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New Orleans native, Oakland-raised budding star Yahya Abdul Mateen II first graced my screen in the Netflix series The Get Down, where he played drug dealer Cadillac. But I honestly didn’t take notice of him until his turn as Doctor Manhattan/Cal Abar in HBO’s Watchmen. Doctor Manhattan has been portrayed several times in the DCEU, but Yahya added texture to the character. Perhaps it was the compelling story line or it could have been the sexual chemistry with co-star Regina King as Angela Abraham. Whatever the case, I was mesmerized by the man with the velvety voice and smooth skin who was seemingly as moved as I was by his character and the story development of Watchmen.

Yahya did an interview with Deadline in which he shared his thoughtful approach to his career. I came away feeling as if I knew him better, he explained what was driving his diverse role choices and why he felt that art can be activism. Here’s what he had to say:

On how working on Watchmen changed his perspective on his career
Watchmen was the first thing that I was a part of, where I saw its potential to be a change agent. That was a really good feeling, and I want that feeling again.

I saw the way they were writing this story about heroes, about the often untold side of American history. They were being very relentless and courageous with the content they were writing, telling the story of systemic racism in America, and the story of generational trauma, while also being a love story and a really exciting hero’s journey, and that was very exciting.

It reminded me of the importance of the voice that art brings to different causes. Art can be activism, and our artwork definitely has the power to influence. It has the power to invoke a conversation that has the power to make people uncomfortable. Our art can be disruptive, and a lot of times, disruption is the best thing for illness. You want to find it, and you want to make it uncomfortable, so that it has to leave the body, and right now, especially in this time in the country, I think it’s important to be making art, and to be making statements that disrupt the status quo…

On playing Black Party Panther co-founder Bobby Seale in The Trial of The Chicago 7, out in September on Netflix
I can talk a little bit about Bobby Seale. That was such an honor, man. I’m from New Orleans, but I grew up in Oakland, California, so the Black Panther Party and Bobby Seale, I was no stranger to their history and their work. It was really an honor because it also woke up the activist in my own self, reading his book, and being in that courtroom.

Aaron and the designers did an amazing job of really sitting us down in history. Once we walked inside that courtroom, we were in 1970, and the story was about using your voice. It was about standing up and speaking against the government, and putting yourself on the line, and being loud, and making people uncomfortable.

You know, I think that’s sort of a theme right now, in the work that I’ve done in the past year, is being a disruptor. And if I talk about where I am in my career right now, I’m really enjoying walking into the position where I can have a very diverse career, and also have a career that disrupts the status quo, that sort of disrupts the idea of what a Black lead actor can be and do.

So, I’m at a place right now where I’m very, very blessed, and I’m learning the power that I do have. So, that’s the really exciting thing that comes next, with the position that I’ve been able to afford myself, is to ask the question of, how do I empower other people?

[From Deadline]

Yahya seems passionate about his craft and wishes to create art that pushes conversations or at least make you think. I believe that he is poised to be a leading man of his generation. His character choices have already proven he is willing to take risks and he is not afraid to explore traditionally taboo topics. I also like that many of his roles bend the concept of traditional masculinity.

I enjoyed watching him play the role of Doctor Manhattan/Cal Abar in Watchmen. I replayed episode 8, A God Walks into Abar, multiple times.  Yahya was able to humanize Doctor Manhattan, a character disconnected from human emotions because he was a literal god, by making me feel his desire and love for Angela Abraham. When an actor can make you FEEL what his character is feeling, that folks, is talent and it doesn’t hurt that he has a body of a Greek god and the voice of every woman’s dreams. I, for one, am looking forward to what he does next.

Some of Yahya’s future projects include Matrix 4, the Candyman Reboot, and The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Note by Celebitchy: Welcome Oya, our new writer! Oya lives in Texas, has a bachelor’s degree in fashion and a master’s in mass communication and is a Tantric yoga instructor, digital and visual storyteller, globetrotter, and jewelry designer. Her interests include cooking, fashion, travel, and wellness. She runs the podcast The Aha Xperience and you can find her on Instagram and Twitter.

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Photos credit: Getty and WENN