Exclusive / Rami Malek on being a Bond villain in No Time To Die, working with K-pop’s Jackson Wang for Cartier and surviving Covid-19 – interview
Famous the world over for his portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, in an exclusive STYLE interview the star of 24, Mr Robot and Night at the Museum opens up about working opposite Daniel Craig’s 007 in the upcoming 25th Bond movie, playing complex characters and coping through coronavirus
My cat is not a fan of Rami Malek. I know this because the resurgence of the coronavirus has us back working from home, so I’m in the sadly ever more common position of doing a Zoom interview with the Egyptian-American actor, and my cat hisses every time he speaks.
Luckily, Malek doesn’t seem to notice.
“It’s been a nice time,” he says of the lockdown, which has spawned waves of questionable online creativity as people have tried to get used to a new normal within four walls. “It’s a very rare opportunity to pause and take a step back from the usual momentum of life.”
Malek is certainly doing that, explaining that he has been trying to make the most of the time by reading and going for walks.
“I’m trying to distance myself from the technological world for a moment,” says the little box on my screen.
Malek is far from the only one having to adapt to a changing world, of course. The prevalence and surging popularity of streaming services, coupled with the ennui of lockdown, has led to an overnight evolution in the way we watch movies and television. Nevertheless, the 39-year-old actor still sees the charm in traditional visual storytelling, and holds out hope that we will happily swap our smaller screens one day for the big silver one again.
“There is a place and time for all of these things and we’ll always continue to adapt,” he says. “One thing I do crave and always will, is the cinema experience, and I look forward to its inevitable return. There’s just something uniquely special about it, it’s a transcendent experience and something that is so ingrained in our past … I think that’s something we will always cherish.”
Film launches have been few and far between this year, but one potential blockbuster confirmed to drop this November is the James Bond film, No Time to Die , in which Malek plays the villain, Safin. Details on his character are hazy. The two-and-a-half minute trailer offers a scant 30 seconds of coverage of Bond’s latest nemesis.
“James Bond … License to kill … History of violence. I could be speaking to my own reflection. Only, your skills die with your body, and mine will survive long after I’m gone,” a voice-over croaks as Safin appears variously as a masked and scarred villain.