For his portrayal of Cal Abar / Doctor Manhattan in the HBO limited series Watchmen (2019), he won a Primetime Emmy Award.

[6] He spent his childhood in the Magnolia Projects of New Orleans, and then moved to Oakland, California,[7][8] where he attended McClymonds High School.

[15] In 2016, Abdul-Mateen began his acting career with Stephen Adly Guirgis and Baz Luhrmann's musical drama series The Get Down, which premiered on Netflix.

[17] Abdul-Mateen played a police officer, Garner Ellerbee, in the action comedy film Baywatch along with Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, and directed by Seth Gordon.

[21] In 2018, Abdul-Mateen was cast in a flashback part as the main character's father in the horror film Us, directed by Jordan Peele, which was released in March 2019.

[22] In February 2019, it was confirmed that Abdul-Mateen was in talks to star in the Jordan Peele-produced Candyman reboot as the title character, with Nia DaCosta directing.

[26] Later in the year, he played Cal Abar, known as Doctor Manhattan, in the HBO superhero drama miniseries Watchmen,[27] which earned him his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special in September 2020.