How Well Do You Know Rami Malek?

Rami Malek most recently rose to fame with big roles in Bohemian Rhapsody as Freddie Mercury, winning him an Academy Award and James Bond’s villain in No Time to Die. Prior to these blockbuster hits, Malek starred in the TV Series Mr. Robot as Elliot Alderson and acted for over a decade. Keep reading for six interesting facts about the actor, some may surprise you! 

1. He sent out his headshot by snail mail.

Malek went old school and used to stuff envelopes with his headshots to gain the attention of the big names in the industry. His family immigrated to the United States in 1978 from Cairo, Egypt and Rami had big dreams set in Hollywood. He first fell in love with acting during high school when he discovered drama. While at first, he didn’t get his family's support on the slim chance of making it in acting, his dad saw that by stuffing his own envelopes, he would take it seriously. 

Stuffing envelopes paid off, getting him an audition in a M&M commercial but sadly didn’t get him the part. Regardless, Malek pushed through on his goals and acting dreams. 

2. Double the trouble: Rami has a twin brother.

Rami has an identical twin named Sami Malek. While Rami attended the University of Evansville in Indiana, Sami attended the University of California, Los Angeles. On an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Rami explained they pulled a classic switch on their teachers in college. Sami needed help reciting a monologue from a Greek tragedy, and since Rami had it down, he was able to pull it off for his brother so he could get the points he needed in the class. 

Today, Sami is very supportive of Rami’s career and works as a teacher. He got his start in teaching through the program Teach for America. 

3. Malek paid for his first onscreen acting credit.

His big break in 2004 was on set with Gilmore Girls. He played a part in the Seventh-day Adventist college. Although he was not a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and you must be because most productions are unionized, Warner Brothers ended up paying Malek's $2000 entry fee to be a part of the union. He was contracted to pay it back later on but it helped catapult his next roles. 

4. Rami had a typing expert on Mr. Robot.

In order to make his hacker role believable, Malek had to be coached through his coding scenes by advisers who told him when to click, enter, type, etc. Apparently, his coach was good enough to make his hacker skills believable because Rami won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role on the show in 2016. 

5. Malek was so excited about Bohemian Rhapsody that he started working on the role before it was funded and he was officially cast.

Even though Rami Malek was a front runner for the role to be cast, he was also going up against some big names like Sascha Baron Cohen and Ben Whishaw. The film had yet to be funded, and the biopic was experiencing some hiccups in the beginning. Yet, that did not stop Malek from watching footage and starting to work with a movement coach to prepare for the film before it went into production. Eventually, he was confirmed for the role, and the film found funding allowing him to end up winning the Oscar for his performance. 

6. Rami almost made a cameo in Rocketman as Freddie Mercury.

Dexter Fletcher, who directed most of Bohemian Rhapsody, also directed Rocketman, depicting the biopic of Elton John in 2019. In real life, Elton John and Freddie Mercury shared the same manager, John Reid, and it was considered to have Freddie appear as a surprise in the film. It was later dismissed as being a “little too knowing.”