There's no first-generation, or second-generation removed. I am Egyptian. I grew up listening toEgyptian music. I lovedUmm Kulthum. I lovedOmar Sharif. These are my people. I feel so gorgeously tied to the culture and the human beings that exist there. I acknowledge that I have a experience, but I am so enamoured and intertwined withEgyptian culture. It is the fabric of who I am.
Rami Said Malek was born inTorrance, California,[5] on May 12, 1981,[6] toEgyptian immigrant parents Nelly Abdel-Malek and Said Malek (d. 2006).[7][8][9] His parents and older sister leftCairo in 1978 after his father, a travel agent and tour guide, became infatuated with Western visitors.[5][9] They settled inSherman Oaks, mostly staying in theSan Fernando Valley.[10] As a child, Malek rarely ventured into Hollywood, saying "I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in LA, but somehow, I had no idea that I lived right next to Hollywood... I truly thought that that was a million miles away, and it's just a 10-minute drive".[10][11] His father sold insurance and was a travel agent,[12][13] while his mother worked as an accountant.[14] Malek was raised in his family'sCoptic Orthodox Christian faith, and spokeEgyptian Arabic at home until the age of four.[15][16][17] He has an identical twin brother Sami, who is younger by four minutes.[10][18][19] His older sister, Jasmine, is anER doctor.[20] His parents emphasized to their children the importance of preserving their Egyptian roots, and his father would wake him up in the middle of the night to talk on the phone to his Arabic-speaking extended family inSamalut.[4] He has stated that he is also one-eighthGreek.[21]
As a first-generation American, Malek found it difficult toassimilate during his childhood because of cultural differences, even spending most of his childhood having his name mispronounced: "It only took me 'til high school where I found the confidence to tell everybody, 'No, my name is Rami.' It's a very upsetting thing to think about, that I didn't have the confidence to correct anyone at that point."[22] As a result, he said it was difficult to form a self-identity as a child and gravitated towards "creating characters and doing voices" as he searched for an outlet for his energy.[22][23]
Malek attendedNotre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, where he was in the same class as actressRachel Bilson.[24][25] ActressKirsten Dunst also attended the school and shared a musical theater class with him.[26] His parents harbored dreams of him becoming a lawyer, so he joined the debate team in his freshman year.[5][10] Though he struggled to form arguments, his debate teacher noted his talent indramatic interpretation and encouraged him instead to perform the Charles Fuller playZooman and The Sign at a competition.[10][27] Reflecting on the moment, he said, "On stage I'm having this moment with my dad with a bunch of other people [in the audience], but then I thought, 'Wow, something really special is happening here.'"[28] It was the first time he saw his father become emotional,[28] and his parents' positive reaction to his performance left him feeling free to pursue an acting career.[27] He and his brother were both involved in the school's drama department.[28]
After graduating in 1999,[24] Malek went on to study theater at theUniversity of Evansville inEvansville, Indiana. He also spent a semester abroad in England, where he studied atHarlaxton College inHarlaxton, Lincolnshire.[29][30] During the summer before his senior year, he interned at theEugene O'Neill Theater Center inWaterford, Connecticut, where he became an acquaintance of playwrightAugust Wilson.[5][31] Of his decision to attend the University of Evansville theater program, he said, "The level of talent at the University of Evansville was formidable from faculty to fellow actors. There's a commitment and dedication that the theater program required that unearthed a work ethic I didn't know I had."[32] He completed hisBFA in 2003.[10][33] The college later honored him with a 2017 Young Alumnus Award, given to those who have "achieved personal success and contribute services to their community and to UE".[34]
After his college graduation, Malek wanted to attend grad school for theater; with college debt growing, he moved to New York, where he shared a one-bedroomLower East Side apartment with friends who were also in the theater community.[28][35] His network of friends included writers and directors, many of whom would come together to form the Slant Theatre Project, and they would perform their own plays around the city.[28][36][35] While visiting his family in Los Angeles, Malek met casting directorMali Finn, who convinced him to stay and look for work in Hollywood.[28] After moving back in with his parents,[28] he took jobs delivering pizzas and makingfalafel andshawarma sandwiches at a restaurant in Hollywood to make ends meet.[37] Despite sending his resume to production houses, he found it difficult to get work as an actor, which led to bouts of depression and a loss of confidence.[37] He considered getting a real estate license instead of pursuing an acting career.[38]
After a year and a half, Malek finally received a call fromcasting director Mara Casey.[37][22] She asked to speak to his agent. When he confessed he did not have one, she told him to get one first.[22] After having a pleasant conversation, however, Malek suggested they meet anyway. She agreed, and the meeting led to him getting his first role in the TVsitcomGilmore Girls; the episode he acted in first aired in January 2004.[37] That same year, he starred in the theater productionJohnny Boy at the 130-seat Falcon Theatre inBurbank, California and, later, in the productionShoes oppositeKelli Giddish with the Slant Theatre Project in New York City.[39][40][41] He also voiced "additional characters" for the video gameHalo 2, for which he was uncredited.[42] In 2005, he received hisScreen Actors Guild card for his work in two episodes of theSteven Bochco war dramaOver There.[43] Later that year, he appeared in an episode ofMedium and was cast in the prominent recurring role of Kenny, on theFox comedy seriesThe War at Home.[44][45] Kenny's "coming out" story earned accolades fromGLAAD.[46] In 2006, Malek made his feature film debut asPharaoh Ahkmenrah in the comedyNight at the Museum. He reprised this role in the sequelsNight at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) andNight at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014).[9] In the spring of 2007, he appeared on-stage as Jamie in the Vitality Productions theatrical presentation ofKeith Bunin'sThe Credeaux Canvas at theElephant Theatre in Los Angeles.[47][48]
Malek returned to television in 2010 in a recurring role as thesuicide bomber Marcos Al-Zacar on the eighth season of the Fox series24.[49] Growing weary of playing characters he called "acceptable terrorists", he instructed his agent to reject any role that painted Arabs or Middle Easterners in a "bad light".[4] Later that year, he received critical acclaim for his portrayal ofCorporal Merrill "Snafu" Shelton in theEmmy Award-winningHBO World War II mini-seriesThe Pacific.[50][51] After the intensity of filmingThe Pacific, he chose to leave Hollywood and lived briefly in Argentina,[52] though he says it was unsuccessful, and he has "since found better ways of coping".[53] During the filming ofThe Pacific, Malek received a letter from executive producerTom Hanks praising Malek's performance. Hanks then cast him as college student Steve Dibiasi in the feature filmLarry Crowne, released in July 2011.[54][55]
Those opportunities led to Malek securing supporting roles in a series of major films. In August 2010, it was announced that he had been cast as the "Egyptian coven" vampire, Benjamin, inThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.[56] In 2013 he played Nate, a new employee at a group home for youths, in the indie filmShort Term 12, oppositeBrie Larson.[57] He appeared in twoSpike Lee films during this period, the 2012 remake of the South Korean filmOldboy, in a part that was trimmed significantly,[58] and later in thecrowdfunded pictureDa Sweet Blood of Jesus.[59] The two men have remained friends.[46][26] He also had minor roles inBattleship, the Oscar-nominatedThe Master, andAin't Them Bodies Saints. He appeared as Josh, one of the main characters inUntil Dawn, a horror game released for thePlayStation 4 on August 25, 2015. He lent his voice and likeness to the character and was fully motion-captured for the game.[60]
