Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (original) (raw)

Highest Rated: 93% Us (2019)

Lowest Rated: 12% The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017)

Birthday: Jul 15, 1986

Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

A critically praised turn as a fleet-footed club owner on "The Get Down" (Netflix, 2016-17) gave actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen a career boost that led to major roles in "The Greatest Showman" (2017) and "Aquaman" (2018). Born July 15, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Abdul-Mateen was raised in the city's Magnolia Projects before relocating with his family to Oakland, California. There, he harbored a desire to become an actor, but pursued a career in architecture, earning a degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and working for a period of time as a city planner in San Francisco. But upon being laid off, Abdul-Mateen took a risk and focused his energy on becoming an actor; he was soon cast in a local stage production, which prompted him to apply to the Yale Drama School, where he earned a master's degree in fine arts. More stage work followed, including roles with the Williamstown Festival in Massachusetts and New York's Shakespeare in the Park, before Abdul-Mateen made his television debut as Cadillac, a vain, disco-dancing club owner in the Baz Luhrmann-produced "The Get Down." The praise afforded to him by his performance led to steady and diverse work in features and on television; in the former capacity, he moved deftly from broad comedies like "Baywatch" (2017) to musicals like "The Greatest Showman," which cast him as acrobat W.D. Wheeler, and indie efforts like "First Match" (2018), for which he played the estranged father of a teenaged girl and aspiring wrestler. On the small screen, Abdul-Mateen appeared on "The Handmaid's Tale" (Hulu, 2017- ) and was cast in HBO's "Watchmen" series, but his breakout role came in theaters when he was tapped to play the undersea bounty hunter Black Manta, longtime nemesis to "Aquaman" in James Wan's feature adaptation of the venerable DC Comics fantasy title.

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93% 61% Us Watchlist 89% 90% The Trial of the Chicago 7 Watchlist 85% 81% First Match Watchlist 84% 72% Candyman Watchlist 68% 87% Ambulance Watchlist 66% 72% Aquaman Watchlist 63% 63% The Matrix Resurrections Watchlist 56% 86% The Greatest Showman Watchlist 54% 59% All Day and a Night Watchlist 49% 63% Boundaries Watchlist

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Yahya Abdul-Mateen II at arrivals for AQUAMAN Premiere, TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman's), Los Angeles, CA December 12, 2018. Photo By: Priscilla Grant/Everett Collection AQUAMAN, YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II, 2018. PH: JASIN BOLAND/© WARNER BROS. AQUAMAN, DIRECTOR JAMES WAN (WEARING CAP), YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II (CENTER, REAR), ON SET, 2018. PH: JASIN BOLAND/© WARNER BROS. AQUAMAN, YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II (CENTER), 2018. © WARNER BROS. BAYWATCH, YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II, 2017. PH: FRANK MASI/© PARAMOUNT PICTURES BAYWATCH, FROM LEFT: DWAYNE JOHNSON, YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II, 2017. PH: FRANK MASI/© PARAMOUNT PICTURES AQUAMAN, FROM LEFT: MICHAEL BEACH, YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II, 2018. © WARNER BROS. FIRST MATCH, FROM LEFT: YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II, ELVIRE EMANUELLE, 2018. © NETFLIX FIRST MATCH, FROM LEFT: ELVIRE EMANUELLE, YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II, 2018. © NETFLIX View more photos

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