Aladdin cost you personally? 517 00:34:03.890 --> 00:34:07.172 Not in terms of money, in terms of like... No, no, I get what you're saying. 518 00:34:07.192 --> 00:34:08.292 Mina. 519 00:34:10.313 --> 00:34:11.914 Well, a few obvious things. 520 00:34:12.214 --> 00:34:15.756 It cost me a lot of my anonymity, obviously. 521 00:34:16.317 --> 00:34:24.861 It took me a while after that to be able to go out and get used to the idea that people were going to recognize me and come up and take pictures with me. 522 00:34:24.881 --> 00:34:29.764 Because anybody that knows me, including you, you know I'm like an extrovert introvert. 523 00:34:29.784 --> 00:34:30.104 Yeah, yeah. 524 00:34:30.164 --> 00:34:34.906 So when I'm out and about and I'm on set and I'm working, I'm very much an extrovert. 525 00:34:35.126 --> 00:34:37.287 But when I'm home, I like to be home. 526 00:34:37.447 --> 00:34:37.627 Yeah. 527 00:34:38.147 --> 00:34:48.531 And so the idea of having to go out and be recognized all the time was really scary for me. 528 00:34:49.051 --> 00:34:50.932 And it really took a lot of getting used to. 529 00:34:51.412 --> 00:34:59.415 And then what you've got to understand, too, is when you're super famous, which I'm not, but when you're super famous. 530 00:35:00.780 --> 00:35:04.622 you can handle that stuff because you have the means to handle it. 531 00:35:05.082 --> 00:35:07.903 You can hire people to protect you. 532 00:35:08.344 --> 00:35:12.786 You can book out a room in a restaurant if you don't want to be bothered. 533 00:35:13.046 --> 00:35:16.027 There are ways for you to handle the, 534 00:35:17.468 --> 00:35:17.788 The fame. 535 00:35:18.008 --> 00:35:18.168 Yeah. 536 00:35:18.208 --> 00:35:18.708 You know what I mean? 537 00:35:19.249 --> 00:35:29.992 But when you're coming off something like Aladdin where you don't make a ton of money and you definitely don't have the means to do that stuff, you kind of just have to handle it as it comes to you. 538 00:35:30.032 --> 00:35:32.613 There's nobody to protect you from it is what I mean. 539 00:35:33.093 --> 00:35:37.254 And so there's no booking out the entire theater if you want to go watch a movie. 540 00:35:37.434 --> 00:35:38.794 You know, so that used to happen to me. 541 00:35:38.814 --> 00:35:41.675 I would you know, I wanted to go watch movies and I would go watch movies. 542 00:35:41.695 --> 00:35:46.697 And obviously people that go watch movies are more likely to recognize you because they're movie lovers. 543 00:35:47.157 --> 00:35:48.618 And so there was no way around that. 544 00:35:48.638 --> 00:35:52.319 You know, I would go to a movie and then after that, everybody would, you know, 545 00:35:52.939 --> 00:35:54.780 come and wanna take photos and stuff, which is great. 546 00:35:55.161 --> 00:35:59.203 But there was no way to afford being able to book out the whole theater. 547 00:35:59.263 --> 00:36:11.972 So it was either I don't go to the theater or I wait for the movie to come out on digital, or I go to the theater knowing that I'm gonna meet people and they're gonna take photos and that's all good. 548 00:36:12.272 --> 00:36:13.573 But sometimes, you know, 549 00:36:14.754 --> 00:36:16.455 Sometimes a person is not built for that. 550 00:36:16.775 --> 00:36:17.555 You know what I mean? 551 00:36:17.675 --> 00:36:21.697 And sometimes people, there's people that love that, you know, that want more of that. 552 00:36:22.277 --> 00:36:28.120 So, so I think for one, you know, it

cost me a little bit of that, but I kind of knew that that was going to happen. 553 00:36:28.140 --> 00:36:31.562 I mean, if you want to be a successful actor in the public eye, that's going to happen. 554 00:36:31.602 --> 00:36:35.103 I think now after years and years, I've kind of accepted it and I embrace it. 555 00:36:35.504 --> 00:36:42.087 You know, I, I love meeting people and, and, you know, for me now, the way I viewed it, if it's not happening, then I'm not doing a good job. 556 00:36:42.167 --> 00:36:42.947 You know what I mean? 557 00:36:43.227 --> 00:36:45.388 I'm not doing a good enough job. 558 00:36:45.428 --> 00:36:48.851 So that's kind of the way I view it, but that was a mentality shift. 559 00:36:49.111 --> 00:36:51.512 And I think it just cost me my sanity for a while. 560 00:36:52.053 --> 00:36:57.176 But that's nobody's fault except me just going through the journey. 561 00:36:57.196 --> 00:37:04.140 I think it cost me my sanity because I had all these expectations, and when they didn't happen, I questioned myself. 562 00:37:04.260 --> 00:37:05.341 I questioned the world. 563 00:37:05.401 --> 00:37:06.542 I questioned the industry. 564 00:37:06.582 --> 00:37:08.163 I questioned my team. 565 00:37:08.203 --> 00:37:09.464 I questioned everything around me. 566 00:37:11.086 --> 00:37:12.407 But I've grown up a lot. 567 00:37:12.447 --> 00:37:14.651 That was when I was 26. 568 00:37:14.891 --> 00:37:17.615 I'm 34 now. 569 00:37:17.655 --> 00:37:21.059 So it's a long time ago, and you grow up a lot. 570 00:37:21.180 --> 00:37:22.982 You learn lessons when you go through certain things. 571 00:37:23.302 --> 00:37:26.968 And when you go from your 20s to 30s especially, I think you learn a lot. 572 00:37:27.490 --> 00:37:30.132 This is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. 573 00:37:30.552 --> 00:37:36.976 With Strip the Script, it was really important to me that we only partnered with brands that felt aligned with what this series is about. 574 00:37:37.516 --> 00:37:47.383 That's why I'm genuinely proud to have BetterHelp supporting Series 1, because so many of the conversations you're gonna hear are about us talking about the things that we don't normally talk about. 575 00:37:47.863 --> 00:37:53.827 Self-doubt, rejection, uncertainty, and that age-old question, am I doing enough? 576 00:37:54.647 --> 00:38:09.783 If there's one thing I wish I could do better, it would be worrying less about what's next, because in this industry, it's all too easy to get caught up on the next job, the next opportunity and the next yes, when really I'd love to be able to just appreciate where I am now. 577 00:38:10.544 --> 00:38:18.226 Nearly half of the BetterHelp UK members are trying therapy for the first time, so if you're thinking about therapy, you're far from alone. 578 00:38:18.986 --> 00:38:21.347 Feeling better looks different on all of us. 579 00:38:21.707 --> 00:38:30.249 Whether you're trying to help manage stress, build healthier habits, or simply checking in with yourself, therapy is a great way to move forward. 580 00:38:31.009 --> 00:38:38.794 Sign up and get 10% off at www.betterhelp.com forward slash act to flow 10. 581 00:38:39.594 --> 00:38:46.958 That's www.betterhelp.com forward slash act to flow 10. 582 00:38:48.519 --> 00:38:51.681 Strip the Script is also brought to you by My Actor Flow. 583 00:38:52.101 --> 00:38:59.506 Now, one of the reasons I created this series is because I know exactly how hard it is to build a creative career when nobody gives you a roadmap. 