Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Breaks Down Mental and Physical Prep for Gritty “Man on Fire” Role (Exclusive)

Kayla GrantFri, May 1, 2026 at 5:21 PM UTC

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Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as John Creasy in 'Man on Fire'Credit: Juan Rosas/Netflix -

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays John Creasy, a Special Forces mercenary with PTSD, in Netflix's Man on Fire adaptation

He focused on the character's emotional depth and avoided comparisons to Denzel Washington's iconic 2004 portrayal

Abdul-Mateen II shares how he balanced intense preparation with self-care while filming the series

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II had to prepare mentally and physically to take on his role in Man on Fire.

In the newly released Netflix adaptation of the popular story, the Wonder Man actor portrays Special Forces mercenary John Creasy, who suffers from extreme PTSD after an operation gone wrong. Based on A.J. Quinnell's book series of the same name, the series takes viewers on a journey filled with big action sequences and deeply emotional moments.

While chatting with PEOPLE, Abdul-Mateen II explains that, along with the opportunity to work with showrunner Kyle Killen and director Steven Caple Jr., the heart and complexity of the character are what drew him to the project.

"I saw really the opportunity to tell this story with a lot of heart and a lot of attention to the truth of a struggle like the one that this John Creasy was experiencing," says Abdul-Mateen II, 39. "I said, 'Okay, well I think if we can do that in a pretty cinematic way and make it feel like it has some international scope and importance, then I think it can be kind of cool to wear the character and see what we can do.' "

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as John Creasy in 'Man on Fire'Credit: Juan Rosas/Netflix

Abdul-Mateen II is joining an incredible legacy of actors by taking on this iconic role. In 2004, Denzel Washington played the role of John working to dismantle a corrupt city underworld to find and protect a kidnapped girl Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning). Before that, Scott Glenn took on the role in the 1987 action-thriller.

The Aquaman actor didn't let the illustrious history of the role faze him or influence his performance. Instead, he says he decided to focus on what he "loved and admired" about the character, relinquishing all of the nerves he might have had taking on the role.

"I really tried to put things in my favor when I'm making decisions like this, and I felt like it would be favorable for me to lean into what it is that I loved and admired about this character. And that's what I did," he explains. "Denzel's version of Man on Fire is one of my favorite film performances of all time, so I never made it about any type of comparison because I knew that that wouldn't be really useful for me."

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Billie Boullet as John Creasy and Poe Rayburn in 'Man on Fire'Credit: Juan Rosas/Netflix

As for the fans, Abdul-Mateen II says that their high expectations and hopes for the character and the new adaptation only fuel him. He explains that any added pressure prepared him to give a performance worth their attention.

"It was important for me that when you have their attention, then you give them something to watch, you give them something to think about," the Candyman star says. "So for me, that was the journey of this guy trying to rebuild himself and trying to survive in these incredibly unfortunate circumstances, and that was really enough for me to root myself in. And that exploration is what gave me confidence."

After an operation goes awry under his leadership, John finds himself in a state of depression. Throughout the seven-episode series, he's trying to navigate and heal from that trauma, resulting in some very low points in his journey. During the heavier moments on set, Abdul-Mateen II says he leaned deeper into the role in search of the truth to hopefully reach someone who could relate to the moment.

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"Truthfully, I imagine that there's somebody in the world, maybe even on this set [or] maybe even in this room, who knows what it's like to have a really, really, really bad day," he says. "And what we all do, and especially in the workplace and in life, is we cover and we cope and we survive long enough to make it back home or make it to a safe place ... where we can just exhale."

"I say all that to say that my job was, on days like that, was to make it extremely simple and extremely relatable and trust that there's at least one other person — and all it takes is one — out there who relates to this," he adds. "And so I looked for the truth and that fed me, and that fed my sort of creative journey during the course of making this."

Bobby Canavale and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Paul Rayburn and John Creasy in 'Man on Fire'Credit: Juan Rosas/Netflix

While going deep into the soul of a character could be heavy, Abdul-Mateen tells PEOPLE he "loves the exploration." The Watchmen actor shares he enjoys the opportunity to figure out every detail about complex characters, like John, without compromising his own personal wellness.

"I love the exploration, and I will continue asking the questions even when I go home because I'm trying to figure out the psychology of this character. He's in a situation that I've never been in before," he explains. "So a lot of my time, even after work was used in continuing to ask questions."

"When it was healthy for me to do that, I continued the exploration. And when it wasn't, I thank God that I have training that helps me to be able to shed the characters and go and take care of myself," adds Abdul-Mateen II. "And on the weekends, I enjoyed Brazil and Mexico City, and I barbecued a lot and rested and recovered until it was time to get up and go back to work and do it again."

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as John Creasy in 'Man on Fire'Credit: Juan Rosas/Netflix

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In addition to getting ready to take on the role mentally, Abdul-Mateen II says transforming into John physically was a "big undertaking."

"It takes the same amount of drive and dedication to be able to execute at a high level physically as well," he says, referring to the journey he took becoming mentally ready for the role. "We're fortunate enough to have an extremely talented stunt group that got me ready and that could listen really well, so that even when I didn't do the shot, I could step aside and I'd give my input on how I thought it should be."

"They're so talented, and they can execute," he adds of the stunt team. "I think people will be pleasantly surprised with the degree of difficulty in the things that we did."

Man on Fire is now streaming on Netflix.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”