Lee Majdoub has learned about the "importance of representation" through his role in 'Sonic the Hedgehog' films.
The Lebanese-Canadian actor, 42, plays the part of Agent Stone in the films based on the Sega video game franchise and as the third installment is released in cinemas, he has revealed an "indescribable moment" with a young fan who had noticed him in a store and instantly related to him.
He told Collider: "I'll be honest with you, I was at an Ikea recently, this kid, I see him pop his head around the corner. He's just looking at me. I clocked him, and I gave him a little wave. He pulls his phone out, and it's a poster of Agent Stone, and he's like, “Are you him?' I was like, 'Yeah, do you want to come talk?' "He turns around and runs away. I hear, 'Dad! It's him!' They come over, I talk to the kid, we take pictures. It's those moments, man. It's indescribable.
"I had a parent come up to me and tell me when the poster of Agent Stone was revealed for 'Sonic 2', her kid came up to her and was like, “Mom, he looks like me.”
"That was a big moment for me in regard to the importance of representation, which I hadn't really been thinking of with this film, and how much it would mean to so many."
The former 'You Me Her' star appears alongside legendary comic actor Jim Carrey in the 'Sonic' films and admitted that it has just been "incredible" to team up with someone of his calibre.
He said: "One of the biggest things I learned from him was watching how specific he is and how meticulous, and how much he cares about the work he does. "To be working with him is incredible. There's always this fear I have that I'm going to wake up and realize that none of the 'Sonics' happened. We've done three now, and I'm still like, 'Okay, hold on. But did [Sonic 1] happen? That really happened? Is this real life'” It's incredible. It's real pinch-myself moments, for sure."
The latest movie in the gaming series explores the character of Shadow (Keanu Reeves) and Lee explained that there is a lot of "emotional depth" to the story and how all the other threads tie together.
He said: "With having to go into Shadow’s story, you really do have to dig into the emotional depth of what happens to Shadow with regards to his friendship with Maria. You take that, and then you put it into the relationship that Sonic has with Tails and Knuckles. You get to see Sonic struggle with anger and really try to process what that is. Then, with Stone and Ivo, we dig deeper into that relationship as far as what's at stake and what does their friendship truly mean, and what do they mean to each other. I think we had to go that route with this film to dig deeper and have way more at stake."
