A biography for Mena Massoudhasn’t been written yet.
“I'm trying to be a voice for the North African Arab community. We've got to continue to fight for our place in the industry.”
“We're trying to give back to artists of colour and make the journey for them a little easier.”
“I try to support all the women in my life. So absolutely, Aladdin tries to do that as well, and rightfully - rightfully so.”
“I grew up speaking Arabic at home.”
“You've got to have confidence that the universe is working out for you.”
“I would wish we would get to a place of colour-blind casting, where it didn't matter what colour skin you are, where you came from, anybody could play anybody and we didn't judge it.”
“I think Middle Eastern hair is very resilient.”
“We don't tell Canadian stories enough.”
“We're - we're Coptic Christian.”
“I went through it in high school. It's like, 'Who am I? Am I good enough? Is my background good enough? I know I'm different, but do I have a voice?'”
“I don't like the word 'vegan' on its own, and the reason I started Evolving Vegan, is because the people associated with that word can be very militant.”
“I was in AP chemistry in high school, and I really liked it.”
“I grew up in a culturally different household.”
“I went to theater school in Toronto for four years and grew up around actors, and things like headshots could cost you from $500 to $1,000. That can be a big deal for a struggling artist.”
“My wish would be for positive representation and more diversity coming from Hollywood.”
“I can't compete for roles that require me to be Caucasian or African American, even if those characters really connect with me and intrigue me.”
“Even though I'm very fortunate and grateful to have played Aladdin, there were still four, five casting directors who never gave me a shot in Toronto. They didn't give me the time of day. I never got to audition for them.”
“When we uplift artists who reflect diverse perspectives their stories not only tell us how people view others, but how they view themselves.”
“Aladdin' was one of the few things that I watched as a kid where I was like, 'Oh, that guy looks like me and has a similar culture to mine.'”
“A lot of the Egyptian community is made up of doctors, pharmacists and engineers. All throughout high school I took sciences, but eventually I chose to pursue what I truly want to do.”