Aquaman's Yahya Abdul-Mateen II claims acting in superhero movies is 'clown work'

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has said acting in Aquaman is ‘clown work’ compared to more serious roles such as his turn in The Trial of the Chicago 7. 

The actor, who plays David Kane – and villainous alter ego Black Manta – in the superhero flicks said actors who appear in superhero movies need to get over themselves, and admitted to looking for a balance between the type of roles he takes. 

“Everything should be about getting to the truth. But sometimes you got to know which movie or genre you’re in," he told Variety.

“Something like Aquaman, that’s clown work. Aquaman is not The Trial of the Chicago 7. You have got to get over yourself.”

Warner Bros

He went on: “In order to survive and to do it well, you have to play that game and then be crafty about when you want to surprise the audience, the director, or yourself with a little bit of ‘Wow, I didn’t expect to see a Chekhovian thing or August Wilson and Aquaman, but I did.’”

Abdul-Mateen is set to reprise his role for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is due to hit cinemas next year. 

The actor isn’t the first industry name to discuss superhero flicks in such terms – back in 2019, Martin Scorsese said Marvel movies were ‘not cinema’ and compared them to theme parks. 

He told Empire: "I don't see them. I tried, you know? But that's not cinema.

"Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks.

Storms Media Group / Alamy Stock Photo

"It isn't the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being."

He later backtracked slightly, writing in the New York Times: "Many franchise films are made by people of considerable talent and artistry. You can see it on the screen.

"The fact that the films themselves don't interest me is a matter of personal taste and temperament. I know that if I were younger, if I'd come of age at a later time, I might have been excited by these pictures and maybe even wanted to make one myself.

"But I grew up when I did and I developed a sense of movies – of what they were and what they could be – that was as far from the Marvel universe as we on Earth are from Alpha Centauri."

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Topics: Film and TV, Aquaman

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at UNILAD who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats.