We caught up with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II who is best known for his role Cadillac in the hit Netflix series The Get Down.
We spoke to the rising star all the way from Australia who is currently there filming DC’s Aquaman to talk his current role in Baywatch opposite Zac Efron and The Rock.
The cast of Paramount Pictures’ BAYWATCH took over the beautiful beaches of Sydney for the movie’s Australia premiere. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Zac Efron and Alexandra Daddario greeted press and fans at Hoyts Entertainment Quarter in Sydney.
The Knockturnal: How was it working on this film?
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: I think comedy is always fun. With that character, I think there’s comedy in the voice of reality and being a voice of reality definitely, because of this situation in the plot. But, I think any time that I can just be silly and try stupid stuff on screen, you know what I mean? I’ll probably lean towards that because it’s just so much fun to feel like a kid again. To be free on film like that, you know?
The Knockturnal: Were you a big fan of the show prior to doing the movie?
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: Nah, nah. I never watched Baywatch growing up. I mean, I was young. During the 90s, I was in school, and after school, I was in the park and things like that. I didn’t really watch much TV. But I do remember Baywatch coming on and going off. I think I was watching like Power Rangers or something like that. I remember watching maybe a cartoon before the cartoon. When my cartoons went off, Baywatch would come on. I remember changing from Power Rangers.
The Knockturnal: Yeah, you’re so right. After the Fox cartoons would go off, Power Rangers, Baywatch would come on.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: Is that right? I think I remember something like that. I think I remember turning it from a cartoon and going back to Baywatch and seeing people in slow motion. There were a lot of people running in slow motion, and then that’s the end of cartoons. So, it was definitely a part of my watching experience.
The Knockturnal: No, you are definitely right, because I remember like Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers would all come on, and then Baywatch would come on right after them like I’ll have time for the adults now.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: Definitely some slow motion thing going on and I have no idea what it’s all about.
The Knockturnal: Yeah, no. We weren’t ready. What was a fun moment from the set?
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: I think Zac in a dress was so much fun. That was just … I mean, that was ridiculous. I think Zac in a dress and the behind-the-scenes from that you know, walking up and seeing. Because he told me about it, but then when I walked up into the scene and I saw him. I’m like, “Aw man, that’s just … ” You know, that was one of the hardest scenes to keep a straight face on. That scene actually got changed, so that something that’s not in the film.
The Knockturnal: Spoiler?
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: Well, I don’t think it’s in the film. There was a scene where I was in the scene. I was in a scene where Zac had a dress on and I don’t think that that ended up in the film. But, it was like, I guess the answer was me being around Zac in this dress with this scene, seeing how funny and how comfortable he was and how uncomfortable he was at the same time. You know, there was raw material, just jokes, and laughter. But one thing that did make the film was when Dwayne improvised the cell phone line. They caught me on my cell phone and I fell off the first time he said it. I was dying on the inside because that wasn’t written in the script. He just kind of did that off the cuff. He said it, he surprised me with that line. I did all I could to help him to not laugh and to keep the take good. But man, it was a lot of good time.
The Knockturnal: I was just about to ask you. You guys seemed like you improvised a lot. Did you guys have a chance to improvise or was the script really that good?
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: We had a really good set and we’d go on script, and Seth would allow us to go back and try different things. He’d come in and he’d be laughing, he’d say “Okay, that was funny, but now try it this way,” you know? I think I have the line about the blue-eyed demon. That was definitely not in the script. So, Seth came in and he said, “Let’s try this.” One was like, “Thank you, shark bait. Or thank you, this or that,” and then we’d just try one … He said, “Let’s try to be a little bit more edgy,” and then it was “Thank you, this. Thank you, that. Thank you, blue-eyed demon.” We’d gone through about ten of those and other variations. It was that kind of set. We were welcome to improv, welcome to add on, and really come on and make the movie ours. It was a fun set when the cameras weren’t rolling, and we didn’t want to change anything about that once Seth said “action”. Hopefully, a lot of that carried over to the film, and we made something that’s just a fun viewing experience.
The Knockturnal: You mentioned Seth. What did you learn from Seth from this process of working with him as a director?
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: This was my first film, and I was also simultaneously shooting The Get Down.
The Knockturnal: Which I love, by the way.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate that, man. It means a lot.
The Knockturnal: No, with The Get Down, you guys have a cult following. The Get Down fans go hard, I would say that.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: Yeah, that’s true, man. They don’t play, man.
The Knockturnal: Yeah, they really don’t.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: I always appreciate them. But working with Baz … I came straight from drama school, so working with Baz … He’s a director who comes from the theater, and he appreciated size and scale and things like that. Just more, more, more. He’ll make the camera handle it. With Seth, I had to learn to pull back and to work in a different direction. To simplify. Let the comedy do itself, then he’d say, “Okay, now let’s do this take, but let’s open it up.” So, he’d let me have a little bit of both, and he was really just teaching me how to be on camera for film in certain situations. For the most part, it was really just making sure that I was comfortable enough to be free and to have fun, so that’s how Seth guided me. He told me, “Hey, it’s working, it’s funny, keep on doing that.” Other times, he would guide me in the direction because I’d never done a film before. I’d never worked on a movie. He was just driving me little jewels like that and things like that to keep me confident and to make sure that I looked sharp. If I’m good at all in this film, or if I do anything right, the first thing I attribute that to is Seth. Absolutely, one-hundred percent. Then to Dwayne and to Zac and to Alex. To just all of the really great scene partners. Everyone was just game to have a good time. Once I figured out that was the formula, then it was easy to go to work and not be so cautious.
The Knockturnal: You’re about to join Dwayne now, in the DC world … Do you think Black Manta will ever face off with Black Adam?
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: I don’t know, man, but once you’re in the universe, basically anything is possible. You never know who is gonna come crashing through a wall. Or come storming around the corner. Dwayne was such a good scene partner. We had so much fun on camera and off camera. The next time I get opposite him, I know we’re just gonna crush it, crush it even more. He’s such a great, great guy, such a fun scene partner. He shares. He’s the type of actor that I think actors want to work with because he’s fun, comes with a great attitude. Who knows if we do cross paths in the DC universe, it’ll be fun because Black Manta gets what he wants. It’ll be fun crossing paths with a different kind of context.
The Knockturnal: You never know. You got the Injustice League, so it might happen.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen: Yeah, all kinds of things, man. The door’s wide open.
The Knockturnal: Exactly!
Baywatch is taking over theaters Memorial Day weekend with an opening date of Thursday, May 25.
