He's nothing to worry about: Will Smith on Aladin co-star Mena Massoud's audition struggle

Will Smith has come out in support of his "Aladin" co-star Mena Massoud, who revealed that he hadn't had a single audition since playing the lead role in Disney live-action remake. Smith, who played Genie to Massoud's Aladin, said he did not know about Massoud's struggled but considered him a great actor.

"He is a spectacular actor, and he has nothing to worry about,” Smith said told Variety on the red carpet of his upcoming animated film "Spies in Disguise". Massoud, in an interview with Daily Beast recently, revealed that "Aladin's" massive success at the box office, USD one billion, did nothing to his career.

"I'm kind of tired of staying quiet about it. I want people to know that it’s not always dandelions and roses when you’re doing something like ‘Aladdin.’ ‘He must have made millions. He must be getting all these offers.’ It’s none of those things. I haven’t had a single audition since ‘Aladdin’ came out.”

Massoud will next be seen in Hulu’s upcoming series "Reprisal", a role that he had landed before "Aladin" released.

"It's wild to a lot of people. People have these ideas in their head. It’s like, I’m sitting here being like, OK, ‘Aladdin’ just hit $1 billion. Can I at least get an audition? Like I’m not expecting you to be like, here’s Batman. But can I just get in the room? Like, can you just give me a chance? So it’s not always what you think," said Massoud, who beat out competition from 2,000 people to land the Hollywood role.

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