00:00Truly, honestly, over the past six years, it's been the black women, you know, whether it be my family or my growing fan base and group of supporters that, you know, that let me know that they have my back.
00:10And so hopefully I get more and more opportunities to say thank you to them, whether that be in an award speech or whether that be with the type of projects that I choose that in some way, shape, form, you know, give entertainment and say thank you, you know, right back to them.
00:30Hey, what's up?
00:42This is Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and this is Essence Uncovered.
00:48It feels really good to be able to represent various aspects of black manhood through my work.
00:53I think I have a very diverse film and television portfolio right now and I just want to continue to do that throughout my career.
01:01You know, for me, versatility means choice and choice, hence that freedom.
01:07So, you know, as an artist, that's really what I'm all about is, you know, having the freedom to choose any of the type of projects that, you know, that my own heart and my artistry desires.
01:17So if that's the example that I've been setting, you know, hopefully I get a chance, you know, to continue to do that, to continue to tell various stories and, you know, express my artistic freedom.
01:27I would love to go to Broadway.
01:32I would love to do a Broadway play.
01:34It'll happen.
01:35It'll happen sometime.
01:40Fans have approached me about that opportunity.
01:42Is it because of the hat?
01:44Probably the hat and the beard.
01:46My first, you know, my first job, they could see me kind of fitting into that sofa place.
01:50I love, I love Marvin Gaye's story and I think that when it's done, it'll be, hopefully it's done really, really well.
01:59If I'm a part of that, that'd be, that'd be a blessing.
02:02But I'm, I'm excited to see that story, you know, no matter who's in it.
02:10Nia's, Nia's excellent.
02:11She's a, she's, she's a really, really smart, smart mind.
02:15She's, she's, she's brilliant, you know, she let me play and she's an excellent leader, writer, storyteller as well.
02:23So Nia's brilliant and she's just, her star is just rising.
02:27You know, I can't wait to see everything that she does.
02:33What still scares me?
02:36I shouldn't say this because I feel like putting it out there just, it just makes me a target.
02:41I'm afraid, I'm afraid of rats and mice, probably mice more than rats, but rats and mice, it's not my favorite.
02:54Oh man, to have the support of black women along my journey, it means everything.
02:58It means that, that, that, that when I win, that they win.
03:02It means that when, when things get difficult, it means that I have a safe place, you know, to return to.
03:09You know, it, it, it makes me feel like home.
03:12It makes me feel like I have a strong community behind me.
03:16It's a great question.
03:17As I continue to build a name for myself, I, I hope that, uh, my legacy is that, uh, I, I, um, open doors for other young, uh, black, uh, men and women who, um, want to be artists, whether writers, actors, directors.
03:32Um, and hopefully I've made this, uh, profession more, um, obtainable, more attainable.
03:39You know, when, when I was young and coming up, uh, you know, um, I didn't relate to actors, I didn't relate to the people on the other side of the television.
03:47And so, um, hopefully through my work and, and, um, and through the work of the people that I surround myself with, the projects that I, you know, put my name in front of, um, that we inspire young people to want to do the same thing and to believe that they can.
04:00I think it's first, it's about relatability and then it's about access and, you know, hopefully, um, you know, that's something that I can continue to, uh, pave the pathway for throughout my career.
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