Mena Massoud was born in Cairo, Egypt to Coptic Christian parents, who decided to move the family to Markham, Ontario, Canada when Massoud was three. After leaving school, he followed his parents' wishes and began studying medicine at the University of Toronto. His heart had always been set on becoming an actor, however, so he left the course and enrolled on Ryerson University's theatre course. Early professional roles as an actor included single appearances in the TV shows 'Nikita' and 'Combat Hospital' in 2011. In 2015 he landed his first major TV role in the series 'Open Heart' in 2015. He also began to appear in films in that year, with his film credits including 'Let's Rap' (2015), 'Ordinary Days' (2017) and 'Run This Town' (2019). During this time, he also starred in the hit TV series 'Jack Ryan' (2018). Massoud's big break came when, as a relatively unknown actor, he was successful in a series of auditions and an intense casting process to play the role of Aladdin in the 2019 Disney remake of the film. It was the role that catapulted his career.