Rami Malek is a fascinating movie star who rapidly transformed from being a “that guy” to a household name. Malek launched his career with supporting performances on 24 and in the Night at the Museum family franchise, but grew frustrated with being typecast because of his Egyptian heritage. Malek earned greater visibility with his breakthrough performance in the Steven Spielberg HBO miniseries The Pacific, and Hollywood quickly took notice of the rising star’s potential.
Working alongside industry titans including Tom Hanks, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Spike Lee, Malek earned both a Primetime Emmy Award and Academy Award for Best Actor before the age of forty. Malek quickly ascended to stardom and has demonstrated versatility within his limited filmography, and this week he’ll be facing off against 007 as the villainous Lyutsifer Safin in No Time To Die. Here are his seven greatest performances to date.
7. The Little Things
The Little Things is not a good film, even if the Se7en wannabe was a longstanding passion project for writer/director John Lee Hancock. Despite some interesting ideas about obsession for unsolved cases, the depiction of flawed law enforcement characters is wildly off-base and closes with a problematic ending. It's strange to see three Academy Award winners appear in what’s essentially a pulp thriller. Jared Leto’s performance as the leading suspect Albert Sparma is completely bonkers, but both Malek and Denzel Washington actually commit to Hancock’s approach and elevate the thin material.
Malek’s Detective Jim Baxter enlists Washington’s Deputy Sheriff Joe Deacon to help him solve a successive series of murder cases. Neither Malek nor Washington is attempting to be overly charismatic. It makes their growing corruption more digestible, even if Hancock seems to frame them as heroes. Malek also knows he’s in a two-hander with one of the greatest movie stars of all-time, and doesn’t try to overpower Washington when the characters go head-to-head.
6. The Night at the Museum Trilogy
Live-action family films went through a strange trend in the early 21st Century, where each of the industry’s leading comedy stars seemed to get a film about an unfulfilled man-child going through a midlife crisis. Exactly what kids want to see, right? Compared to Jim Carrey’s Mister Popper’s Penguins, Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories, Jack Black’s Gulliver’s Travels, or Vince Vaughn’s Fred Claus, Ben Stiller’s playful Night at the Museum franchise is one of the better examples. There’s an enthusiasm for history that's enjoyable, and the multitude of historical figures that appear gave the stacked ensemble a chance to do recurring bits throughout the three films.
At the American Museum of Natural History in New York, a magical spell brings the exhibits to life each night and allows the historical figures to emerge. Malek appears as the ancient pharaoh Ahkmenrah, who possesses the secret tablet that makes the spell work. No, the depiction of Egyptian history isn’t particularly woke, but Malek retains his dignity. He did his best to develop the role when Ahkmenrah’s extended family are introduced in the sequels. It also gave him a touching moment with Robin Williams, who passed away shortly before the third film was released.
5. Papillon
No one was really asking for a remake of the 1973 prison classic Papillon, and the 2017 update plays out the same story beats virtually note for note. However, the scale is truly jaw dropping, and director Michael Noer captures the same isolation and madness that Franklin J. Schaffner did in the original. Charlie Hunnam took on the role of Henri Charrière, a thief wrongfully convicted of murder, and Malek slipped into the part of forger Louis Dega that Dustin Hoffman had originally portrayed.
Malek isn’t doing a Hoffman impersonation, but the two actors have similar idiosyncrasies. Dega’s quiet sensitivity stands out among the prison’s violent inhabitants, and his knowledge of counterfeiting cash make him a target. Malek plays up Dega’s aloofness without descending into caricature. His intelligence makes him a believable ally to Hunnam’s brutal Charrière, and their great chemistry creates a last farewell moment that's surprisingly touching.
4. BoJack Horseman
It's nearly impossible to keep track of all of BoJack Horseman’s guest stars, and Malek’s vocal work as the awkward aspiring writer Flip McVicker was an amusing enough cameo in the fourth season. However, McVicker took on a larger role in Season 5 when his crime series Philbert is greenlit with BoJack and Mr. Peanutbutter in the lead roles. Given the responsibility of being a showrunner, Flip becomes highly irritable and demands complete creative control over his “masterpiece.”