584 00:39:00.027 --> 00:39:05.210 On the show, we've heard the lessons, the setbacks and the turning points on other people's careers. 585 00:39:05.831 --> 00:39:08.953 My Actor Flow helps you take control of yours. 586 00:39:09.573 --> 00:39:13.355 It's an all-in-one career platform specifically built for actors. 587 00:39:13.895 --> 00:39:24.940 It's a place where you can track your auditions, organize your contacts, learn lines, analyze scenes, manage your materials, and helps you stay focused on where you're trying to get to. 588 00:39:25.320 --> 00:39:33.223 They even offer free workshops with leading casting directors, producers, and directors, a service we normally have to pay for. 589 00:39:33.724 --> 00:39:38.726 Because talent matters, but so does the structure we put around that talent. 590 00:39:39.506 --> 00:39:48.774 If you're serious about wanting to sustain a career as an actor, go over to myactorflow.com and type in STS15. 591 00:39:49.235 --> 00:39:53.238 That's STS15 to get a 15% discount. 592 00:39:53.939 --> 00:39:58.563 Strip the Script is all about the conversations I'd wish I'd heard earlier in my career. 593 00:39:59.024 --> 00:40:02.467 And My Actor Flow are the tools that you'll need to sustain it. 594 00:40:03.047 --> 00:40:05.970 Yeah, I think there's a big change once you get to like 30, 31. 595 00:40:06.170 --> 00:40:07.131 Yeah. 596 00:40:07.591 --> 00:40:12.416 You mentioned there, you know, about it costing you your sanity for a little while. 597 00:40:14.991 --> 00:40:23.079 In those moments and during that period, I'm not sure how long there was uncertainty for you during that journey, part of your journey. 598 00:40:23.660 --> 00:40:31.908 But, you know, you'd mentioned in the past that auditions didn't come how you thought they would come from the role, which is totally like that is the least that you would expect to happen. 599 00:40:32.909 --> 00:40:33.429 How did you... 600 00:40:34.210 --> 00:40:37.391 sort of deal with that moment in your life? 601 00:40:37.551 --> 00:40:40.391 Like, did you, was there someone who you could speak to? 602 00:40:40.611 --> 00:40:42.532 Was it family rallying around? 603 00:40:42.592 --> 00:40:47.073 Was it you just talking to yourself and trying, like, how did you get yourself out of that place? 604 00:40:47.213 --> 00:40:49.653 Well, here's the other thing too, right? 605 00:40:51.374 --> 00:40:58.475 I didn't have anybody

in my life that had gone through this before or even been an actor or in the industry before. 606 00:40:58.975 --> 00:41:02.076 So sometimes when your uncle or your father or... 607 00:41:04.137 --> 00:41:06.139 A family friend is an actor. 608 00:41:06.199 --> 00:41:08.060 You can call him up and be like, how do I handle this? 609 00:41:08.100 --> 00:41:08.720 How do I do this? 610 00:41:09.060 --> 00:41:10.021 I didn't have that. 611 00:41:10.041 --> 00:41:13.543 I'm the first person in my lineage to go through this. 612 00:41:14.023 --> 00:41:15.284 So I have to figure it out. 613 00:41:16.104 --> 00:41:21.928 And I take pride in that because I'm probably figuring it out from future generations that maybe want to go into the arts or – 614 00:41:22.508 --> 00:41:25.050 people in my community that will want to go through the arts. 615 00:41:25.130 --> 00:41:32.575 I'm figuring it out for for all of us, you know, so I didn't have anybody to call and ask or whatever. 616 00:41:33.056 --> 00:41:37.539 Will was a great help when I was on set and gave me a lot of great advice when I was on set. 617 00:41:38.019 --> 00:41:44.383 But after, you know, the movie came out and and a few months later, I just didn't feel like I could reach out to him for that kind of stuff. 618 00:41:44.424 --> 00:41:45.604 I just said, you know, he's busy. 619 00:41:45.624 --> 00:41:47.406 He's not, you know, I didn't want to bother him. 620 00:41:47.526 --> 00:41:47.746 Yeah. 621 00:41:48.926 --> 00:41:59.851 And so for me, it was just dealing with it myself and my manager, who's been my manager for over a decade now. 622 00:42:00.051 --> 00:42:06.414 I would talk to him a lot about what was going on with me and how I was feeling, how I was thinking. 623 00:42:06.774 --> 00:42:07.995 And he gave me his perspective. 624 00:42:08.035 --> 00:42:08.815 Again, he's a manager. 625 00:42:08.835 --> 00:42:09.596 He's not an actor. 626 00:42:09.676 --> 00:42:11.817 So he can give me his perspective. 627 00:42:12.717 --> 00:42:14.918 So he did, and that helped me a little bit. 628 00:42:15.318 --> 00:42:21.242 But to be honest, going through that experience made me realize that I didn't have enough mentors in my life. 629 00:42:21.642 --> 00:42:30.206 And I think that's such a huge thing that's important for anybody going through any industry, whether you're a doctor or a lawyer or whatever it is, you gotta have mentors in your life. 630 00:42:30.567 --> 00:42:32.247 And you gotta seek them out. 631 00:42:32.307 --> 00:42:34.168 And that was something that I didn't do a good job of. 632 00:42:34.208 --> 00:42:36.530 I didn't seek out enough mentors 633 00:42:37.450 --> 00:42:38.531 um, to help me. 634 00:42:38.771 --> 00:42:38.992 Yeah. 635 00:42:39.052 --> 00:42:44.336 You know, I kind of, I was a lone wolf very much throughout my journey and I kind of stuck with that. 636 00:42:44.476 --> 00:42:44.676 Yeah. 637 00:42:44.776 --> 00:42:49.761 But if I had one advice for younger people coming up, it'd be like, seek out mentors. 638 00:42:49.961 --> 00:42:51.282 You need mentors in your life. 639 00:42:51.462 --> 00:42:52.003 Yeah, for sure. 640 00:42:52.023 --> 00:42:54.545 I had great friends and stuff and I still do. 641 00:42:54.565 --> 00:42:58.088 I have amazing friends and, uh, you know, you, 642 00:42:58.828 --> 00:43:03.790 great people in my life, but they, nobody had gone through what I was going through. 643 00:43:04.230 --> 00:43:07.552 So nobody could give me any, any advice. 644 00:43:07.672 --> 00:43:14.054 Like even my friend, you know, Liza, who I just mentioned, um, I would call her and talk to her a lot and she would, you know, she would help me. 645 00:43:14.094 --> 00:43:19.096 She was a great friend, but I was kind of the first person in our group going through something like this. 646 00:43:19.196 --> 00:43:24.639 So it was, it was hard for people to be able to, to, to help you out and give you advice, you know, 647 00:43:28.605 --> 00:43:35.708 you know, there's an outside perception of what filmmakers, you know, actors will be making on stuff and so forth. 648 00:43:36.128 --> 00:43:42.611 Do you feel like there was any that you struggled with sort of like the external... 649 00:43:44.392 --> 00:43:53.556 idea of what you may have made or be making to actually what you had made and sort of managing your life I know it's not like at that point in a career. 