I understand what it feels like to be different: Malek

RAMI MALEK IS respectful of the whole ongoing diversity movement in Hollywood, and says he can understand the struggle to seek an identity in a world he “didn’t necessarily fit in”.

“I’m a first-generation American. I can understand what it feels like to be different... feel like a fish out of water and struggle to identify who I am in a place where I feel like I didn’t necessarily fit in,” Malek said.

Talking about his film Bohemian Rhapsody, he said. “I don’t want to do those type of movies all the time, but when it presents itself, it’s a nice challenge to test one’s self, like that, and tell that story. That story exists. I gravitate to history, and an opportunity like this is hard to pass up,” he said.

“You get an opportunity to do this job, as an actor, and you never know if it’s going to work or not, so sometimes it’s worth taking the biggest risks and just embracing it. Obviously, it could be an immense burden for anyone to try to take on a figure who is so iconic and revolutionary, and that was not lost on me, even through the process of filming,” he added.

Showbiz is a difficult business to break into, when asked about his journey, he said: “I was conscious of when I had to move on from that. It felt a marker for some sort of achievement, I guess. But you’ve got to remember, I was born in Los Angeles. I come from a mindset of, ‘I know what that billboard was two weeks ago. And I know what it’s going to be two weeks from now’. This business is a revolving door.”

The actor appreciates the diversity dialogue in Hollywood, but feels there is still a long way to go. “The #Metoo movement has been one of the most unique and special times that the industry has seen. We have to continue in this direction on all those levels because there are doors that are still not open for people,” he said.

I’m a first-generation American. I can understand what it feels like to be different.” Rami Malek