Yahya Abdul-Mateen II says he was ‘proud to be part of Watchmen’ as it is ‘culturally relevant’

The actor says his reaction to his big plot twist was, ‘I’m going to have to get into shape’

HBO series Watchmen is officially considered to be one of the best TV shows of all time, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is in agreement.

The actor, who played Cal in the 2019 series from Damon Lindelof, has reflected on his time working on the show, telling The Independent: “I remember saying that that the pilot was the best piece of television writing that I had ever read – and then episode six came, and I read it, and it blew my mind so much that I said again, ‘I think that might be the best piece of television writing that I have ever read.’

“Those two episodes really cemented the feeling that I knew we had something very special on our hands,” he added.

*Spoilers below – you have been warned*

Mateen II had a key role in Watchmen, even if it did not seem that way until the final few episodes. He played the husband of Angela Abar (Regina King), the cop/masked vigilante fighting against a group of white supremacists known as the Seventh Cavalry in Tulsa, Oklahoma following the murder of her boss (Don Johnson).

Lindelof’s series – based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ beloved graphic novel – premiered to rave reviews, with many writers praising the way he had updated the story to tackle white supremacy in America. The show’s theme became even more prescient this week following the death of George Floyd after he was taken into custody by police in Minneapolis.

“I was proud to be part of something that was culturally relevant,” Mateen II said, months before the tragic killing, which has seen the policeman associated with the attack charged with third-degree murder.

One huge plot twist in Watchmen eventually revealed that the actor was playing a character central to the events of the graphic novel: Dr Manhattan, the blue time-hopping God that was created due to an accident involving a nuclear physics experiment.

“When I was in negotiations for the role, they hinted that Cal was going to be an important character – that there was more to what was on the breakdown,” he said. ”I had no idea what that meant, but I said, ‘Look, I’m going to follow Damon, Regina King and the Watchmen concept.’ I knew my character was going to do something eventually, but I had no idea what it was.”

When he found out, he admits that he ”didn’t have much of a reaction”.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II said he was ‘proud’ to be a part of HBO’s ‘Watchmen’ series (Getty Images)

“I tried to take it all in my stride, at least on the outside; not the inside. On the inside, I was going crazy. I was ecstatic.”

After realising he would be playing Dr Manhattan – the role played by Billy Crudup in Zack Snyder’s 2009 film – Mateen II realised he was going to have to do something he didn’t expect: nude scenes.

“I was pretty game for it,” he said of appearing naked on screen. ”I think the first thought was, ‘I’m going to have to get in shape.’ I didn’t want to be a Dr Manhattan who showed up and was not fit for the part – was not physically in shape. He would still have his powers, but you want him to be a muscular character, so I started working out. In terms of being naked, it was actually pretty liberating actually, which was unexpected. It was kind of fun. I I felt taken care of. It was never gratuitous or objectifying. I was really happy with the way that it turned out.”

His role in Watchmen came at an exciting time in the actor’s career. His highest-profile role to date is DC film Aquaman, but he’s about to follow that up with a role in The Matrix 4 alongside Keanu Reeves and Carrie Ann Moss. It’s been rumoured that Mateen II will play a young version of Morpheus – the character played by Laurence Fishburne in the original trilogy – but is there any truth to the endless reports?

Regina King and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in 'Watchmen' (HBO)

"I gotta be tight-lipped about that,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a really good one – I was impressed with the technology of the original and what they were able to do in 1999, and I’m hopeful we can push the technology forward in terms of what we can do 20 years later. I’m just so excited to be a part of it.”

Watchmen is available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray now