Yahya Abdul-Mateen II talks role in new film 'Candyman'

Is the Good Day Atlanta team brave enough to say the name "Candyman" five times in the mirror?  No way!

So, what about Emmy-winning actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II?

"No, no … I’ll leave that to the guy in the movie," he laughs.

"The guy" is artist Anthony McCoy, the central character played by Abdul-Mateen II in the new release "Candyman", directed by Nia DaCosta and in theatres nationwide today. The film is a follow-up to the 1992 cult classic of the same name.

"The way that we continue the story gives us the opportunity to continue to reference that history," says Abdul-Mateen II. "It gives us so much more context to sit our story down in, and then to eventually present a version of Candyman where the audience don’t see him as just a villain, but where we can also lend an empathetic heart to the Candyman figure."

The 1992 film dealt with issues of race and gentrification, which Abdul-Mateen II says have only been heightened in the new film by writers DaCosta, Jordan Peele, and Win Rosenfeld.

"As an artist, more and more I’m trying to use my art to speak to issues I care about, you know? For positive change for sure, positive discourse, to put out more positivity in the world. Lord knows we need that."

And sometimes we just need a really good scare — something Candyman knows how to do very, very well.

For more information on "Candyman," click here

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