For Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, starring in Wonder Man provided him more than an opportunity to play in yet another superhero universe. The actor won an Emmy for playing Doctor Manhattan on HBO’s Watchmen sequel series and went toe-to-toe (fin-to-fin?) with Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman as Black Manta, but in Abdul-Mateen’s first foray in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he would have a formidable Oscar winner as his scene partner.
During his visit to Gold Derby, Abdul-Mateen recalled his time working with Ben Kingsley, who once again reprised his role from Iron Man 3 as the aspiring actor/former faux terrorist Trevor Slattery. Thinking back on his time with “Sir Ben,” it was his footwear that first came to mind.
“Hard shoes,” Abdul-Mateen says. “He didn’t wear nice, comfortable shoes. He was coming to work.
From the very beginning, he took the project very seriously. It meant a great deal to him. Every time he was working, he was painting and making choices and telling a story.”
Abdul-Mateen followed that example during the filming of Episode 3’s climactic scene. After Trevor makes a decision to betray his government handlers in favor of his new friend, that fellow thespian, Simon Williams, has to deliver the enormous news that they both received a call back for Wonder Man.
“I said, ‘I’m gonna do it like Sir Ben this time,'” Abdul-Mateen recalls. “I worked out my beats, and I made my choices. I get out of the car. I touch the car window. I touch my heart. And then I look up because I don’t know what to say. Something like that, but I crafted those beats.”
It wasn’t Abdul-Mateen’s typical way into a scene, but the performance that Kingsley’s example led him to made an impression on the man himself.
“In between takes, after we had accomplished the scene, Sir Ben comes up and says, ‘Excellent choices,’ ” Abdul-Mateen says. “He reminded me that’s also a way to work, go in there and be deliberate and paint.”
