Award winning actor Rami Malek is about to step foot into the shoes of a producer. Malek is writing his first feature film which will also be his directional debut. The film will take place over one evening in Malek’s hometown Los Angeles and will only be shot at night.
Courtesy of Frederic STUCIN
Malek is the son of Egyptian immigrant parents. He grew up in Los Angeles. Malek’s parents wanted serious jobs for Rami his twin brother Sami, and their older sister, Yasmine. However Rami had other dreams. While growing up, Malek was interested in theater and acting, and during high school he pursued it as his career. In a conversation with Esquire Middle East, Malek spoke about how he came to be where is now, “I learnt a lot from the time studying for my degree. In high school I was doing a lot of plays and I felt pretty strongly about my abilities. Theatre and acting is part of the fabric of American culture, so there is a tremendous level of competition.”
During initial years, he faced multiple rejections and was cast only in small-time roles, he also had to go through racial profiling as sometimes he was made to play terrorists when he guest starred on TV shows. Although he slowly started to receive recognition as he was cast in roles on TV such as The War at Home (2005 – 2007)), it wasn’t until he starred in “Night At The Museum” franchise (2006 – 2014) that he started to make a name for himself.
“There was a time in my life where I had to take jobs that was not very thrilled by as I didn’t feel it represented me or my culture, but after Bohemian Rhapsody, there were a lot more opportunities and it allowed me to take a moment and identify projects and partnerships that matched by values.” Said Malek looking back on how he got to star in the big titles he does now, “I now consider film roles, and campaigns, and charities with a sense of not just something that represents who I am, but also who I still aspire to be.”
Malek went on to win an Emmy for his role as Elliot Alderson in “Mr Robot”, an Oscar for playing Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody”, he has played a Bond villain in “No Time To Die” and he will be acting in the upcoming Christopher Nolan movie “Oppenheimer”.
Rami Malek has become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in recent years, the award winning actor has built critical acclaim from starring in both movies and television shows. Next up for Malek, he will be taking on the role of producer.
In an interview with Madame Figaro Malek opened up about his newest venture behind the camera. “I’m going to produce an action film in the spirit of films like Le Fugitive or La Mémoire dans la peau , that is to say a thriller, but with emotion and something elegant, sophisticated.” Says Malek, elegance and sophistication are things that we have come to expect from him, so it’s no surprise that a film produced by him would include those 2 characteristics as well.
Courtesy of Cartier
“The great thing about becoming a producer is that I can directly call the people I like, that I trust, to direct the photography, the costumes… I called the makeup artist who was working on Bohemian Rhapsody. No need to go through his agent, just: “Do you want to do my film?” This is the dream !” Expresses Malek “I looked for places in Paris, because we are going to shoot all these incredible things there that I would never have imagined to do.”
An action film in Paris is exactly the kind of movie we would see Rami Malek not only making but starring in, and he is. Apart from being the film’s producer, Rami is also going to be starring in the film. Rami is a big fan of French cinema and has always wanted to shoot in France.
“I also have another project that I am writing. I’m halfway there. I don’t want to talk too much about it because it’s very close to my heart, it will be the first time I’ll realize… And my agent spends his time telling me: “Shut up, Rami, you talk too much!” It takes place in Los Angeles, the city in which I grew up, because I know it incredibly well and because it is in my blood. When I was a child, I criss-crossed it by bus.”
Considering his special connection to Los Angeles, Rami Malek is excited to bring his film to the city where he was raised. Wanting to showcase places that you don’t often see. “I would like to shoot in places that you don’t see in the cinema. But I don’t want to reveal all my favorite places either. The film will take place over an evening. We will only shoot at night. I feel like I’m hatching at night, it’s when I blossom. I like the silence, the creative excitement.” Says Malek talking about his creative process. “This is where I work on my roles, where I write. I sometimes see actors who suffer when they are told that there will be night scenes, for me it’s the opposite, I become elated.”
When asked what kind of films and directors inspired him Malek went on to list “The Maltese Falcon”, “Casablanca” and “Hitchcock’s Chains”. Malek was heavily inspired by John Huston.
We will next see Rami Malek in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” premiering July 21st and he was recently cast as Buster Keaton in a limited series directed by Matt Reeves.
According to Malek, his film will start production in March.
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