650 00:43:53.776 --> 00:43:57.858 It's not life-changing, but it's a decent amount of money to get in a go. 651 00:43:58.278 --> 00:44:06.402 Did you ever struggle with that external view of what what people would think about you or think you had in comparison to what you did actually have? 652 00:44:06.422 --> 00:44:06.442 I 653 00:44:06.802 --> 00:44:07.643 Yeah, yeah. 654 00:44:07.663 --> 00:44:24.893 I mean, I think that's a I think this is a tale that's been told before, not from my perspective, everybody like anybody that books a big movie for the first time, whether it's Star Wars or Wonder Woman or whatever it is, you know, people people have found out now how much those people get paid on their first picture. 655 00:44:24.913 --> 00:44:25.733 And it's not a lot of money. 656 00:44:25.913 --> 00:44:26.093 Yeah. 657 00:44:26.414 --> 00:44:26.574 Um. 658 00:44:28.001 --> 00:44:41.451 So yeah, but I mean, look, I, I, you know, and this is kind of something that helped me get out of my, uh, let's say post Aladdin blues, you know, for a long time, I was like, you know, I didn't even get paid a ton of money on this. 659 00:44:41.531 --> 00:44:42.812 Like, how's this possible? 660 00:44:42.832 --> 00:44:43.973 You know, this isn't fair. 661 00:44:44.293 --> 00:44:45.914 Uh, woe is me, blah, blah, blah. 662 00:44:45.934 --> 00:44:47.135 And you kind of feel sorry for yourself. 663 00:44:47.155 --> 00:44:49.877 And I think that's, it's a horrible thing to do. 664 00:44:50.258 --> 00:44:53.640 Like I said, I was in a better mentality before where

I was optimistic. 665 00:44:53.680 --> 00:44:55.401 And so, um, 666 00:44:56.262 --> 00:45:02.583 Yeah, you get in your head a little bit, but then you get over it and you're like, listen, it is how it is. 667 00:45:02.884 --> 00:45:04.304 This is what it is. 668 00:45:04.364 --> 00:45:06.904 Your first big thing, you're not going to make a ton of money. 669 00:45:07.305 --> 00:45:13.066 And the way our industry is now is that unless you are a movie star, you're going to make more money doing a TV show. 670 00:45:13.286 --> 00:45:14.386 You're just a star, right? 671 00:45:15.166 --> 00:45:17.127 There's not a lot of money in movies unless you're – 672 00:45:18.107 --> 00:45:19.367 You know, a superstar. 673 00:45:19.387 --> 00:45:20.188 Yeah. 674 00:45:20.968 --> 00:45:22.608 And so that was something I learned along the way. 675 00:45:22.668 --> 00:45:24.349 And then thankfully, you know, very grateful. 676 00:45:24.369 --> 00:45:28.610 I booked this amazing show called Reprisal that was on Hulu at the time. 677 00:45:30.350 --> 00:45:34.692 And I made way more money on that than I made on Aladdin. 678 00:45:34.712 --> 00:45:36.392 So it kind of made up for it a little bit. 679 00:45:36.692 --> 00:45:42.777 But obviously, you know, playing Aladdin enabled you to open that door and open up other opportunities. 680 00:45:42.857 --> 00:45:43.998 Yeah, yeah, exactly. 681 00:45:44.018 --> 00:45:47.860 And so I had to get that mindset as well. 682 00:45:48.221 --> 00:45:49.982 I had to achieve that mindset as well. 683 00:45:50.462 --> 00:45:53.505 But so, you know, opportunities after made up for it. 684 00:45:53.525 --> 00:45:54.946 I also made some stupid decisions. 685 00:45:54.986 --> 00:46:01.611 I mean, I remember once I was – this is when me and my wife first started dating. 686 00:46:02.491 --> 00:46:06.556 And she was coming to visit me in Wilmington, North Carolina. 687 00:46:06.576 --> 00:46:07.497 We were shooting this show. 688 00:46:08.578 --> 00:46:11.722 And I got a call from my agent being like, hey, there's this brand. 689 00:46:11.742 --> 00:46:12.883 I don't want to say what the brand is. 690 00:46:13.163 --> 00:46:20.391 There's this brand that wants to fly you out to one of their events and pay you a very good amount of money. 691 00:46:21.372 --> 00:46:26.757 But my wife, who was stating at the time, we had planned for her to come visit me in Wilmington. 692 00:46:27.117 --> 00:46:30.000 And so I was like, nah, I'm not going to. 693 00:46:30.060 --> 00:46:30.941 I got plans. 694 00:46:31.461 --> 00:46:38.447 And looking back at it, I'm like, man, I should have been like, hey, baby, you got to come next week because I got to go do this thing. 695 00:46:38.467 --> 00:46:40.249 Like it was just stupid turning it down. 696 00:46:40.749 --> 00:46:44.333 But at the time, you think like these things are always going to come. 697 00:46:44.373 --> 00:46:44.573 Yeah. 698 00:46:44.673 --> 00:46:55.737 They're just beginning and it's like, no man, you gotta seize opportunities even when they're, you know, have nothing to do with your professional job or whatever. 699 00:46:55.797 --> 00:46:56.237 You know what I mean? 700 00:46:56.257 --> 00:47:00.918 It wasn't an acting job, but still like I needed to pounce on those opportunities. 701 00:47:01.258 --> 00:47:02.159 You know, it's funny, I was, 702 00:47:03.119 --> 00:47:07.603 Speaking to another guest, Steve Carr, who's a great director, and he said exactly the same thing, really. 703 00:47:07.623 --> 00:47:18.032 And I'm looking forward to seeing if this is the through line with everyone I'm talking to, but about seizing the opportunity, creating your own opportunities, and really just grabbing it with both hands when they come along. 704 00:47:18.732 --> 00:47:22.995 And that sort of brings me into what I want to chat to you about next. 705 00:47:23.115 --> 00:47:25.097 So you've done the experience of Aladdin. 706 00:47:25.898 --> 00:47:26.958 You did a great job in it. 707 00:47:27.539 --> 00:47:33.623 And prior to that, you were feeling, you know, your mental state was great because you were just super optimistic, super positive. 708 00:47:33.684 --> 00:47:38.047 You believed in everything that you were doing, which is probably why you got to that position. 709 00:47:38.707 --> 00:47:46.954 And then obviously you've mentioned, you know, you took a couple of steps backwards after the reality versus your idea of what it was going to be like. 710 00:47:47.514 --> 00:47:52.995 So now I want to sort of get into like the Mina that I know, because obviously we know each other from shooting together. 711 00:47:53.355 --> 00:47:58.156 I know all of the different things, well not all of the different things, but I know a lot of the things that you're working on behind the scenes. 712 00:47:58.516 --> 00:48:00.057 You know, you're no longer just an actor. 713 00:48:00.237 --> 00:48:01.377 You're like an entrepreneur. 714 00:48:01.637 --> 00:48:02.977 You've got a gin company. 715 00:48:03.157 --> 00:48:04.738 You've got your podcast. 716 00:48:04.998 --> 00:48:06.318 You've got a production company. 717 00:48:07.478 --> 00:48:08.719 Where did that move happen? 718 00:48:08.779 --> 00:48:12.499 When did, when did you know, you finished your post Aladdin Blues. 719 00:48:13.039 --> 00:48:14.440 When did the next thing kick in for you? 720 00:48:14.460 --> 00:48:15.180 And you're like, you know what? 721 00:48:15.620 --> 00:48:16.481 I'm going to create a lane. 722 00:48:16.681 --> 00:48:19.103 And why did you decide to start creating your own lane? 723 00:48:19.343 --> 00:48:21.545 Well, it actually, it happened during... 724 00:48:22.800 --> 00:48:25.521 So we shot, we filmed Aladdin in 2017. 725 00:48:25.561 --> 00:48:29.542 We wrapped it by the beginning of 2018 after reshoots and everything. 726 00:48:30.242 --> 00:48:41.244 And so at that point, after we were wrapped, my focus shifted to, okay, I've got to create other lanes

