From: NewNowNext
I first discovered Rami Malek as the oddball gay friend Kenny on Fox’s The War at Home. The show, a mid-2000s sitcom in the classic style, wasn’t anything remarkable—except Kenny kind of was.
He was the closeted best friend of straight teen Dave, already an unusual paring on network TV. And he seemed more clueless than scared about his sexuality. I remember a lot of “everybody-knows-but Kenny” jokes that didn’t seem all that cliche in 2006.
Also, “Kenny” was actually Khaleel Nazeeh Al-Bahir—and, when he finally came out, audiences got a glimpse into what it can be like to be a queer teen in a conservative immigrant family. (Kenny was ultimately kicked out of the house and moved in with the Golds).
Even then Rami impressed me with his better-than-the-material performance, his ability to convey authentic teen awkwardness. And those lips—and those beautiful, beautiful eyes. (Malek was 23 when the show started, so calm down.)
“Being straight, I wanted to get a real, authentic perspective,” he told Logo of his approach to Kenny. “One thing I remember [out creator Rob Lotterstein] saying to me was, “Imagine if the world was gay, and you had to come out as heterosexual.”
“[Rob] was able to help me out with the thought process of what’s going on for someone who might be dealing with this,” he added. “The confusion, the guilty feelings, angst, all that turmoil.”
War at Home ended in 2007 and we saw Rami next in the Night at the Museum movies as King Ahkmenrah.
Suddenly I wished Moses hadn’t parted the Red Sea.
There were parts in movies like Battleship, Twilight, Oldboy and The Master.
But Malek really blew up in 2015 as socially catatonic hacker Elliot Alderson on USA’s Mr. Robot.
In the series, Elliot is recruited by the enigmatic “Mr. Robot” (Christian Slater) to join a hacktivist collective, a la Anonymous.
The show has be showered with critical accolades—USA Today praised Malek for “[dragging] us deeply into Elliot’s wide-eyed psychosis and crushing loneliness.”
“There is something wounded and believable about this kid,” wrote the Washington Post’s Hank Steuver, “drawing out the viewer’s sympathies—and suspicions.”
The show returned for a second season on Wednesday and both it and Malek seem to be going from strength to strength.
At 35, Malek is really just hitting his stride as an actor. We expect great roles from him in the future. Until then, let’s take a look at some of his body of work, shall we?
He is a total clothes horse who looks great in almost everything.
Or nothing.
That voice!
Oh, and he’s got an identical twin.
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