Season 5 is essentially BoJack Horseman (both the series and character) examining itself, and it's fascinating to see Malek cast as a novice who rapidly ascends to prominence. Flip’s passion for the series is evident, but the fear of losing his newfound power creates a toxic workplace environment. Malek could’ve easily gone for a generic depiction of a delusional writer convinced of his own genius, but he’s sensitive to Flip’s anxiety of losing his one big shot.
3. Buster's Mal Heart
Buster’s Mal Heart is the most criminally underseen film of Malek’s entire career. The science fiction mind bender explores loss, mental illness, and paranoia, but Malek isn’t just replicating his Mr. Robot performance. His titular character initially appears to be nothing but a crazed conspiracy theorist, but Malek gradually breaks down his eccentric persona as details of his past emerge.
Buster’s Mal Heart doesn’t call immediate attention to its nonlinear narrative. Instead of using mental illness as a cheap plot twist, the film sensitively shows Buster at his most heightened delusional state before peeling back the traumatic events that wrecked his seemingly normal life. With events scattered across multiple timelines, Malek is called on to be charismatic in one scene and creepy in the next. It's a credit to his dedication that Buster’s characterization feels consistent during the drastic tonal shifts.
2. Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody is better than its reputation suggests. Obviously a film that grossed nearly one billion dollars and won four Oscars isn’t a victim, but it's unfortunate that the ugliness of the Bryan Singer situation overshadowed the work of the cast and crew. Bohemian Rhapsody mostly montages through key events in Freddie Mercury’s life, but it doesn’t feel like it was intended to be a gritty tragedy. Bohemian Rhapsody is a touching tribute to Mercury by the surviving members of Queen, with extraordinary recreations of their most iconic live shows.
Malek was facing an impossible conceit; he’s embodying one of the greatest vocalists of all-time, but not doing any live singing. It was ultimately a wise choice to dub over the actual music, and in the scenes in between Malek embodies Mercury’s unmatched charisma. The relationship within the band is light and playful, and Malek’s chemistry with Gwilym Lee’s Brian May, Ben Hardy’s Roger Taylor, and Joe Mazzello’s John Deacon feels earnest. If it's their friendship that May and Taylor wanted to highlight in their recounting of events, than Bohemain Rhapsody is at least respectful of those wishes.
1. Mr. Robot
Mr. Robot is the defining work of Malek’s career. When the USA Network series debuted in June 2015, it promised the next great “peak TV” sensation with its idiosyncratic depiction of hacking culture. Showrunner Sam Esmail took bold stylistic swings that paid off, with unusual music choices, off putting framing devices, and unclear perspective. Mr. Robot was more in line with films like Fight Club, Taxi Driver, A Clockwork Orange, or The Matrix than anything on television at the time, and the show’s complex narrative was held together by Malek’s performance as the antisocial hacker Elliot Alderson.
Elliot works as a programmer at the security conglomerate E Corp (which he refers to as “Evil Corp”), but secretly operates as a Robin Hood-esque hacktivist exposing corruption. Elliot is tormented by depression and anxiety, and his skills are courted by the enigmatic anti-establishment movement “fsociety” and its enigmatic leader, the titular “Mr. Robot” (Christian Slater). The first season perfectly explores Elliot’s shocking revelations about his own identity.
While Malek earned an Emmy for his breakthrough performance, unfortunately attention for the show declined. Mr. Robot only grew more courageous in its subsequent seasons, and Malek fleshed out Elliot’s psychology amidst episodes that featured a bizarre sitcom parallel universe, one continuous shot, and a devastating revelation revealing his trauma. Mr. Robot is one of the great television shows of the past decade, and Malek’s personal touch gives the ambitious series its heart.