for myself because I've got to take advantage of the spotlight that's going to be on me in a year and a half. 727 00:48:41.584 --> 00:48:51.987 And so that's when I started writing my book, Evolving Vegan, which became my show that my production company sold to Bell and produced with Bell Media. 728 00:48:52.827 --> 00:49:15.084 and so that stuff kind of got started i started putting things on the burner right away um and you know that's this is the other thing um the movie came out in may of 2019 by the beginning of 2020 covet happened and everybody was struggling so it wasn't just me it was just like everybody kind of went into this what the hell is going on mode yeah um including me you know it was 729 00:49:15.784 --> 00:49:17.205 It was honestly, I don't know. 730 00:49:17.245 --> 00:49:24.792 Sometimes I think like if COVID hadn't happened, maybe my momentum would have carried a little bit, you know, better and further because COVID just shut everything down. 731 00:49:24.972 --> 00:49:25.152 Yeah. 732 00:49:25.192 --> 00:49:28.315 And as you know, for our industry, it's like we got a COVID and then it was a strike. 733 00:49:28.335 --> 00:49:29.216 So we got a strike. 734 00:49:29.256 --> 00:49:30.116 It was another strike. 735 00:49:30.457 --> 00:49:35.921 It's like things, the beginning of the twenties for our industry was a brutal for everybody. 736 00:49:36.422 --> 00:49:41.907 So, you know, for me, I might've been taking it personally a little bit, but it was brutal for everybody. 737 00:49:42.987 --> 00:49:49.511 But to answer your question, I kind of had these things on the back burner and kind of was taking advantage where I could. 738 00:49:49.851 --> 00:49:53.233 And so that's kind of – that's taken me until today. 739 00:49:54.734 --> 00:49:58.076 My production company just produced a movie called In Broad Daylight. 740 00:49:58.096 --> 00:49:58.636 Amazing. 741 00:49:58.656 --> 00:49:59.077 I saw that. 742 00:49:59.377 --> 00:50:01.378 Wasn't it like number one on Netflix? 743 00:50:01.438 --> 00:50:04.700 It was it was it was in the top ten on Netflix in Egypt. 744 00:50:04.740 --> 00:50:04.980 Yeah. 745 00:50:05.020 --> 00:50:11.184 And so that was my production company as well, alongside United Brothers out of Egypt. 746 00:50:11.524 --> 00:50:13.025 And so that just came out. 747 00:50:13.045 --> 00:50:15.686 You know, that was something that I had on the burner since 2020, 2021. 748 00:50:17.267 --> 00:50:26.372 You know, so stuff kind of takes a long time, you know, evolving vegan took between the book and then the series and then the series coming out and then season two. 749 00:50:26.452 --> 00:50:28.853 And I mean, that took like three, four or five years. 750 00:50:28.953 --> 00:50:30.714 So stuff takes a long time. 751 00:50:30.754 --> 00:50:32.094 So you kind of have to get ahead of it. 752 00:50:33.715 --> 00:50:36.457 And I think that just came from me knowing that 753 00:50:38.217 --> 00:50:41.258 as an actor, you gotta have other stuff going on. 754 00:50:41.418 --> 00:50:44.258 Not just from watching the greats. 755 00:50:44.878 --> 00:50:54.640 Every great actor, big actor now has a spirits company or a skincare company or something. 756 00:50:55.220 --> 00:50:57.541 And I watch this video, so I'm not gonna take credit for it. 757 00:50:57.941 --> 00:51:05.862 But one of the greats came out and said, gone are the days of being just an A-list actor. 758 00:51:06.262 --> 00:51:07.483 You know, those days are gone. 759 00:51:07.923 --> 00:51:15.647 You know, the days of like DiCaprio and Pacino and De Niro, the industry has changed so much. 760 00:51:16.027 --> 00:51:19.949 Those guys are incredible actors that have paved the way for all of us. 761 00:51:21.650 --> 00:51:23.171 But we have to do things differently now. 762 00:51:23.671 --> 00:51:24.412 We just have to. 763 00:51:24.492 --> 00:51:26.033 It's not the same anymore. 764 00:51:26.433 --> 00:51:30.215 We definitely have to do more as actors ourselves to sort of stay relevant with it. 765 00:51:30.455 --> 00:51:31.156 Yeah. 766 00:51:31.176 --> 00:51:32.417 But what does it cost you to do that? 767 00:51:32.437 --> 00:51:32.918 Do you know what I mean? 768 00:51:32.938 --> 00:51:41.746 What does it cost you to sort of like start changing like the way you go about things to try and get your foot in that door? 769 00:51:41.866 --> 00:51:44.028 I think just time and getting out of your comfort zone. 770 00:51:44.048 --> 00:51:46.070 My comfort zone has always been performing, right? 771 00:51:46.090 --> 00:51:50.174 So I don't really love doing the other stuff. 772 00:51:50.234 --> 00:51:51.335 Like if someone could just – 773 00:51:51.996 --> 00:51:56.540 you know, tell me here's a wad of cash and you just get to act for the rest of your life. 774 00:51:56.560 --> 00:52:00.463 I would take that over more money, but doing the other stuff, you know? 775 00:52:01.164 --> 00:52:05.807 Um, so it just takes me out of my comfort zone a little bit, which, which isn't a bad thing. 776 00:52:06.468 --> 00:52:11.272 And, um, and time, uh, which again, it's fine, but that's what we have to do now, you know, in a, in a, 777 00:52:12.678 --> 00:52:18.964 I wonder – you should have a casting director on, and there's many, many great ones in the UK, so you could easily do it. 778 00:52:19.325 --> 00:52:23.489 But I'd be curious if they agree with this and whether you agree with this. 779 00:52:23.509 --> 00:52:32.037 I think in a weird way there's more competition now for actors, even though there's more opportunities because – 780 00:52:32.678 --> 00:52:37.003 the Netflix's and the streaming services, but those guys are scaling back. 781 00:52:37.503 --> 00:52:40.206 And so, you know, they're scaling back. 782 00:52:40.347 --> 00:52:45.272 There's not as many opportunities as there was a few years ago, but all that competition is still there. 783 00:52:45.532 --> 00:52:45.953 I agree. 784 00:52:46.113 -->

