Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Covers Essence for their Screen Kings Issue
The Screen Kings issue is available physically and digitally on June 29th!
https://instagram.com/p/CQeaIIkg5y-
Yahya talks about wanting to step into a romantic comedy role and the importance of Black women in his life:
“We need more romance,” he says. “We have adventure. We have action. We’ve got a lot of stories about trauma, because trauma is very present in our world right now. But we also need love. We need more straight-up, old-school romance. I don’t mind putting my hand up and stepping into that place to say, ‘I’ll be your man, girl.’ I don’t mind that at all.”
When Yahya won his Emmy Award in 2020, he dedicated it to the Black women in his life whom he calls his “early investors”-“people who believed in me before the world did, who told me that I was special every step of the way, who would not let me even think that it was possible for me to fail,” he explains. “Black women in my life, they protect me and speak life into me. They put their arms around me, and it’s been an honor for me to take them on this journey, to celebrate them. Any time I have a win, it’s a win for them.”
[Regina] King, who also won an Emmy Award for her leading role in Watchmen, wasn’t surprised by the dedication when she watched Yahya accept the award from home. “That man talks about his sisters and his mother with so much love and so much appreciation,” she says. “I think that was one of the reasons why we connected so well. It doesn’t always work that way with actors, that you feel safe enough to be so forthcoming with your personal life, but we did that literally day one. His love for the women in his life, he leads with that.”
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What role would you like to see this talented man step into?