I wanted to be Michael Jackson as a kid. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II More Quotes by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II More Quotes From Yahya Abdul-Mateen II I have a love-hate relationship with working out. I do not enjoy the experience when I'm doing it, but I never regret it. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II enjoy experience regret relationship I'm so thankful every day. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II every-day every day thankful I'm the youngest of six kids, and I grew up with a lot of noise, a lot of music, and a lot of laughter. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II up laughter music noise When I was in college, it was on the recommendation of a friend of mine. He recommended that I take an acting class, and so I kind of did. I was very open to feedback and open to suggestions. I had a little bit of space in my schedule, and I guess, as the story goes, I went into an acting class, and I kind of got the bug for it. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II friend story space college I did not sit down and watch 'Baywatch' growing up. But I do specifically remember it coming on, and I remember it going off. I watched something that came on right before and then going back to that channel to watch what was coming on afterwards. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II down back growing-up remember My performance, I believe, is about my duty to the script, and my duty to the story that we're trying to tell, and I try to do that in a way that is true, in a way that's going to hold up the script, and that's going to be fun for the viewers to watch. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II performance fun believe way Acting was always in the back of my head. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II head back always acting I kind of just skyrocketed out of graduate school. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II out just kind school My father was Muslim, and my mom is Christian, and we moved from New Orleans to Oakland, so I always had this appreciation for different cultures. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II new mom appreciation father I was studying architecture at Berkeley when my father passed away in 2007. We knew he had cancer, but we didn't expect it to escalate so rapidly. In my mind, it was like, 'He'll pull through.' When he didn't, I didn't understand. I was 21, and my best friend had died. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II best architecture mind father I just want to do work that gets people excited and makes them feel things, no matter their economic or racial background. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II feel matter work people If you look at the story of 'The Get Down,' it's the story of young people, unknowns thrown together by their resources, trying to create something. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II look you together people I had taken an acting class at Berkeley - I was on the track team, and a friend of mine on the team said, 'You should take an acting class. It's just like recess.' So I viewed it as a simple credit. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II friend you team simple I kind of assumed all of Australia was like the Gold Coast - so I was telling people Australians just work out and go to the beach. Like, Australia has it figured out! But then I went to Sydney, and it was nothing like the Gold Coast - but I still loved it. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II loved work beach people I have a lot of fun playing quote unquote villains because I think the bad guys get to have more fun, right? Yahya Abdul-Mateen II more bad think fun I'm from a place where young people traditionally do not have resources. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II place resources young people I wanted to be an architect, and I ended up at my job in San Francisco, and if you would have asked me then, that was one of the greatest jobs that had happened to me in terms of my career. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II career job me you When I think about it, I was working very hard the summer before I applied to graduate school. I was going to the library every day in the summer. I read a play a day for about three months. I was taking audition classes, and I was reciting lines to myself and acting as my own scene partner. But I was having fun. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II partner day myself school I think that everybody likes the bad guy. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II bad-guy bad think guy For the things that I've been involved in, most of it has really been - it's been a mixture of action and then drama. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II then things action drama