00:52:47.615 I think it's, you know, 785 00:52:49.250 --> 00:52:53.692 The fact that everything's gone to self-taped has been great in some regards. 786 00:52:53.712 --> 00:52:58.913 For me personally, it's been great because it enabled me to live in different countries and still do what I love doing. 787 00:52:59.594 --> 00:53:05.095 But I think it takes away the heart of what we do, the collaboration process of what we do. 788 00:53:05.616 --> 00:53:09.277 And I think that there are more people. 789 00:53:10.307 --> 00:53:15.650 being able to audition so that the competition does go up because they're just able to see more people. 790 00:53:16.230 --> 00:53:20.452 And I kind of miss that space in the room where I get to come and shake your hand. 791 00:53:20.992 --> 00:53:25.635 Nice to meet you, really looking forward to doing this scene and doing it and then, so what do you think? 792 00:53:25.915 --> 00:53:27.176 And we go back and forward. 793 00:53:27.196 --> 00:53:27.936 It's like, yeah, do you know what? 794 00:53:27.956 --> 00:53:31.038 Do you wanna just try it slightly differently to see if you can get different intention? 795 00:53:31.058 --> 00:53:31.458 And you're like. 796 00:53:32.138 --> 00:53:47.876 actually yeah i like that idea let me try that now we just get that one you know you can take it how many times you want at home before you know it you've done like 20 20 takes of it and then you've got to watch it back like now i started to do a thing where it's like look we're doing three takes and that's it yeah that's a good that's a good idea 797 00:53:48.497 --> 00:54:12.634 because if you even if you do 20 takes you're only submitting one or two takes tops yeah and you're probably still doing it the way that you envisioned in your head whereas yeah casting director can tell you like no no do this or have you thought about that or i want it to be like this and then you end up doing completely different but when you're when you're taping there's nobody to do that like unless you have unless you're lucky enough to have an acting coach 798 00:54:13.034 --> 00:54:20.757 you know, taping every tape with you and then they can kind of replace the notes that a casting director gives you. 799 00:54:21.277 --> 00:54:21.918 I agree, man. 800 00:54:21.998 --> 00:54:24.739 It's why I moved from LA, you know, it's why I moved out. 801 00:54:25.139 --> 00:54:31.241 If we were still doing in-room auditions and if it ever comes back, I'll be back in LA in a heartbeat because that's what I loved. 802 00:54:31.902 --> 00:54:32.322 I loved. 803 00:54:33.522 --> 00:54:39.186 the thrill of going into the room and auditioning was like being on set for a day for me. 804 00:54:39.206 --> 00:54:42.508 You know, it kind of, I was like, I was like, great, this is amazing. 805 00:54:42.548 --> 00:54:46.590 Like, this is great, I love this, I'm grateful for this. 806 00:54:46.610 --> 00:54:49.212 And if nothing- Because you actually get to do some acting with someone. 807 00:54:49.372 --> 00:54:52.474 Yeah, and if nothing comes out of it, this was good enough for me. 808 00:54:53.094 --> 00:54:56.336 But now it's different, you know? 809 00:54:56.376 --> 00:54:57.797 I think now it's a numbers game. 810 00:54:57.917 --> 00:55:01.019 And again, for someone who's getting two, three auditions a week, 811 00:55:01.941 --> 00:55:03.861 It's good, because you're playing the numbers game. 812 00:55:03.881 --> 00:55:07.782 For someone who's getting an audition a month, you don't want to play the numbers game. 813 00:55:07.802 --> 00:55:13.643 You want to play the, I don't know what you call it, just the in-person game. 814 00:55:13.723 --> 00:55:22.225 I want to be in person, I want to meet you, and I want to just get a sense of what you want and see if I can deliver it as well. 815 00:55:23.045 --> 00:55:28.426 And they say some people are better auditioners and some people are better on set actors. 816 00:55:29.406 --> 00:55:33.630 And I think that makes such a difference being in the room. 817 00:55:33.791 --> 00:55:39.837 So I think personally I'm a better on-set actor than I am an auditioner. 818 00:55:41.338 --> 00:55:48.645 And that's because I think I take notes well and I can adjust and I can feel out the room and I can feel out the energy and all that stuff. 819 00:55:48.886 --> 00:55:49.126 I feel that. 820 00:55:50.782 --> 00:56:07.609 So I need to be in the room when I'm auditioning, because then I would be a better auditioner if I was, and I was, historically speaking, I do very well when I go in the room, but when it's self tapes, it's just like- Yeah, yeah, yeah, I started to speak to some casting directors and they're basically saying, you know, make a choice. 821 00:56:07.689 --> 00:56:10.730 It might not be the right choice, but if it's interesting, 822 00:56:11.230 --> 00:56:13.392 do the interesting choice over the right choice. 823 00:56:13.692 --> 00:56:21.518 Because if I'm watching 20, 30 tapes, I'm like, you know, 35th tape in, and we're all doing it pretty much the same way, and then this one guy's come along. 824 00:56:22.018 --> 00:56:22.959 And that's interesting. 825 00:56:23.179 --> 00:56:24.560 It's not right, but that's interesting. 826 00:56:24.580 --> 00:56:26.782 Hey, look, that was my Jack Ryan story, right? 827 00:56:26.802 --> 00:56:33.047 Like I did do something interesting, they ended up casting me for a different role completely because I did something interesting. 828 00:56:33.487 --> 00:56:34.648 So maybe that's the way to go. 829 00:56:34.688 --> 00:56:34.848 Yeah. 830 00:56:34.888 --> 00:56:37.930 Maybe, you know, maybe I'll start changing up and just do that. 831 00:56:37.970 --> 00:56:41.152 Hits you up a couple months and be like, yeah, has that worked? 832 00:56:41.693 --> 00:56:42.533 That was shit. 833 00:56:42.893 --> 00:56:47.216 My friend Eddie, he missed a fantastic in a new Superman. 834 00:56:47.236 --> 00:56:48.097 He's on loads of stuff. 835

00:56:48.117 --> 00:56:50.759 He did a really great series called The Start Up. 836 00:56:51.359 --> 00:56:54.241 And I think he was in England filming X-Men. 837 00:56:54.821 --> 00:56:58.464 And he asked me to help him with a read or with a tape. 838 00:56:59.504 --> 00:57:03.827 And so I was with him doing it and he started sort of ad-libbing at the end of every scene. 839 00:57:04.287 --> 00:57:08.790 And I was like, how come you're, how come, because, you know, I think I would have been fresh out of drama school at this point. 840 00:57:08.910 --> 00:57:11.372 And I was like, how come you're adding in all these other bits? 841 00:57:11.392 --> 00:57:15.955 And he was like, well, you know, I just feel like if I add something in at the end of like how I really feel about it. 842 00:57:16.015 --> 00:57:19.857 And as long as it makes sense, I feel like it just, I do better like that. 843 00:57:20.217 --> 00:57:24.920 And so ever since then, I chuck in ad-libs at the end, just to round the scene off. 844 00:57:24.980 --> 00:57:26.201 I've always done that too. 845 00:57:26.281 --> 00:57:28.883 And I feel like I need to start ad-libbing in the middle. 846 00:57:28.963 --> 00:57:37.407 Yeah, yeah, let me just try a little improv here. 847 00:57:37.427 --> 00:57:42.670 Yeah, it depends on the showrunner and stuff You know some showrunners want you like word for word. 848 00:57:42.690 --> 00:57:43.750 Yeah, you change words. 849 00:57:43.790 --> 00:57:52.014 They're pissed off It depends on the creator and stuff, but yeah, I mean it happens in that We'll talk about Daniel now and but you know it happened in Daniel. 