Though he was among 3000[69] actors considered to playHan Solo inSolo: A Star Wars Story,[70] Malek had his first starring role inBuster's Mal Heart, which premiered in September 2016 at theToronto International Film Festival to positive reviews.[71] In it, Malek plays a man who leads two lives, one as Jonah and another as Buster.[72] Casting him in the role before his success withMr. Robot, the director,Sarah Adina Smith, said, "I had no idea how huge and adored he would become".[73] Reviewing the actor's performance, John DeFore ofThe Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Fans ofMr. Robot won't be disappointed in the least by this vehicle for Emmy-winning series star Rami Malek, which both fits in with Mr. Robot's delusion-prone paranoia and lets the charismatic actor stretch out in his first feature lead".[74] Malek next starred asLouis Dega inPapillon, a remake of the1973 film, co-starringCharlie Hunnam.[75] It premiered at the2017 Toronto International Film Festival,[76] and had a limited box office release in August 2018.[77] In 2017, Malek joined the cast of theNetflix animated comedy seriesBoJack Horseman (season 4), voicing the character Flip McVicker, a writer who does not trust email.[78]
In 2018, Malek portrayedFreddie Mercury in theQueen biopic,Bohemian Rhapsody. The film premiered in London on October 23, 2018, and became a major box office success, grossing over $900 million worldwide on a production budget of about $50 million.[79] It became thesixth highest-grossing film of 2018 worldwide,[80] and the highest-grossing musical biographical film of all time.[81] Though the film received mixed reviews overall, Malek's performance was acclaimed by critics.[82] He won theGolden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama,[83] theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role,[84] theBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role[85] and theAcademy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film.[86] In preparation for the role as Mercury, Malek moved to London where he worked with a dialect coach and a movement coach, and took piano and singing lessons.[15] For four hours each day,[15] he studied videos of Mercury with his movement coach, Polly Bennett.[87] This included watching the 1985Live Aid concert video onYouTube at least 1,500 times to perfect his performance for the film.[15][88] He also had to get used to speaking and singing with a set of false teeth that mimicked Mercury's overbite.[15]Brian May, Queen's guitarist who often attended filming, is quoted as saying that Malek's performance was so accurate that "we sometimes forgot he was Rami".[10] Malek considers his role as Mercury the most important of his career, saying:
This is a role I don't think can be outdone. I think we're always searching for that next great role, and I guess I'm fortunate that I've already been met with it. I'd like to think that there is more out there for me to do, and there is, but I do doubt that there is anything that lives up to how precious this role and this human being have been in my life.[89]
In December 2018, it was announced that Malek would produce and star in an eight-episode podcast calledBlackout. Scott Conroy was the writer of the podcast, a thriller about a small-town radio DJ who must "fight to protect his family and community from a coordinated attack that destroys the power grid and upends modern civilization".[90] The podcast debuted with two episodes on March 19, 2019, with six subsequent episodes premiering weekly.[91][92] It won the 2020Webby Award for Best Scripted Podcast (Fiction).[93] Malek also voiced Chee-Chee the gorilla inDolittle, starringRobert Downey Jr.; the film was produced in 2018 and released in January 2020.[94][95] In May 2019, Malek joined the cast of the crime thrillerThe Little Things, oppositeDenzel Washington andJared Leto.[96] The film was released on January 29, 2021.[97] On April 25, 2019, Malek was cast as the main villain in theJames Bond filmNo Time to Die; he plays the "supervillain" Lyutsifer Safin.[98] Principal photography on the film began in April 2019 and wrapped that October.[99][100] It had an initial release date of April 2020,[101] but, due to COVID-19 related delays, was moved to October 2021.[102] To support the release of the film, Malek hostedSaturday Night Live inOctober 2021.
Malek was part of the all-star ensemble cast inDavid O. Russell'sAmsterdam;[103] the film was produced in early 2021 and released in October 2022. In December 2021, it was announced that Malek was joining the cast ofChristopher Nolan'sOppenheimer.[104] In it he portrayed physicistDavid L. Hill.[105] The film was released on July 21, 2023.[106]
People didn't know where to place me with my ethnicity, and never was I ever up for leading anything. The fact that Rami Malek got to play the lead character, called Elliot Alderson, inMr. Robot was somewhat of a coup, I think. I never saw that possibility when I was younger.
