IN CONVERSATION WITH MENA MASSOUD
interview by JANA LETONJA
Mena Massoud is starring in Julia Stiles’ directorial debut ‘Wish You Were Here’, which released on 17th January in theatres and is available on PVOD as of February 4th. He is best known for starring in the billion-dollar grossing live-action ideation of Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ playing the iconic title character. Recently, Mena was also seen in Netflix’s rom-com ‘The Royal Treatment’. Outside of acting, Mena founded a company Evolving Vegan, which aims to introduce people to plant-based living and help them evolve towards that lifestyle at their own pace.
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‘Wish You Were Here’ marks Julia Stiles’ directorial debut. What was it like working with her, and how did her vision shape your experience on set?
Julia is a titan of industry and a veteran in this genre. Her films in this genre have gone on to become iconic movies, like ‘10 Things I Hate About You’. One of the main reasons I took on this role was the opportunity to get to work with Julia and learn as much as I could from her. I don’t take the opportunity to work with artists as experienced as Julia for granted, and this was no different. I’ve luckily had the opportunity to work in the romance genre a few times with films like ‘The Royal Treatment’ and ‘Hotel for the Holidays’, but this was different being a romance-drama as opposed to a romantic-comedy.
What drew you to this role, and what do you hope audiences take away from it?
For one, it’s a book adaptation and I really relished the challenge of taking an existing book character and bringing him to life. The subject matter was also very dear to me as I’m sure it is to a lot of people who have been touched by cancer. I liked the physical challenge of having to lose weight in such a short amount of time. It was important that we see Adam’s transformation as a fairly healthy man to someone who is fighting for his life later on in the film. I think this is such a beautiful story that teaches us about hope, taking chances, following your heart and making the most of every moment life has to offer us. I hope audiences leave the film inspired to make the most of life and live to the fullest of their abilities each and every day.
From ‘Aladdin’ to ‘Wish You Were Here’, your roles vary widely. How do you choose the stories you want to tell as an actor?
A lot of it is the people. Who are the people involved? How much can I learn from them? With ‘Aladdin’, I got to work with one of the best directors in our industry in Guy Ritchie and one of the greatest actors to ever live in Will Smith. For this film, like I said, I couldn’t wait to get on set with Julia, but also Isabelle who’s now been in the industry for almost 20 years. She was the best acting partner I could ask for and I learned a lot from working with her as well. Another aspect I always look for is the genre. I want to work on every genre possible and this was one I hadn’t gotten the opportunity to do yet. It’s definitely romance, but it’s also a straight drama in a lot of ways. Whenever the opportunity comes up to do something I haven’t done before, it’s hard to pass up. I did my first horror film a couple of years ago, ‘The Sacrifice Game’, and I absolutely loved that experience as well.
Landing the role of Aladdin after a worldwide search must have been life-changing. How has that experience shaped your career and your perspective on the industry?
I think ‘Aladdin’ happened for me at the perfect time in my career. I had been acting professionally for about 6 years when I went through the casting process. The prep for the film and the on-set experience was one of the greatest moments of my career. It was a ton of pressure to play the title character in a $180M film, but I think it really helped me mature as an artist and a craftsman. I’ve always relished big moments in my life, and this was arguably the biggest. But the real growth came after the success of the film. I had to deal with a lot of emotional and mental challenges and that really helped me grow. It taught me the importance of managing expectations, even if you think you’re doing a good job at that, and the importance of hanging on to the love of your craft. Being a professional actor and having to deal with everything that comes with it is challenging to say the least, and it’s so important to remember your “Why.” For me, it’s always been my love of the craft, and you can lose sight of that when you go through the process of being a part of a blockbuster film. Life after ‘Aladdin’ really reminded the importance of staying focused on my love of the craft.
Evolving Vegan is such a unique initiative. What inspired you to create a company dedicated to plant-based living?
I just wanted to encourage people to eat more plants without the pressure or judgement of being a vegan. Veganism gets a bad rap, and I think it’s really unfortunate, as is anything that gets slapped with a label. It’s very misunderstood and contorted sometimes. I wanted to create a book and TV show that made it fun for people to learn about eating plant-based. That’s really the whole goal of Evolving Vegan.
sweater SAINT LAURENT
jeans LEVIS
Your travel and food series has been a hit. How does exploring vegan cuisine globally influence your personal perspective on food and culture?