850 00:57:52.034 --> 00:57:52.715 You know, I had a 851 00:57:53.475 --> 00:58:16.272 an idea for a scene because obviously um my character and your character we don't we're in a number of scenes together but we don't really interact but from my point of view you know i there was a lot of jealousy from my character towards your character and i didn't think that um i thought there was moments where that could have been explored more and you know i spoke to to dan and matt uh the directors and producers and um 852 00:58:16.892 --> 00:58:24.039 I said, look, I think there's a scene, like this little bit of an extra scene that we can write in to show how much jealousy there is between us. 853 00:58:24.679 --> 00:58:26.341 And they were like, okay, cool. 854 00:58:26.621 --> 00:58:28.102 Go away and write it and then let us see. 855 00:58:28.243 --> 00:58:29.844 Yeah, they were very collaborative. 856 00:58:29.884 --> 00:58:31.966 Yeah, they were so collaborative and I loved that. 857 00:58:32.006 --> 00:58:34.508 And I'm just saying, you know, talking about just, you know, adding things in. 858 00:58:34.528 --> 00:58:35.830 I think if you get the all clear, 859 00:58:36.410 --> 00:58:44.674 and you have an idea and you bring it up to the producer or director or writer, whoever it may be, like don't be scared to make suggestions. 860 00:58:44.974 --> 00:58:48.296 Because if it's not a right suggestion, then that's cool, you don't just forget about it. 861 00:58:48.536 --> 00:58:50.437 Yeah, yeah. 862 00:58:50.457 --> 00:58:51.878 Yeah, you did a great job at that. 863 00:58:52.498 --> 00:58:54.939 Because I remember you doing that a few times. 864 00:58:55.680 --> 00:58:56.960 That sounds about right. 865 00:58:56.980 --> 00:59:00.522 Yeah, yeah, you did a great job at that, man. 866 00:59:00.902 --> 00:59:03.844 Yeah, you were always very open and 867 00:59:04.424 --> 00:59:22.033 and honest and that's what I loved about shooting Daniel to be honest with you is everybody was very open and collaborative nobody felt like they were above it all you know everybody was kind of like it doesn't matter if you have one credit or 20 or whatever let's just try to make the best 868 00:59:23.173 --> 00:59:25.976 art that we can and put out the best product that we can. 869 00:59:25.996 --> 00:59:28.358 And I think, you know, I think that that really helped. 870 00:59:28.538 --> 00:59:28.818 Yeah. 871 00:59:28.878 --> 00:59:37.805 And it started from the top, you know, Daniel and Matt were just so open to everybody and anybody's suggestions, sometimes too open. 872 00:59:37.825 --> 00:59:39.667 Because then everybody was like, well, what about this? 873 00:59:39.687 --> 00:59:40.187 What about that? 874 00:59:40.207 --> 00:59:41.448 Yeah. 875 00:59:41.548 --> 00:59:41.808 But. 876 00:59:42.249 --> 00:59:43.490 And then they have to like reign it all in. 877 00:59:43.510 --> 00:59:44.611 Yeah, you got to reign it in. 878 00:59:44.651 --> 00:59:46.992 But they did such a good job at that. 879 00:59:47.012 --> 00:59:49.314 And I think, I think that comes through on camera. 880 00:59:49.334 --> 00:59:49.594 Yeah. 881 00:59:50.415 --> 00:59:52.356 Now it's great meeting you on that and working with you on that. 882 00:59:52.376 --> 01:00:00.300 You had such a great, like everything that you're telling me about, you know, prior to Aladdin and your mindset and your belief in it all. 883 01:00:00.641 --> 01:00:05.443 And, you know, if you put in the work, you'll see the rewards and you could really see that on Daniel. 884 01:00:05.483 --> 01:00:13.828 You're a super generous actor and you could see how much work you would put in to creating that character and telling it in a truthful way. 885 01:00:14.488 --> 01:00:16.890 How did you find that whole experience? 886 01:00:16.930 --> 01:00:18.212 How did you get involved with it? 887 01:00:19.793 --> 01:00:23.016 And yeah, like tell me a little bit about your journey with that. 888 01:00:23.416 --> 01:00:29.561 Yeah, well, so I grew up in the Coptic Orthodox Church. 889 01:00:29.581 --> 01:00:33.285 And the Coptic Church is a very tight community. 890 01:00:33.825 --> 01:00:36.848 So I grew up going to church three times a week when I was a youngin'. 891 01:00:37.508 --> 01:00:40.992 I'd go on Fridays, we'd have youth group and then we'd play some

basketball. 892 01:00:41.693 --> 01:00:44.296 Basketball was a big part of the Coptic community. 893 01:00:45.137 --> 01:00:50.124 And on Saturdays I would go back, we'd have maybe another youth group or sometimes a sermon. 894 01:00:50.564 --> 01:00:54.809 Sometimes it was just, you know, hanging out with the younger kids. 895 01:00:55.650 --> 01:00:57.832 And then on Sunday, of course, was the liturgy and everything. 896 01:00:57.872 --> 01:01:03.797 So I grew up going to church a bunch, and we would put on church plays. 897 01:01:04.357 --> 01:01:13.185 And that was really the only time I ever got to play, like, biblical characters or tell biblical stories was really at church on stage. 898 01:01:14.206 --> 01:01:23.374 And so I never thought – and then I would watch some – you know, my parents would sit me down sometimes and watch Christian movies, and they were all just really low-budget, you know, kind of like some guy. 899 01:01:25.927 --> 01:01:29.311 No, oh my gosh, nothing like that. 900 01:01:30.072 --> 01:01:31.854 They were like homemade movies. 901 01:01:32.574 --> 01:01:35.518 So when I started seeing... 902 01:01:36.721 --> 01:01:53.828 Angel Studios and Dallas Jenkins coming out and putting together these projects that were high quality, high production projects, I got super excited because up until then, my favorite movie was Prince of Egypt. 903 01:01:54.128 --> 01:02:01.811 And it was an animated film, incredible, but that was really the only biblical kind of film in the Hollywood space that I was like, wow, this is amazing. 904 01:02:02.371 --> 01:02:05.877 So when Dallas started doing it, I was like, this is incredible. 905 01:02:05.977 --> 01:02:08.702 And, I mean, yeah, man, I got to give it to him. 906 01:02:08.742 --> 01:02:11.987 He's done something I never thought would happen. 907 01:02:14.194 --> 01:02:23.542 And so I'd been auditioning for a few things, a few Amazon projects because Amazon has gotten big into this space. 908 01:02:23.582 --> 01:02:25.844 A few Amazon projects got really close on a couple. 909 01:02:26.344 --> 01:02:32.409 And I kind of just knew that it was in God's will that I was going to do something biblical, and I didn't know what it was. 910 01:02:32.469 --> 01:02:34.031 Turned out it was Daniel. 911 01:02:35.852 --> 01:02:39.735 And so for me, it was just a huge moment because I'd kind of been – 912 01:02:40.636 --> 01:02:45.358 training for this a little bit my whole life, you know, by doing church plays and stuff like that. 913 01:02:45.718 --> 01:02:49.240 And so to get this opportunity was huge for me. 914 01:02:49.300 --> 01:02:53.862 For me, it always kind of, it starts out by the physical look of the character. 915 01:02:53.902 --> 01:02:55.983 That's always kind of where, that's my way in. 916 01:02:56.343 --> 01:03:02.966 And maybe that's because in theater school, the way I was trained, we did a lot of Comedia Del Arte, a lot of clown, a lot of physical movement. 917 01:03:03.847 --> 01:03:06.368 So for me, it kind of always starts from the physicality. 