Malek's early roles established him as acharacter actor.[46][109] He has remarked that he enjoys the auditioning process, sees it as a "proving ground to test things out", and has created so many diverse characters for auditions that he wishes he could collect them as a package to show to others.[26] After reading his ownWikipedia article, Malek elaborated and said, "I would take the time to prepare for auditions as if I was actually gonna perform. I would come with something fully formed and hope that that resonated. Sometimes it did, many times it didn't but that's the proving ground and I appreciate it".[110] However, following his success withMr. Robot, he began to be regarded as a "leading man",[111] though an "unconventional" one.[72] He is portrayed by comedianPete Davidson inSaturday Night Live sketches parodying the character.[112][113] In 2017, Malek accepted an invitation to join theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, among 774 new members invited as part of the academy's efforts to diversify its members aftercriticism over the lack of diversity of the88th Academy Awards.[114][115]
To prepare for a role, he describes an initial stage of panic, followed by research into the character to create a world for that person. This includes finding music he thinks the character would listen to, as well as creating and imagining memories for that person to the point he has to perform as them.[26] His most creative times are mornings and evenings.[26] Malek likes to do experimental takes until he finds a take that will work.[109] DirectorSam Esmail noted that Malek is often dissatisfied with his work even when the director feels he has completed a perfect take.[10] Because of their mutual insistence on getting a scene the best it can be, Esmail considers Malek a "co-creator".[116] The actor has also been noted for his physical transformations to play his characters. He lost significant weight to play Elliot Alderson,[117] Freddie Mercury,[118] and Snafu Shelton, where Tom Hanks required that he maintain between six and eight-percent body fat.[51] During the filming ofThe Pacific, Malek found it difficult to separate himself from his character, Snafu Shelton, which led to "some pretty intense mental anguish during and after filming".[119] He noted the most valuable lesson from that experience was learning to distance himself from his characters, otherwise he would not have been able to take on complex roles later in his career, like Elliot Alderson inMr. Robot.[119]
Malek's appearance has inspired commentary in the industry and in the media.GQ Middle East called Malek's aspect "vampiric ... with one of those faces that looks young and mature, all at once. When you speak, Malek's oversized eyes give you full attention".[4] In a letter to the producer after Malek's audition forThe Pacific, Tom Hanks remarked, "This guy's got haunting eyes".[27]The Globe and Mail, in an interview after the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, described the actor as "startlingly handsome ... withtawny skin and close-cropped curly hair. ... He speaks in a slow, just-woke-up drawl that contrasts with his dazzling smile and anything-goes energy. And he's mostly eyes. Giant, chalky blue eyes, the colour of one of those preternaturally still mineral lakes in theRockies. They seem to see both outwardly and inwardly. They're sad, yet amused. Thousand-mile eyes".[73]
He has also garnered attention for his fashion sense, particularly for his bold color choices and "quirky touches".[120] He was chosen (along withBoy George andA$AP Rocky) to be part ofDior Homme's Spring 2017 campaign,[121] and the face ofSaint Laurent's Spring/Summer 2020 campaign.[122]GQ Middle East launched in October 2018 with Malek on its first cover.[4] Fashion commentators have included him on their "best-dressed" lists, often atred-carpet events.[123] Placing him at number 29 on its list of Best Dressed Men 2019,GQ called his looks, "neat, elegant and perfectly put together, ... experimental on the surface, but underneath they're also surprisingly approachable".[124] Ilaria Urbinati is his stylist.[125]
Over time, Malek's prominence in the industry has grown. In 2015,The Hollywood Reporter included him on Next Gen 2015, its annual list of stars who are 35 and under and "on the rise".[126]Time magazine named Malek one of the100 most influential people in the world in 2019 under the category of Artists.[127]
The actor has lent his support to charities, such as theEpidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation and theACLU.[128][129] In September 2018, Malek started working with the(RED) organization after being inspired by his Freddie Mercury role.[130] As an ambassador to raise awareness and funds to help eliminateHIV/AIDS,[130] Malek traveled toEswatini to "learn more about the state of HIV/AIDS insub-Saharan Africa".[131] During his visit, Malek said, "To collectively come together and tackle, you know, arguably one of the largest, most horrific diseases anyone has ever known. That can happen right now. I can't think of anything that I'd rather be a part of, more than fulfilling any personal dream or aspiration".[131]
