SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH RAMI MALEK
R ami Malek took pop culture by storm when the show in which he stars, “Mr. Robot,” debuted on the USA Network in 2015. He played Elliot, a hacker and security engineer with emotional problems and father issues who finds himself sinking ever deeper into a world of shadowy governmental and corporate insurrection. The role won him a lead actor Emmy in 2016.
But this could turn out to be another high-profile year for him with two movies in late 2018. He co-stars with Charlie Hunnam in “Papillon,” a remake of the Steve McQueen-Dustin Hoffman prison-escape film, opening Friday. He plays Louis Dega, the convicted counterfeiter and prisoner who helps Henri “Papillon” Charrière (Hunnam) break out from an island penitentiary in French Guiana. In November, audiences will see his transformation into Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury for the biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
We chatted with Malek, 37, about “Papillon” during his press day in Los Angeles.
Q: How familiar were you with the original film?
A:
I haven’t seen it since I was a kid, but the one thing that stood out was the dream sequence. I’m a fan of dream sequences in films and so is our director, Michael Noer.
Q: Did you purposely stay away from it because you didn’t want to mimic Dustin Hoffman’s performance?
A: Yeah, I mean, I think that’s the pitfall that anyone would fall into. It seems to happen. When you see a good performance, you can’t get it out of your head. I think for a lot of actors; I’m speaking on behalf of actors (laughs).
Q: How did you approach this performance?
A: Just the way you would approach any character. I mean, looking at a guy who works with money, counterfeits money, and is more of a white-collar criminal and thinking about it from that aspect. And how people like that can usually evade getting caught. That type of corruption is historic so there’s a lot to pull from in that respect.
Q: I understand that Hunnam dropped 40 pounds for this role. How grueling was the shoot for you? (The film was shot in Serbia, Montenegro and Malta.)
A: He is one of the most dedicated actors you’re going to come across. It’s hard when it’s the just two of us out there every day. We pushed each other every day and relied on each other every day and got very close because of the environment we were in.
Obviously, we were emulating prison, using the skill of film, but you have some of the feeling of being surrounded by that many men, day in and day out, and mud and rain.
There were some very bleak days on set. Obviously, nothing in comparison to the real thing.
Q: Did this role make you think about what you would have done in a similar situation?
A: Yeah, you have to put yourself in that place, right? I think you just try to survive, get out of there alive.
Q: The film was at Toronto last year and it took some time to find distribution. Were you worried that it might get lost?
A: No, I never think of things that way any more. I mean content is everywhere and you can reach it in any place. (But) I always imagined I would see it on a big screen, and I’m very thankful for that.
Q: Christian Slater has been quoted as saying he thinks the upcoming fourth season of “Mr. Robot” will be the last . Do you feel the same?
A: I think we all throw out these things every once in awhile and no one knows exactly what’s going to happen. You can never predict what is in the mind of (show creator) Sam Esmail. We’ll see how that goes.