918 01:03:07.188 --> 01:03:21.072 And so, you know, I knew Daniel, I wanted to make him look as young as I could and kind of as I don't want to say naive, like mature for his age, but also has that young naivete of like he hasn't really experienced a lot of life yet. 919 01:03:21.452 --> 01:03:30.875 And he's going through this tremendous experience in his life really early on, you know, by being exiled from his home and having to become a leader. 920 01:03:31.075 --> 01:03:33.376 You know, like that's that's a huge. 921 01:03:33.976 --> 01:03:40.121 That's a huge thing that this young man has to go through and undertake very early on. 922 01:03:41.802 --> 01:03:44.964 And so, yeah, you know, it started from there and then, you know, getting into the script. 923 01:03:45.004 --> 01:03:49.507 And again, Daniel and and Matthew did a great job of getting us all together in India. 924 01:03:49.588 --> 01:03:56.893 It was by doing some doing a few table reads, doing some rehearsals, not a lot of you don't get that opportunity on a lot of movies. 925 01:03:56.933 --> 01:03:57.693 People don't realize. 926 01:03:58.014 --> 01:04:03.778 So to be able to have those opportunities and really kind of get into it that way and feel each other out and stuff was was was great. 927 01:04:03.818 --> 01:04:05.258 Yeah, it was so special, man. 928 01:04:05.278 --> 01:04:13.081 I think the fact that we were all so far from home and we were all together all day every day for a bunch of time, there was a lot of camaraderie on it. 929 01:04:13.101 --> 01:04:14.961 And it just brought, we would have dinner together every night. 930 01:04:14.981 --> 01:04:15.902 We'd go and play pool. 931 01:04:16.062 --> 01:04:17.462 Yeah, playing the billiards. 932 01:04:17.642 --> 01:04:18.402 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 933 01:04:18.442 --> 01:04:20.083 It was just a great experience. 934 01:04:20.683 --> 01:04:22.504 Me and Jazz are the best players, by the way. 935 01:04:22.544 --> 01:04:23.145 Yeah, we were. 936 01:04:23.185 --> 01:04:23.945 We actually were. 937 01:04:24.025 --> 01:04:29.929 But, you know, you were also on there as a producer. 938 01:04:30.249 --> 01:04:33.352 So whilst you're here, I'm going to take this opportunity because I don't know, so I'd like to know. 939 01:04:33.392 --> 01:04:40.616 Do you have a rough idea of when we're thinking of releasing Daniel so that the world can sort of see it? 940 01:04:41.077 --> 01:04:41.797 I do, yeah. 941 01:04:42.017 --> 01:04:43.178 Are we allowed to say anything yet? 942 01:04:43.198 --> 01:04:43.878 Yeah. 943 01:04:44.799 --> 01:04:45.499 Rough timelines. 944 01:04:45.519 --> 01:04:49.021 There'll be yeah, there'll be a press release coming out soon. 945 01:04:49.882 --> 01:04:50.382 About it. 946 01:04:50.742 --> 01:04:54.704 So we've we've gotten, you know, we've gotten distribution, which is great. 947 01:04:55.085 --> 01:05:00.908 And, you know, I'll

say a couple of things and you can ask Daniel and Matt whether you can release it by the time this comes out. 948 01:05:00.948 --> 01:05:01.108 Yeah. 949 01:05:01.128 --> 01:05:01.308 Yeah. 950 01:05:01.628 --> 01:05:07.992 So we we should be releasing in cinemas in the USA, September 11th. 951 01:05:08.192 --> 01:05:08.392 Yeah. 952 01:05:09.052 --> 01:05:09.192 And 953 01:05:10.977 --> 01:05:15.940 the film will also be at Cannes, at the Cannes Film Festival. 954 01:05:16.761 --> 01:05:19.042 Not for a screening, because the film's not ready, but for sales. 955 01:05:19.202 --> 01:05:19.602 Yeah, nice. 956 01:05:19.622 --> 01:05:20.163 So it'll be there. 957 01:05:20.183 --> 01:05:20.563 That's coming up. 958 01:05:20.743 --> 01:05:23.625 Yeah, it'll be there being represented for sales as well. 959 01:05:23.845 --> 01:05:24.926 Oh, fantastic. 960 01:05:25.126 --> 01:05:25.766 Yeah, yeah. 961 01:05:25.866 --> 01:05:29.649 And they've got a great distributor behind it. 962 01:05:30.029 --> 01:05:31.930 So yeah, everything's moving forward. 963 01:05:31.950 --> 01:05:32.370 That's cool. 964 01:05:32.410 --> 01:05:32.931 I'm excited. 965 01:05:32.951 --> 01:05:37.934 It was such an epic film, in terms of the locations, the costume, everything. 966 01:05:37.974 --> 01:05:38.654 It was so epic. 967 01:05:38.694 --> 01:05:40.175 I'm really, really looking forward to seeing it. 968 01:05:40.275 --> 01:05:45.017 Yeah, you know, I got to give it to the guys and our producer, Travis, as well. 969 01:05:45.397 --> 01:05:48.958 They really took the budget as far as they could. 970 01:05:48.998 --> 01:05:59.243 Like, I think it's going to look amazing and really look like a much more bigger budget than what we actually spent on it. 971 01:05:59.783 --> 01:06:00.943 It looked unbelievable. 972 01:06:00.963 --> 01:06:02.604 The things that I've seen come out, it looks great. 973 01:06:02.724 --> 01:06:03.584 Yeah. 974 01:06:03.644 --> 01:06:06.545 Two quick things before we wrap up. 975 01:06:06.846 --> 01:06:07.466 Firstly... 976 01:06:08.497 --> 01:06:18.739 For anyone listening who is just entering the industry, you've worked with some amazing actors and talent, Julia Stiles, Will Smith, Guy Ritchie, lots of others. 977 01:06:20.259 --> 01:06:27.481 What do you think separates those who can sustain a career in acting from those who can't sustain? 978 01:06:27.521 --> 01:06:30.982 What does someone need to do, do you think, to make that career happen for them? 979 01:06:31.482 --> 01:06:31.822 Oh, man. 980 01:06:31.842 --> 01:06:32.562 Yeah. 981 01:06:35.031 --> 01:06:37.012 the word is, the word is escaping. 982 01:06:37.593 --> 01:06:38.493 Uh, but here we go. 983 01:06:38.513 --> 01:06:39.074 Perseverance. 984 01:06:39.274 --> 01:06:39.454 Yeah. 985 01:06:39.874 --> 01:06:41.895 Uh, perseverance I think is number one. 986 01:06:43.136 --> 01:06:48.880 Um, and I'll give you some practical advice now cause we always hear like persevere and do this and it's

great advice. 987 01:06:48.900 --> 01:06:53.162 I watch a lot of Instagram videos now about, you know, these great actors that give great advice. 988 01:06:54.063 --> 01:06:54.263 Um, 989 01:06:56.218 --> 01:06:58.479 You have to live below your means when you're an actor. 990 01:06:58.600 --> 01:06:59.801 I mean that's the number one thing. 991 01:07:00.241 --> 01:07:04.765 If you're making money along the way and you're serious about being an actor, put away your money. 992 01:07:05.966 --> 01:07:08.327 If you have $10,000, pretend it's $2,000. 993 01:07:08.347 --> 01:07:14.513 If you have $20,000, pretend it's $5,000 and just put away the rest of the money because – 994 01:07:15.193 --> 01:07:17.775 Look, the reality is life is expensive. 995 01:07:18.715 --> 01:07:24.199 Things are getting more and more expensive and you wanna play the long game in this industry. 996 01:07:24.339 --> 01:07:33.304 And that's honestly the number one way I've gotten myself back to where I was pre-Aladdin mindset. 997 01:07:33.344 --> 01:07:36.586 The being positive, believing in myself. 