Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has had one of the more fascinating career trajectories in recent years when it comes to new superhero movies. He’s moved fluidly between prestige TV with Watchmen (streaming with an HBO Max subscription), blockbuster franchises like Aquaman, and now the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he’s set to headline Disney+’s upcoming Wonder Man series. In a recent interview, the established leading man told a hilarious story about a hazmat suit that he was sure made him a failure when it came to winning an award for Watchmen.
While appearing on Live with Kelly and Mark, Abdul-Mateen recalled the surreal night he actually won an Emmy for playing Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen, and how a lack of hazmat suits outside his apartment convinced him he hadn’t won at all. As he explained:
Man, I was sitting in my little apartment in Germany because I was filming The Matrix at the time, and it was me and my cousin, this was the Covid year. So, I didn’t go to the awards – nobody went to the awards. So, I noticed there were people in HASMAT suits holding the trophies outside of everyone’s door who won on televisions. But no one was outside of mine. So, I said, ‘I already know that I didn’t win. Nobody is here.’ And I messed around and won that thing!
As dark as that period was, it’s worth remembering just how strange things had become. With red carpets and live audiences off the table, Emmy winners were being notified in unconventional ways, including trophies being physically delivered to winners' homes by masked couriers in full protective gear. Almost everyone, that is. Abdul-Mateen added:
I didn’t get my trophy until about three months later.
If you somehow skipped Watchmen the first time around (or only half-watched it while doomscrolling), it’s worth a proper revisit. Damon Lindelof built the 2019 HBO series as a "remix" and sequel to the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons comic (not a reboot), pushing the story 34 years forward and anchoring it in modern-day Tulsa, where masked cops, the Seventh Kavalry, and the legacy of racist violence collide in a way that’s equal parts superhero myth and American reckoning. It’s ambitious in the way of big swings that feel particularly prescient today, and it commits to that ambition from the opening Tulsa massacre sequence onward.
And Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is a huge reason it lands. What starts as a grounded, tender performance gradually becomes something stranger, heavier, and genuinely haunting once the full scope of what he’s playing comes into focus. It’s the kind of work that makes you appreciate how the show balances big genre ideas with intimate character pain. Between the performances (Regina King is unreal), the Reznor/Ross score, and the way it expands the Watchmen world without feeling like cosplay, it’s still one of the best arguments for what “superhero TV” can be.
Despite the empty hallway, the Candyman actor had actually won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance as Dr. Manhattan. The award was his first Emmy, a major career milestone, and came after he spent part of that evening certain that he wouldn't win.
It’s a perfect snapshot of how surreal that year was, even for people working at the highest levels of the industry. Winning one of television’s top honors without an audience, without a ceremony, and without a physical trophy to grasp feels almost unbelievable now. But for Abdul-Mateen, it’s part of the story.
Since then, Abdul-Mateen’s career has only continued to grow. Between Watchmen, The Matrix, Candyman, Aquaman, and now his upcoming method-acting turn for Marvel as Simon Williams in Wonder Man, he’s become one of the most versatile actors working today. The fact that one of his biggest wins arrived quietly, wrapped in pandemic absurdity, somehow makes it even more fitting.
Wonder Man hits the 2026 TV schedule on January 27. All you need to watch it is a Disney+ subscription.
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