Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is ready to raise the curtain on Simon Williams.

The 39-year-old actor stars in Wonder Man, the eight-episode Marvel Television series premiering January 27 on Disney+. Abdul-Mateen II is, of course, no stranger to high-pressure blockbuster projects (especially those in the Super Hero genre). But Wonder Man presented a new challenge, requiring the actor to take on an entirely new role… as an actor. 

Created by Andrew Guest and Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Wonder Man follows young actor Simon Williams (Abdul-Mateen II) as he fights to build a career in Hollywood. Along the way, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with fellow actor Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), and the two find themselves pursuing life-changing roles together — especially when Simon learns that the acclaimed director Von Kovak (Zlatko Burić) is remaking his childhood favorite film, the 1980s cult classic Wonder Man. The resulting series is a heartfelt love letter to odd-couple friendships, chasing your dreams, and the very city of Los Angeles.

Wonder Man is an unconventional show about an unconventional hero, and it’s unlike anything Marvel Television has done before. But when Marvel.com sits down with Abdul-Mateen II just a few days before the show’s Hollywood premiere, he’s feeling no pressure — just exhilaration at finally bringing Simon to the screen.

“It’s about time!” Abdul-Mateen II says with a smile. “I’m excited to introduce him into the Marvel universe. He’s a really quirky character. He’s got a whole lot of upside and potential.”

Here, Abdul-Mateen II opens up about the parallels between his career and Simon’s, the real-life acting advice he got from Ben Kingsley, and the scene where Wonder Man got a little too meta. 

MARVEL.COM: Take me back to the beginning when you first got involved with Wonder Man. What was it about Simon Williams that made you want to tell his story?

YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II: At first, it wasn’t even about Simon. It was really about Destin, even before Simon. I’m a fan of Destin’s work: Just Mercy, Short Term 12. I like his filmmaking. It’s earnest. It has a lot of heart. 

I talked to Destin, and he said that he wanted to do something that was different. He was describing this character that was kind of awkward. He was passionate about acting. Simon was easily relatable. His super power, to him, was not the most exciting thing about him. He has a real passion, and that was something I can get behind. 

Also, Destin said that he wanted to shoot it in a way where it sort of felt like an indie. It felt different than some of the other things that were already on the Marvel slate. So I said, “Yeah, I really want to be a part of that.”

MARVEL.COM: So much of this show is about the friendship between Simon and Trevor Slattery, played by Sir Ben Kingsley. They’re very different men, but they have a lot of similarities — especially their shared love for acting. What interested you most about their relationship?

YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II: There’s this push and pull of who’s the leader. Trevor has the expertise. Simon has the passion. Simon is looking for a friend, and he’s also trying to teach Trevor: “Look, you have to take things more seriously. You can’t always approach things with a laissez-faire attitude.” Trevor is saying, “Sometimes you just need to calm down and be in the moment and let things happen.” And Simon is like, “No, that’s not my process!” [Laughs]

What was interesting was finding a friendship between two guys on completely different sides of their career but who somehow find themselves in the same place. They have two completely different philosophies on life, but the commonality is that they both have an appreciation for the craft of acting, and that’s what the friendship revolves around. That was pretty special to create that bond.