It’s been an absolute blast. The travel food show was always the ultimate goal for me and the fact that we’ve done two seasons now, getting to travel the world and share with people how incredible plant-based food, chefs and restaurants can be is a dream come true. I get to meet the most amazing people, work with humans I consider friends and try the best food in the world. It doesn’t really get much better than that. It’s taught me a lot about what I don’t know. Getting to be the creator and executive producer on the show has sparked my love for producing which I’ve been doing under my production company, Press Play Productions, and I’ve gotten to explore the kind of producer I want to be as well. It’s also refreshing getting to perform as myself. I’m not putting on a character or memorizing lines, I’m just bringing my energy and getting to play and eat with people, many of whom I’ve never met before. It’s been a brilliant life and work experience.
With your cookbook and platform, how do you strike a balance between acting and entrepreneurship?
I think in today’s day and age, being an actor is being an entrepreneur. In a way, it always has been, but now everyone can market themselves 24/7. Being an actor involves so much more than acting now, if that makes sense. It is a lot to balance and for me the most difficult part is knowing when to put everything else on hold and focus solely on a single script or character. If you see me absent from social media and barely posting, that’s probably what’s happening. Before filming and during, almost everything else takes a back seat. But when I’ve wrapped a project, I’m back to being an entrepreneur and returning to growing my business. It really is so different than how it used to be. Even when I was in theater school, not that long ago, no one spoke about being an actor in the context of being a businessman or woman, but the reality is, that’s what it is now. The days of being a pure Thespian are over for most people. Perhaps it still exists in the theatre world, but even then our world has just changed.
Can you give us a sneak peek into what’s next for Evolving Vegan, especially with its streaming debut in the US this spring?
I am so excited for audiences outside of Canada to see the show. We have two incredible seasons, twelve episodes to share, and I’m just so proud of this series. We flew to some of the most fascinating cities in the world and tried the best plant-based food they had to offer. Mexico City and Tokyo are standout episodes because they were international, but Los Angeles, Portland, Philadelphia and Austin were some of my favorites as well. The word vegetarian just does not mean what it used to. You can find and eat anything you want now as a plant-based substitute and the people leading the charge are just so captivating. I wanted to just create a fun, engaging, colorful, mouth-watering show, period. It just happens to be vegan food. And I’m really excited for people to see that.
You’ve become a voice for healthier living and sustainability. How do these values influence your choices in both your career and personal life?
It just becomes a lifestyle. My fiancée and I are always having conversations that go beyond food when it comes to health and sustainability now. Recently, it’s been about materials for us, trying to eliminate synthetic materials from our life. Clothes that are polyester, cooking materials that are plastic. I think it’s important to strip away the luxuries of life sometimes in the sense of going back to how our ancestors used to live. The closer we get to our roots, the better. What do I mean by that? Eat whole foods. They didn’t have processed snacks even just 100 years ago. They certainly didn’t wear polyester. They used a lot of glass and ceramic. There weren’t silicon utensils. These are all things that I think are hurting our bodies and our planet, and are unnecessary. They were created to increase the bottom line for factories and massive companies, and we as the consumer are the only ones that can change that with how we consume. We have to become more cognizant of how and what we consume.
As a Brand Ambassador for Copper Branch, what excites you most about collaborating with a plant-based restaurant chain?
Bringing them a fresh point of view. That’s what excites me the most. I’ve always wanted to own a restaurant, and I will one day, but I value the ability to be able to influence people’s meal choices every day. I recently went to Japan for my third time, and it was there that I really started digging deep into my first menu collaboration with Copper Branch. We created a warm, spicy, comforting miso ramen with tofu and Wood Ear mushrooms loaded with fresh veggies. It was perfect for the colder winters of Canada, and it was just a pleasure to be able to go somewhere like Japan and bring back an authentic version of one of the most iconic dishes on Earth. Being a part of people’s day through food, there’s nothing like it.
2025 seems like a big year for you. What excites you most about this moment in your career?
I think every year is exciting in my industry to be honest. Every month, every week. If I had to sum up 2025, I would say it’s about maturing as a man, an artist and soon to be husband. Everything about it just feels more mature. ‘Wish You Were Here’ is the most mature film I’ve made so far in my career. Creating and executive-producing Evolving Vegan is certainly the most mature, polished work for the IP that I created so far. And getting married, I think, is one of the most important and fulfilling commitments anyone can make in their life. So, in a lot of ways, I think it’s about taking big steps and seeing them through. I’ve certainly done that throughout my life, but now it almost feels like anything less is not worth the time. Swing big. There’s nothing to be afraid of. God will provide. You are destined for greatness.
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TEAM CREDITS:
talent MENA MASSOUD
photography KAT PAGE
hair ASHLEY CORNETT
styling ADAM BALLHEIM
