Mena Massoud Says Seeing 'Aladdin' For the First Time Was 'An Out of Body Experience'

Mena Massoud takes over the June/July 2019 cover of Daman magazine.

Here’s what the 27-year-old Aladdin actor had to say:

On the pressure to fill Aladdin’s shoes: “Pressure isn’t the right word. I feel a lot of responsibility but not pressure. I know Guy Ritchie and the studio spent a lot of time trying to find the right person and they wouldn’t have cast me if they didn’t feel like I was the guy. But I do feel a responsibility to not let fans of the original down.”

On the most memorable moments from filming: “We did a lot of incredible things on this film. I really got to sink my teeth into parkour and fitness and I absolutely loved that about it because it was an extension of my fitness routine that I already craved everyday. But also just the time I got to spend with such incredible artists like Guy, Will, Naomi and Jonathan our producer. I learned a lot from them and I genuinely enjoyed spending time with all of them.”

On seeing the film for the first time: “It was a bit of an out of body experience to be honest. I still haven’t seen the final cut but the one I saw was almost finished. I was very proud of everyone who put their hearts and souls into this film. Everyone on the team just really loved this project and I think it shows on screen. This film was made with a lot of passion and I’m so happy to have gotten to work with all of these incredible people.”

Aladdin is in theaters now.