Rami Malek on How His Character in ‘The Amateur’ Compares to ‘Mr. Robot’: It’s “That Feeling of Being Alienated”

Rami Malek has taken on a new title: action hero.

While the role may be a different venture for the Oscar winner, who’s known to take on dramatic roles and even played a Bond villain, his character in The Amateur has some similarities to Elliot Alderson from Mr. Robot, who Malek played for four seasons.

“I think [it’s] that feeling of being alienated, suffering through grief, going through all the stages of grief,” Malek told The Hollywood Reporter about the comparison on the carpet for Wednesday night’s premiere. “He’s also quite different. He’s he’s a family man. He’s got an extraordinary wife, Rachel Brosnahan.”

Malek continued to explain why he’s attracted to outcast characters.

“For myself, I gravitate to characters who are alienated and who can be seen as outcasts or feel like misfits or feel overlooked and disenfranchised perhaps,” he said. “And to see them go on and do extraordinary things is something I wanted to really imbue in this script and this story in every way.”

Directed by James Hawes, The Amateur is based on the book of the same name and a remake of the 1981, which sees Malek star as Charlie Heller, a CIA decoder who’s on a mission to avenge his wife after she’s murdered. Malek also serves as an executive producer.

Brosnahan, who plays his deceased wife, Sarah, in the film, spoke about how she and Malek had been trying to find something to collaborate on. “When he talked to me about how much he loved this project and why he loved it and why this relationship was so crucial for his journey throughout the film to get it right, it became very hard to say no,” she told THR. “Rami’s a very convincing producer of this film, which I really appreciate.”

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actress also teased that they had their “moment to work together,” they are already “looking for another one.” She said, “We’re in conversation, trying to figure out what the right thing is.”

The Amateur is out in theaters on April 11.