Yahya Abdul-Mateen II facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Abdul-Mateen at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1986-07-15) July 15, 1986 (age 39) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BArch) Yale University (MFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2012–present

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (born July 15, 1986) is an American actor. He is famous for playing exciting characters in movies and TV shows.

He is well-known for his role as Black Manta in the superhero movies Aquaman (2018) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). He also played Bobby Seale in the Netflix drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020). Another big role was Morpheus / Agent Smith in The Matrix Resurrections (2021).

Yahya won an Emmy Award for his part as Cal Abar / Doctor Manhattan in the HBO series Watchmen (2019). He also appeared in episodes of The Handmaid's Tale (2018) and Black Mirror (2019).

He also acts on Broadway, which is a famous theater district in New York City. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his role in the play Topdog/Underdog.

Early Life and School

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the youngest of six children. His father was Muslim, and his mother was Christian.

He grew up in New Orleans and then moved to Oakland, California. There, he went to McClymonds High School. He was a good athlete and enjoyed playing chess. He was even voted prom king! Later, his family moved to Stockton, California.

Yahya went to the University of California, Berkeley. He was part of a group called Alpha Phi Alpha. He also ran track as a hurdler for the school team. A teammate suggested he try an acting class. This class helped him with a stutter he had.

He earned a degree in architecture. After college, he worked as a city planner in San Francisco. This job involves planning how cities grow and are organized. When he lost that job, he decided to study acting. He went to Yale School of Drama and earned another degree in fine arts.

Acting Career

When Yahya started acting, he insisted on keeping his Muslim name. He did not want to change it or use a stage name. He believed his name would not stop him from succeeding.

First Roles

In 2016, Yahya began his acting career in the musical drama series The Get Down on Netflix. He played Clarence "Cadillac" Caldwell, a character who was like a prince in the disco music world. People really liked his performance in the show.

Abdul-Mateen in 2017

In 2017, Yahya appeared in the drama film The Vanishing of Sidney Hall. He played a character named Duane. This movie was shown for the first time at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

He also played a police officer named Garner Ellerbee in the action comedy film Baywatch. He acted alongside Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron in this movie. It came out in May 2017.

Later in 2017, he was in the musical film The Greatest Showman. He played W.D. Wheeler, a skilled acrobat. In this movie, he worked with Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya. The film was about the famous American showman P.T. Barnum.

Big Superhero and Horror Roles

In 2018, Yahya starred in the road trip drama film Boundaries. He acted with Vera Farmiga and Christopher Plummer.

That same year, he took on a big role as the DC Comics villain Black Manta in the movie Aquaman. He started filming this movie in Australia in May 2017.

In 2019, Yahya appeared in the horror movie Us, directed by Jordan Peele. He played a flashback part as the main character's father.

In February 2019, it was announced that Yahya might star in a new Candyman movie. This film was produced by Jordan Peele. Yahya played the main character, and the movie was released on August 27, 2021. It received good reviews.

TV Series and Awards

In March 2019, Yahya was cast in the fifth season of Netflix's science-fiction series Black Mirror.

Later that year, he played Cal Abar, also known as Doctor Manhattan, in the HBO superhero miniseries Watchmen. His performance earned him his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special in September 2020.

Yahya also starred as Morpheus (a different version of the character) in the film The Matrix Resurrections.

Broadway and Future Projects

From September 2022 to January 2023, Yahya made his Broadway theatre debut. He starred in a new version of the play Topdog/Underdog with Corey Hawkins. For this role, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

In October 2022, it was announced that Yahya was cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series Wonder Man. He will play the main character, Simon Williams / Wonder Man. This series is expected to be released in 2025.

Personal Life

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II lives in New York City. After his father passed away in 2007, Yahya started looking into his family's history. He said his father always wanted to know more about where his own father came from. Yahya's father had West Indian heritage.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016–2017	The Get Down	Clarence "Cadillac" Caldwell	Main role
2018	The Handmaid's Tale	Omar	Episode: "Baggage"
2019	Black Mirror	Karl	Episode: "Striking Vipers"
	Watchmen	Cal Abar	Miniseries; 8 episodes
2025	Wonder Man	Simon Williams / Wonder Man	Lead role; 8 episodes
TBA	Man on Fire	John Creasy	Lead role

Key

Denotes television series that have not yet been released

Theatre

Awards and Nominations

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has won and been nominated for many awards for his acting.

He won an Emmy Award for his role in Watchmen. He also won a Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Actor in a Horror Movie for Candyman.

For his work in The Trial of the Chicago 7, he won a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the cast. He was also nominated for a Tony Award for his Broadway performance in Topdog/Underdog.

See also

In Spanish: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II para niños