When Mena Massoud, the star of the new “Aladdin” live-action remake, got the first callback for the title role, he decided not to revisit the beloved 1992 animated original. And though it’s set in a fictional port city in Arabia, its characters were voiced by a majority white cast. Born in Cairo and raised in Toronto, Massoud, 27, has a rosier view of the earlier movie . “My parents knew about the story of Aladdin far before the animation film. Massoud, who had a recurring role in “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” won out over more than 2,000 hopefuls who auditioned for his role.

Source: New York Times May 26, 2019 13:52 UTC