| Human Profile | |
| Name: | Rami Said Malek |
| Birthday: | May 12, 1981 (age 44 years), Born in Torrance, California |
| Height: | 5'7" (170 cm) |
| Education: | Notre Dame High School (Diploma) University of Evansville (BA), Theater Harlaxton College (No Degree), Theater |
Overview
Rami Said Malek is an American actor of Egyptian descent, known for his Primetime Emmy Award-winning lead role as Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot and his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, becoming the first actor of Egyptian heritage to win Best Actor.
Latest News (Feb 12, 2026): Rami Malek’s historical drama "Nuremberg" climbed to the third spot on the digital entertainment charts following its Blu-ray release on February 10, 2026. Rami Malek was also recently highlighted for being the first actor of Egyptian heritage selected for the Hollywood Walk of Fame Class of 2026.
Early Life and Education
Rami Said Malek was born in Torrance, California, on May 12, 1981. His parents, Said Malek and Nelly Abdel-Malek, were Egyptian immigrants who left Cairo in 1978. His father worked as a travel agent and insurance salesman, while his mother was an accountant. Malek was raised in the family’s Coptic Orthodox Christian faith and spoke Egyptian Arabic at home during his early childhood. He has an identical twin brother, Sami, who is younger by four minutes, and an older sister, Jasmine, who is an emergency room doctor.
Malek attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, where classmates included actresses Rachel Bilson and Kirsten Dunst. Initially, his parents hoped he would pursue a career in law, leading him to join the debate team. However, a debate teacher noted his talent for dramatic interpretation and encouraged him to perform the play Zooman and The Sign. This experience, and his parents’ positive reaction, motivated him to pursue acting. After graduating high school in 1999, he studied theater at the University of Evansville in Indiana, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2003.
Career Beginnings
After graduating, Rami Said Malek moved to New York City and became involved with the Slant Theatre Project, performing in plays with friends. He later returned to Los Angeles to seek acting work while holding jobs in food service. His first television role was a guest appearance on Gilmore Girls in 2004. This was followed by roles in episodes of Over There and Medium in 2005. That same year, he was cast in the recurring role of Kenny on the Fox comedy series The War at Home, which aired until 2007.
In 2006, Malek made his feature film debut as Pharaoh Ahkmenrah in the comedy Night at the Museum. He would later reprise this role in the sequels Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014).
Rise to Prominence
A significant role for Rami Said Malek came in 2010 with the HBO World War II miniseries The Pacific, where he portrayed Corporal Merrill “Snafu” Shelton. The performance earned him critical praise and a letter of commendation from executive producer Tom Hanks, who subsequently cast him in the 2011 film Larry Crowne.
Throughout the early 2010s, he took on a series of supporting roles in major films. He was cast as the vampire Benjamin in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012) and appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master (2012). He also worked with director Spike Lee on the films Oldboy (2013) and Da Sweet Blood of Jesus. In 2013, he had a role in the independent film Short Term 12.
Breakthrough with Mr. Robot and Bohemian Rhapsody
Rami Said Malek’s career reached a new level when he was cast in the lead role of the USA Network series Mr. Robot. He played Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and vigilante hacker with social anxiety and clinical depression. The creator of the series, Sam Esmail, considered rewriting the character before Malek’s audition convinced him he had found the right actor. The show, which premiered in 2015 and ran for four seasons, was a critical success. For his performance, Malek won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2016.
His international fame surged with his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the band Queen, in the 2018 biographical film Bohemian Rhapsody. To prepare for the role, Malek moved to London for extensive dialect and movement coaching, as well as piano and singing lessons. He studied hours of footage of Mercury’s performances and worked with a movement coach to capture the singer’s stage presence. The film was a box office success, and though it received mixed reviews, Malek’s performance was widely acclaimed. He received numerous accolades for the role, including the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and British Academy Film Award for Best Actor. His Academy Award win made him the first actor of Egyptian heritage to win in that category.
Following this success, Malek played the primary antagonist, Lyutsifer Safin, in the James Bond film No Time to Die (2021). He also appeared in the crime film The Little Things (2021) and portrayed physicist David Hill in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023).
Personal Life
Rami Said Malek is known for being private about his personal life and is not active on social media. He has expressed a desire to remain anonymous in his life off-screen. During the filming of Bohemian Rhapsody, he entered into a relationship with his co-star Lucy Boynton.