Egyptians Sam Esmail and Rami Malak enter the world in Hollywood through the series "Mr. Robot"
Ramy Malek tells Al-Mawed: I am proud of my Egyptian origins
The TV series "Mr. Robot" is a series produced, directed and starred by two Egyptians in Hollywood and has won the biggest awards available to television, including winning the Golden Globe Award.
The two biggest Hollywood awards are: the Oscar, which is given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to the best films only, i.e. it does not include TV series or programmes, and the other award is the Golden Globe, which is given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and includes films as well as TV series and programmes.
This year, the series Mr. Robot won the Golden Globe Award. The series was produced, directed and starred by two Egyptians, Sam Ismail and Rami Malak.
Sam Esmail is the owner of the idea of the financial rights and owns the production and direction of this series, and Rami Malek is the hero of the novel and the first actor of the unique idea of the novel, in which he acted wonderfully, so his pictures filled the art magazines in America, including Variety, one of the most famous and largest art and cinema stores in America and in the world.
I met Rami Malek and congratulated him on his win for his outstanding acting in the series and on his winning several awards including the Critics' Choice Award.
I asked him about his cinematic life and acting career, and he said:
I loved acting since I was a little girl and graduated from the University of Evansville, Indiana, Art Department - Then I worked in several films with small roles until I met "Sam Esmail" and from the first moment we realized that starring in the series Mr. Robot was what I was perfect for. And indeed, with the help and direction of "Sam Esmail" we were able to show the world this series that achieved great success. I could hardly imagine how happy I was with it as it tells the story of a young man working in the field of computer programmer who encounters difficulties and adventures on his way and how he confronts and overcomes them. The series achieved success from the beginning. I could not have imagined the extent of its success in my life in terms of joy and fame, as I felt overnight that I was a different person when I met the audience.
I asked him if this fame would affect his life and way of life. He said: I hope it doesn’t affect me at all. My life is the same and my relationship with my family is the same. My mother is proud of me and I have a twin brother who is four minutes older than him. When we used to meet girls, he would get more attention and that used to bother me, but now I get more attention from the fairer sex than him. My brother works as a teacher and we have an older sister who is a doctor and works in a hospital in Washington. This is my life, so I hope it doesn’t change with fame.
I asked him about the future of the series and he said: “There are other episodes of ‘Mr. Robot’ for the new season and we will start filming soon and I hope that what we will present in the new season will win the audience’s approval as it will be full of exciting and strange events.”
I asked him about his connection to Egypt and he said: He and Wissam Ismail are proud of their Egyptian origins, even though they - Rami and Wissam - were born here in America, but their connection to Egypt is very strong. Also, Sam Ismail thanked his family in Egypt when he received the Golden Globe Award, and that was broadcast on television screens around the world at the time.
I asked him if he had a marriage plan in his future, so he laughed and said: He is very busy now with acting and hopes to achieve his goals in this field that he loves, and that it is not appropriate for him to get married and tire his wife out with him because of his preoccupation with his work that takes up all his time. Then he said: Yes, in the future he should get married and have a family and children, but not now.
I asked him about the difficulty of playing the role of a computer scientist with all these technical terms and their interference in acting, and he said: “It was really difficult, and he told me that he was taking computer lessons to learn what he had to do and act, but now it has become relatively easy, and he hopes that in the next season he will be more informed and confident, as he will fully understand what he is saying while solving the technical dilemma in the novel.”
I asked him about his feelings when he sees his picture in different magazines, and he said: “It is a strange feeling that he never imagined he would encounter one day and as quickly as it happened, but he has to get used to it, and so does his family. His mother is very happy and was proud of her daughter, the doctor, and she never thought that her son, the actor, would be able to earn and support his family in the future.”
I told him: Since Omar Sharif, no Egyptian actor or actress has achieved international fame. What is his opinion on that? He said: “He is trying with all his might to make the audience accept him and for his acting in various series and films to have themes that are a role model for young men and women so that they do what is good for society and humanity.”
Hollywood - George Doss