Mena Mansour Massoud (Arabic: مينا منصور مسعود; born September 17, 1991) is an Egyptian Canadian actor known for starring as the title character in the Disney fantasy film Aladdin (2019).
'Aladdin'' s Mena Massoud Stars in New Netflix Rom-Com After Speaking Out About Lack of Auditions. Two years after Mena Massoud said he couldn't get an audition following the billion-dollar box office hit Aladdin, the actor will be starring in Netflix's upcoming rom-com The Royal Treatment.
Mena Mansour Massoud was born on September 17, 1991 in Cairo to Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christian parents Gorgit and Mansour Massoud. He has two elder sisters, Marian and Margaret. He and his family moved to Canada when he was three years old. When asked why his family left Egypt, Massoud stated, "I was born there.
Mena Massoud was an Egyptian-Canadian actor who came to prominence with a lead role in a live action adaptation of one of Disney's most beloved animated classics. Born on September 17, 1992 in Cairo, Egypt, Massoud was raised in Markham, Ontario.
A graduate of Ryerson University's notable theater program, he got his first big break starring in ABC Spark & Teen Nick's mystery-drama television series "Open Heart" as "Jared Malik." Since then, he has appeared in several major film and television productions including "Combat Hospital," "King" on Showcase, "Masters ...
Mena Massoud on Being Egyptian & Canadian, His First Pet & New Show
Is Aladdin Indian or Arabic?
The original Aladdin story was actually set in China. Aladdin is one of the stories compiled in The Thousand and One Nights — a collection of Middle Eastern and Indian folk tales, however, it did not appear in the original Arabic text.
In 2019, Will Smith took on the role of the Genie in “Aladdin,” and was reportedly paid around $12.5 million upfront for his work, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
3. Aladdin doesn't come from Agrabah. In the both Galland's text and Richard Burton's popular 1885 English translation, Aladdin lives “in a city of the cities in China.” Illustrations of the tales from the Victorian era depict the story and its characters as Chinese.
And he's no foreigner abroad either: he's a native Chinese boy, not an Arabian youth who's ended up in China. (Nor is he an orphan: in the earliest versions of the story, Aladdin is not an orphaned street urchin but a lazy boy living at home with his mother.)
Filming. Principal photography began on September 6, 2017, at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England, and wrapped on January 24, 2018. Part of the film was shot in Wadi Rum Desert, Jordan. The Royal Film Commission provided support to the production during filming and assisted in facilitating logistics.
While some claim Jasmine is Arab because the movie opens with a song called Arabian Nights, others believe that the architecture in Agrabah is clearly based on the Taj Mahal, making Jasmine Indian. It's a debate that has fueled speculation that in Hollywood, Indians and Arabs are interchangeable.
Mena's hair is naturally curly. That means that if you have naturally curly hair like his, you'll need to invest some time in straightening your hair first, before you can achieve this look.
The Los Angeles-based actor began a plant-based diet in 2015 after he and his two best friends and roommates in Toronto learned about the effects of animal products on health and the environment. They encouraged each other, and Massoud began by cutting out eggs, red meat, chicken and other animal-derived foods.
The Egyptian-born Canadian actor had only been in Hollywood for a short time before he landed the dream job, as well as impressive television roles in Amazon Prime's Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and Hulu's Reprisal.
Remember way back during they had an extended casting call for Aladdin? There was some news surrounding Disney supposedly resorting to white actors because they couldn't find any people of color who could sing and dance.
Galland's Aladdin story is explicitly set in China, but the world it describes doesn't seem to match up with the real place. “The characters live in a society defined by Muslim practices,” says Horta.
She is the sixth Disney Princess and the franchise's first non-European member, as well as its first West Asian princess. Due to this, the character is credited with introducing racial diversity to Disney's princess genre.
Setting. The opening sentences of the story, in both the Galland and the Burton versions, set it in "one of the cities of China". On the other hand, there is practically nothing in the rest of the story that is inconsistent with a Middle Eastern setting.
Princess Jasmine is the deuteragonist of Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin. She is the independent and rebellious princess of Agrabah, a Middle Eastern kingdom ruled by her father, the Sultan.
On Oct. 15, Disney Plus introduced a new disclaimer that appears before older films like Dumbo (1941) and Aladdin (1992), warning viewers that the films include harmful stereotypes. The new message replaces the one that came with the original launch of Disney Plus late last year.
In 1993, when Williams went on The Today Show to promote Mrs. Doubtfire, it was there he revealed why there was bad blood between himself and Disney. He had a strict agreement before signing onto Aladdin that he didn't want his voice involved in merchandising.
The lyrics to the version of "Arabian Nights" heard in this film were lifted from the original demo version of the song. Robin Williams was not a part of this movie due to a disagreement with Disney (see trivia for Aladdin (1992). Walt Disney Television Animation Australia animates the first 34 minutes of the film.
How much money did Robin Williams get paid for Aladdin?
Williams joined the cast of the original Aladdin because he wished to be a part of "this animation tradition," rather than simply because he wanted a large paycheck. As such, he agreed to voice the role for only $75,000 rather than his usual fee of $8 million.
