Wednesday’s second season has crept back onto Netflix, casting its spell over our screens once more as chaos swirls through Nevermore— the fictional boarding school at the center of the series— and the faces at the heart of it. Darker and sharper than ever, the new season has dialed the obsession up a notch, propelling its cast even further into the spotlight, including 17-year-old Moosa Mostafa, returning as the lovable (and slightly bee-obsessed) Eugene.
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From school auditions to landing a role in one of Netflix’s biggest hits in just a few short years, the part-Egyptian actor has had a meteoric rise. MILLE caught up with him to talk about stepping back into Eugene’s shoes, navigating fame at such a young age, and plotting what comes next.
Can you take us back to how you first landed the role of Eugene. Did you ever imagine it would happen?
Moosa Mostafa: A casting director came to my school for a separate Netflix show called The Last Bus. I auditioned for it, and after a while of waiting and not hearing anything, I suddenly got a callback and ended up getting the role, which was really awesome. Off the back of that show, I managed to get an agent and start exploring the industry a little more. Through that, I got an audition for Wednesday, and then I kind of ended up there very quickly— within a couple of years, going from absolutely nothing to 100. It kind of lumped me in and dropped me right in it.
I think I was definitely a bit skeptical of myself at first. I thought, ‘Oh, this is kind of a shot in the dark— we’ll just try it and see.’ Obviously, I was always hoping, but you never really know. And then, all of a sudden, they were like, ‘You’ve got it, and you’re going to Romania to film.’ I was like, wow, this is kind of insane— it really threw me into the deep end. But it was such a massive opportunity, and I’m really thankful for it all.
Did you always see yourself pursuing acting, or has your relationship with it evolved over time?
MM: I think I’ve always enjoyed it since I was young, but never at a really professional level until I got into it more recently. I always did it just for fun and never really considered it as a possible career. But off the back of this, it’s definitely shown me how viable it is— and how much I genuinely enjoy doing it. Now more than ever, it feels like a realistic option for me.
How did you prepare for your role?
MM: So I think, following season one— which I’d already done and spent a lot of time on dialect coaching and really finding the role of Eugene— coming back was actually quite tricky. I had to relearn and remind myself how Eugene spoke and acted, and get back into the American accent. It had been such a long time since I’d been on a film set in that way, so I almost had to reteach myself how to do my job, in a sense. But once I got back into it, it was really nice. I found my rhythm as I went along, and everyone was really supportive.
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How has life changed for you since Wednesday — and stepping into Eugene’s shoes — on a day-to-day level?
MM: I think I’m really, really blessed. I’ve had this lovely kind of lack of change in the best way possible. The second I get home from filming for however many months, after about a week of recalibrating, everything just goes back to normal. Everyone treats me the same, and I really appreciate that.
It keeps me grounded and allows me to dip in and out of these incredible opportunities while still having my normal life to return to. I think that makes going back to set even more exciting every time. So yeah, I’ve thankfully managed to stay relatively normal throughout this whole experience, despite how massive the show is and how crazy the whole world around it can be.
Being one of the few actors of Arab heritage in the industry, do you ever think about how kids might look at you and go, ‘If he’s done it, so can I’? Does that bring a sense of responsibility, or is it just something you’re aware of quietly?
MM: I think there’s a lot of pride. I’m half Egyptian, and my mom is actually from Pakistan, so I’m half Pakistani as well. It feels really special to be able to represent two different cultures and bring them together— to be a kind of spokesperson, in a way, for the younger generation and for others from these countries. Being able to represent them on such a global scale is honestly a massive honor.
It’s really nice knowing that I can hopefully inspire people and give a platform to these incredible countries that I’m so grateful to be from. It’s definitely not nothing. There’s a fair bit of pressure too, because as you said, I don’t think this kind of representation is as present in the industry as it should be.
But I think it’s really encouraging to be evidence of a step in the right direction, to show how these cultures are being embraced and how multicultural the industry is becoming, which is amazing to see. It’s really nice to be a kind of physical mark of that progress, and I’m just really honored to be able to display that for people out there.
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Speaking of representation, who did you look up to when you were growing up?
MM: I grew up watching loads of films with my sister. We’d watch the same stuff over and over again. I always really loved the Pirates of the Caribbean films so much. I think Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow was probably my biggest childhood influence— I’d be swinging off curtains and everything. That’s probably what first got me into the whole idea of storytelling and the excitement of films in general. So yeah, I’d probably give it to that.
Do you think you’ll keep playing characters like Eugene, or could we see you exploring totally different roles in the future?
MM: I’d love to be able to explore my own ability as an actor, to see where I can take it and how far I can push myself. Obviously, I love playing Eugene; I love his character, and the idea of playing similar roles does excite me. It’s always so much fun, and I have a great time doing it.
But I’m equally interested in exploring the rest of the industry— seeing what other dramatic directions I can go in, and just pushing myself to grow and become better as an actor.
What can we look forward to seeing from you moving forward?
MM: Oh, well, hopefully you’ll be seeing me in more things. If everything goes well, I’m hoping to really explore the industry and take it more seriously— to put my all into it and see how far I can go. It’s something I really love and would love to continue, and I just hope people would love to see me continue it as well. So yeah.
The post Moosa Mostafa Talks Fame, Representation, and What’s Next After ‘Wednesday’ appeared first on MILLE WORLD.