Malek tends to be reserved in interviews,[38] having mentioned in one of them his desire to stay "anonymous" abroad. He avoids social media.[4]The New York Times called him "extremely reluctant to dish about himself".[10] He says he is the opposite of the introverted character of Elliot that he plays inMr. Robot, saying, "I'm an exuberant person. I thrive on affection. I like chit chat ... One of the great things about living in New York is that you meet so many strangers, and I love encounters with strangers; I love meeting people and hearing their stories."[132]
Malek has been nominated for and won several major industry awards. For his work onMr. Robot, he has been nominated for threeGolden Globes, anEmmy, two Satellite Awards, and twoScreen Actors Guild Awards, among others, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in2016. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe for the Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance asFreddie Mercury inBohemian Rhapsody.[163][84][85][86]
He is the first actor ofEgyptian heritage to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.[164] While his win was celebrated in Egypt by the media and some government officials,[165]Member of ParliamentMohamed Ismail criticized Malek's win: "I was surprised by the Egyptian media's celebration of Rami Malek, because the role played by Rami Malek in the film is far from his real character. He is trying to [spread] homosexuality among the youth... The award has a specific goal, which is to corrupt morality in the Arab world. Rami Malek is a bad example. If he was in Egypt, he would have been hanged".[166] The organizationHuman Rights Watch stated that the country deserved an Oscar for hypocrisy for praising Malek, given itsprohibition on LGBT people being celebrated in the media.[165]
^Our First Cover Star: Rami Malek (video). GQ Middle East. October 4, 2018.Archived from the original on September 15, 2019. RetrievedFebruary 17, 2019 – via YouTube.
^abcdScott Feinberg (June 20, 2017)."Awards Chatter Podcast – Rami Malek".The Hollywood Reporter. iTunes. Event occurs at 03:05–12:17.Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. RetrievedOctober 30, 2019.
^Feinberg, Scott (June 20, 2017)."'Awards Chatter' Podcast — Rami Malek ('Mr. Robot')".The Hollywood Reporter.Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. RetrievedDecember 6, 2018.For a long time I thought maybe that would be it", says Rami Malek, the American actor of Egyptian descent, of the stereotypical roles to which he was limited early in his career
^abcdefgStacey Wilson Hunt (interviewer); Rami Malek (interviewee) (December 12, 2018).Conversations with Rami Malek (video). SAG-AFTRA Foundation. Event occurs at 06:45–13:00.Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. RetrievedDecember 15, 2018 – via YouTube.
^abScott Feinberg (interviewer); Rami Malek (interviewee) (June 20, 2017).Awards Chatter Podcast – Rami Malek (audio). The Hollywood Reporter. Event occurs at 12:17–13:35.Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. RetrievedOctober 30, 2019 – via The Hollywood Reporter.
^ab"Past Shows".Vitality Productions.Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. RetrievedOctober 30, 2019.
^Andreeva, Nellie; Vlessing, Eton (September 8, 2009)."Threesome on '24' time".The Hollywood Reporter.411 (20): 4.Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. RetrievedDecember 6, 2018.
^Sullivan, Kevin (June 17, 2016). "Hello Again".Entertainment Weekly. No. 1419. pp. 32–40.
^Malcom, Shawna (June 15, 2016)."Out of the Box".Television Academy.Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. RetrievedDecember 14, 2018.I've gotten out of the shower a couple times and looked at myself pretty emaciated.
^abRami Malek (interviewee) (January 22, 2019).Rami Malek in eSwatini with (RED) (video). (RED). Event occurs at 02:25–02:50.Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. RetrievedJanuary 22, 2019 – via YouTube.
^Powell, Emma (February 25, 2019)."Rami Malek and Lucy Boynton win 'Best Kiss' at Oscars 2019 with this very passionate embrace".Evening Standard.Archived from the original on February 24, 2023. RetrievedAugust 30, 2021. Malek and Boynton met on the set of Bohemian Rhapsody, with rumours around their friendship blossoming into romance surfacing in April 2018. The pair only recently went public and have shared several loved up moments this awards season.
^Moltke, Laura; Poitras, Henrik (November 29, 2016)."Project X".Field of Vision.Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. RetrievedDecember 20, 2019.
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