Yahya Abdul-Mateen II can do it all: He can portray historical figures like Bobby Seale in The Trial of the Chicago 7 — and put his spin on beloved franchise roles like Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections.
He can play a superhero (Simon Williams in Wonder Man) and a supervillain (Black Manta in the Aquaman films). He can even embody a comic book character who’s somewhere between the two — Dr. Manhattan in the limited series Watchmen, for which he won an Emmy Award. And as proven in The Get Down, he can dance a real mean disco.
Abdul-Mateen is now starring as John Creasy in Man on Fire, the action-packed seven-episode adaptation of A.J. Quinnell’s book series. Onetime Special Forces badass Creasy has become a bearded recluse who’s working quietly in a warehouse and struggling with his demons. But he soon finds himself fighting harder than ever, all to protect the daughter of an old friend.
Keep scrolling to learn more about Man on Fire and Abdul-Mateen’s other movies and shows on Netflix.
Abdul-Mateen plays John Creasy, a former Special Forces mercenary battling extreme PTSD after an operation went wrong. He takes on a new job at the request of an old friend, Paul Rayburn (Bobby Cannavale). But when a skyscraper is flattened by a mysterious group of bombers, John finds himself back in the fire to protect Paul’s daughter, Poe (Billie Boullet), who witnessed the crime. The seven-episode adaptation of A.J. Quinnell’s book series includes Alice Braga and Scoot McNairy in the cast.
This drama stars Ashton Sanders as Jahkor Abraham Lincoln, a young man who dreams of becoming a rapper, but ends up serving a life sentence for murder. He begins to reflect on how he got there — the people, the circumstances, and the system that set him on the path toward his crime. Abdul-Mateen plays Big Stunna, a gangster who hires him for various tasks. Jeffrey Wright and Regina Taylor are also in the cast.
Meet Will Sharp (Abdul-Mateen), a military veteran coping with a newborn baby, a sick wife, and a ton of pressure. At the end of his rope, he turns to his adoptive brother, Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal), a career criminal, for a one-and-done bank robbery. But when the job goes wrong, the siblings attempt an escape in the unlikely getaway vehicle. Michael Bay (6 Underground) directs the heist thriller, also featuring Eiza González and Moses Ingram.
This Emmy Award–winning anthology series explores how the dark side of human nature intersects with the extremes of modern life. The Season 5 episode “Striking Vipers” centers on a virtual reality fighting game that induces real pain — and pleasure. Abdul-Mateen and Anthony Mackie play Karl and Danny, two old friends who reconnect in the world of the game, but their late-night sessions begin to affect their lives in the real world.
This sports drama stars Elvire Emanuelle as Monique, a tenacious Brownsville teen who’s spent her childhood bouncing around various foster homes. In an attempt to reconnect with her ex-con father, Darrel (Abdul-Mateen), she joins her high school’s all-boys wrestling team. And once she starts winning, she begins to realize that she’s been looking for validation in all the wrong places. Colman Domingo and Jharrel Jerome are also in the coming-of-age tale.
This stylish drama series takes it back to 1977, when the talented and soulful youth of the South Bronx chased New York City dreams and breakneck beats to transform music history. The show features a star-studded ensemble cast, including Justice Smith, Jaden Smith, Daveed Diggs, Giancarlo Esposito, and Lillias White. In his screen debut, Abdul-Mateen breaks it down on the dance floor as Clarence "Cadillac" Caldwell, the ruler of the disco world and son of the owner of the most popular nightclub in the Bronx.
All rise for this courtroom drama about one of the most notorious trials in history. The Chicago Seven were a group of anti-Vietnam War protesters who planned a peaceful protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago — but ended up in a violent clash with police. Abdul-Mateen portrays Bobby Seale, the national chairman of the Black Panther Party. Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne, and Jeremy Strong are also in the film, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing).