998 01:07:36.966 --> 01:07:38.828 The number one way that I've gotten back there 999 01:07:39.688 --> 01:07:51.961 is by looking at examples like Bryan Cranston, Christoph Waltz, Pedro Pascal, all these actors who just stuck it out long enough. 1000 01:07:52.302 --> 01:07:57.908 I think you just got Jon Hamm, another great example, but watching a great show for him right now on Apple TV. 1001 01:07:57.928 --> 01:07:58.849 It's such a good show. 1002 01:07:59.009 --> 01:07:59.329 Oh, wow. 1003 01:08:00.110 --> 01:08:00.790 Neighbors and Friends. 1004 01:08:00.890 --> 01:08:02.151 Yeah, is that what it's called? 1005 01:08:02.171 --> 01:08:03.571 Yeah, Neighbors and Something. 1006 01:08:03.591 --> 01:08:03.871 Yeah. 1007 01:08:04.611 --> 01:08:05.131 It's a great show. 1008 01:08:05.231 --> 01:08:09.352 Amazing show, and he's amazing in it, and it's my first time watching him in a show since Mad Men. 1009 01:08:09.432 --> 01:08:09.632 Yep. 1010 01:08:10.132 --> 01:08:18.434 And he just reminds you of why he's such a great leading man, because he was amazing in Mad Men. 1011 01:08:18.474 --> 01:08:26.376 But anyways, I really look to those guys and just always remind myself, like, you don't know when the next big hit is coming. 1012 01:08:26.696 --> 01:08:27.576 And look, I'm grateful. 1013 01:08:30.738 --> 01:08:36.903 the biggest film character that I could have ever imagined booking that looks like me. 1014 01:08:37.063 --> 01:08:37.503 You know what I mean? 1015 01:08:37.523 --> 01:08:42.287 Like for people who look like me, Aladdin was probably number one for a lot of people. 1016 01:08:42.508 --> 01:08:45.110 And I booked it and I will forever be grateful for that. 1017 01:08:45.870 --> 01:08:49.353 And I think the universe has ways of humbling you sometimes. 1018 01:08:49.393 --> 01:08:52.096 And now I don't know when that next huge thing is gonna come. 1019 01:08:52.996 -->

01:08:53.957 It might be tomorrow. 1020 01:08:54.077 --> 01:08:57.320 It might be when I'm 75, like, I don't know, but that's real. 1021 01:08:57.720 --> 01:08:58.481 You know, that's real. 1022 01:08:58.561 --> 01:09:04.085 And so I would say for young actors coming up, just persevere. 1023 01:09:04.645 --> 01:09:05.906 Don't put a timeline on it. 1024 01:09:06.006 --> 01:09:06.546 You can't. 1025 01:09:07.447 --> 01:09:13.971 And, you know, save your money to be able to make sure that you can survive for as long as you can. 1026 01:09:14.151 --> 01:09:14.772 Yeah. 1027 01:09:15.292 --> 01:09:16.073 And keep sharp. 1028 01:09:16.173 --> 01:09:16.873 Keep training. 1029 01:09:16.953 --> 01:09:17.554 Keep sharp. 1030 01:09:18.274 --> 01:09:22.698 I went through about a year where it was pretty tough. 1031 01:09:22.778 --> 01:09:24.699 And again, because of COVID and the strikes and all that. 1032 01:09:25.080 --> 01:09:33.787 And so I started just getting back to Shakespeare and getting back to memorizing monologues and doing the work that I did as a young kid in theater school. 1033 01:09:34.067 --> 01:09:35.328 And it brought me so much joy. 1034 01:09:36.189 --> 01:09:38.130 And so you've got to find those moments. 1035 01:09:38.150 --> 01:09:39.231 You've got to find those moments. 1036 01:09:39.551 --> 01:09:40.873 And when you do get on set. 1037 01:09:41.733 --> 01:09:43.434 Savor every moment. 1038 01:09:43.534 --> 01:09:55.522 I wasn't always good at that and and now I I am I'm just good at like literally savoring every day every moment look when we were out in the desert Yeah, um in Daniel just looking up at the stars and be like god. 1039 01:09:55.822 --> 01:10:07.489 I'm so grateful for being here I'm grateful for being with these people and getting to know Getting to know them and getting to do what I love and just like putting out that gratitude in the universe Yeah, you know, so that's 1040 01:10:08.129 --> 01:10:08.990 Those are a couple of things. 1041 01:10:09.170 --> 01:10:10.070 Yeah, that's amazing. 1042 01:10:10.110 --> 01:10:14.793 And I think it's also, you know, you also do a lot of other things which keep you busy. 1043 01:10:15.013 --> 01:10:15.333 Yeah. 1044 01:10:15.493 --> 01:10:17.314 From your gin to producing and everything else. 1045 01:10:17.334 --> 01:10:18.895 I think it's important to have side things. 1046 01:10:19.195 --> 01:10:19.896 I agree. 1047 01:10:20.536 --> 01:10:24.478 And one thing we're trying to do on the show is we're doing with other guests where we pass the mic. 1048 01:10:24.639 --> 01:10:30.142 So if you were able to pass the mic to another guest, we will go and see if we can get them on the show. 1049 01:10:30.382 --> 01:10:31.302 Oh, damn. 1050 01:10:31.322 --> 01:10:31.923 Yeah, yeah. 1051 01:10:33.944 --> 01:10:51.578 okay who are you looking for like you don't care you just want me to yeah you just want me to you give me a name um you can even think about it and uh and message it to me um but there is if there's someone you could think of who we would try and get we'll go and try and get them say mina said that we should get you 1052 01:10:51.918 --> 01:11:19.807 yeah okay alright I guess I'll think about it I'm like should I be selfish and promote someone from like one of my upcoming projects so they can help promote or how should I go about this well that's what happened when I was trying to get dressed this morning I was like what do I wear do I wear a nice shirt or do I put on my merch exactly you're already cross promoting Daniel for us so damn I don't know give me a sec to think there's so many people but I gotta give you one 1053 01:11:21.576 --> 01:11:21.896 Damn. 1054 01:11:23.738 --> 01:11:24.238 It's tricky. 1055 01:11:24.418 --> 01:11:25.219 Yeah, it's tricky. 1056 01:11:25.239 --> 01:11:27.561 And also you do all these in person, right? 1057 01:11:28.442 --> 01:11:31.104 Yeah, but I would try, you know, that's my aim. 1058 01:11:31.124 --> 01:11:33.686 My aim is to do them all in person, but we'll see. 1059 01:11:33.946 --> 01:11:34.327 We'll see. 1060 01:11:35.598 --> 01:11:40.748 Well, listen, the first person that comes to mind, because I think she would be great for you. 1061 01:11:40.988 --> 01:11:41.910 Yeah. 1062 01:11:42.111 --> 01:11:46.459 But she hasn't even been on my podcast yet, so I don't know if I can give it to you, man. 1063 01:11:46.479 --> 01:11:48.202 She's got to come on my podcast first. 1064 01:11:49.184 --> 01:11:50.907 I'll think about it and let you know, I guess. 1065 01:11:50.927 --> 01:11:51.388 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 1066 01:11:51.408 --> 01:11:52.410 Think about it and let me know. 1067 01:11:52.430 --> 01:11:52.550 Yeah. 1068 01:11:52.570 --> 01:11:52.731 Nina? 1069 01:11:53.131 --> 01:11:53.773 It's been a pleasure, man. 1070 01:11:53.793 --> 01:11:54.013 Yeah, man. 1071 01:11:54.173 --> 01:11:55.235 It's been a real pleasure. 1072 01:11:55.256 --> 01:11:55.716 Absolutely, man. 1073 01:11:55.756 --> 01:11:56.678 It's good seeing you, man. 1074 01:11:56.698 --> 01:11:57.440 Yeah, thank you. 1075 01:11:57.460 --> 01:11:57.901 Thank you.