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know him as a computer

1:00

hacker in the hit series

1:02

Mr. Robot, or maybe as

1:05

rock star Freddie Mercury in

1:07

the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. Now

1:09

with Sunday morning Seth Done,

1:12

meet the real Oscar-winning

1:14

actor Rami Malek. How hard

1:17

did you have to work in

1:19

the early days in being

1:21

noticed in Hollywood trying to get

1:23

those first jobs? Yeah, pretty

1:26

darn hard. Yeah. I just,

1:28

I banged down every door,

1:31

I could, I, you know,

1:33

you hear a lot of

1:36

nose, I got used to

1:38

hearing rejection quite often, and

1:41

sometimes it was difficult to

1:43

get up and, you know.

1:46

Step out into the world again

1:48

and say I can do

1:50

this and not give up

1:52

What were you doing? How

1:54

are you trying to get

1:56

people to notice you I

1:58

was stuffing Manila envelopes with

2:00

my headshot and resume and

2:02

sending them to every agent

2:05

every studio every art school,

2:07

film school, anybody who was

2:09

producing, directing, anything. And I

2:11

did that for quite some

2:13

time to no avail. And

2:15

there was one moment where

2:17

I got a call from

2:19

a casting director, Mara Casey,

2:21

and she said, we'd love

2:23

to see Romney Malek for

2:25

this role. We'd like to

2:27

speak with his agent. I

2:30

said, speaking. And he said,

2:32

is he SAG? And screen

2:34

actor skilled. Well, no, not

2:36

yet, but I'm sure we

2:38

can get him there. And

2:40

they said, and this is

2:42

his agent? I said, yeah,

2:44

yes. And who are you?

2:46

I said, his agent. What's

2:48

your name? Mommy Mallick. And

2:50

she laughed. She was laughing

2:52

the whole way through and

2:55

she said, all right, kid,

2:57

listen, when you get an

2:59

agent, you can call me,

3:01

we'll get you back in.

3:03

I said, hey, we're already

3:05

having this conversation. I got

3:07

a few laughs out of

3:09

you. Maybe you could just

3:11

let me in the door

3:13

and see what happens. And

3:15

she took a bait and

3:17

she said, all right, can

3:19

you make it in 20

3:22

minutes? Where are you? And

3:24

I just raced over there

3:26

as quickly as I could.

3:28

And uh... What were you

3:30

doing to pay the bills

3:32

at the time? What wasn't

3:34

I doing? I was catering,

3:36

I was delivering pizzas, I

3:38

was working at restaurants, I

3:40

was a bus boy, I

3:42

was told I made a

3:44

very inferior cappuccino once and

3:47

got fired from that. Maybe

3:49

I did that on purpose,

3:51

I don't know. Yeah, anything

3:53

to pay the bills, but...

3:55

But you charm this casting

3:57

director and you get cast

3:59

and Gilmore Girls and that's

4:01

one of the first real

4:03

jobs. That was one of

4:05

the first real jobs, but

4:07

then it took... You would

4:09

think that the next one

4:11

would come right away. but

4:14

it was still that hustle

4:16

of waiting and waiting, no

4:18

callbacks, no auditions. So for

4:20

me, it was quite a

4:22

slow burn, and I think

4:24

that helped me develop this

4:26

strength to know that something

4:28

would always be coming. and

4:30

to choose wisely. And, you

4:32

know, there were roles that

4:34

were offered, you know, because

4:36

of my heritage playing a

4:39

terrorist, and that was something

4:41

I thought, I can't just,

4:43

I'll be pigeonholed, and that's

4:45

not the way I want

4:47

to represent my culture. So,

4:49

that would be the easy

4:51

thing to do, is to

4:53

take those, that would pay

4:55

the bills to a degree,

4:57

but I thought... Wait, just

4:59

keep pushing, you can do

5:01

this. Was there a point

5:04

in your career where you

5:06

made that choice? You played

5:08

in 24, the Key for

5:10

Sutherland TV show. I thought

5:12

I was meticulous. You're more

5:14

meticulous than anybody. You played

5:16

a character who blew himself

5:18

up in that. Yeah, I

5:20

think that was the last

5:22

one. I said enough is

5:24

enough there. It was just

5:26

too divisive and yeah, it

5:28

would create an impression of...

5:31

by a certain group of

5:33

people who would be pigeonholed

5:35

and I wouldn't want to

5:37

be responsible for that. I'd

5:39

rather see people, people identify

5:41

with a certain every man,

5:43

the struggles of outsiders, outcasts.

5:45

Every day human beings who

5:47

can go on to do

5:49

extraordinary things. We see them

5:51

every day, every single day.

5:53

They're the ones that resonate

5:56

with me the most. What

5:58

makes you choose a certain

6:00

role at this point? Well,

6:02

do you have something that

6:04

guides you? I got such

6:06

a great break working with

6:08

Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks

6:10

on the Pacific and they

6:12

put us through this military

6:14

boot camp. The audition process

6:16

was so rigorous, they told

6:18

us to get down to

6:21

6% body fat, and I

6:23

thought, God, if this is

6:25

one, you're just tiny minuscule

6:27

percentage of what those men

6:29

might have felt. It was

6:31

all inspiring to me. And

6:33

I thought if you could

6:35

begin to tell stories like

6:37

that, that could resonate with

6:39

so many people. I think

6:41

there's heroism in so many

6:43

of the characters I gravitate

6:45

to, but they also lend

6:48

themselves to just being ordinary

6:50

people. I love ordinary people

6:52

doing extraordinary things. What made

6:54

you want to do the

6:56

amateur? I remember getting a

6:58

call right after Bohemian Rhapsody

7:00

and the success of that

7:02

from the studio and they

7:04

said, what type of film

7:06

would you want to do

7:08

next? And I said, believe

7:10

it or not, an action

7:13

film. Why? Because I thought

7:15

there was a group of

7:17

people who were underrepresented in

7:19

that genre, people who might

7:21

not be acknowledged or as

7:23

the film. points out quite

7:25

underestimated and to see oneself

7:27

reflected as you know heroic

7:29

in that capacity is something

7:31

I don't think we've seen

7:33

before. I really don't. Not

7:35

for a long time. I

7:37

love going for the big

7:40

splashy entertainment and this is

7:42

this is very splashy but

7:44

it comes from a guy

7:46

who is so unexpected doing

7:48

extraordinary things. Your character is

7:50

the unlikely hero. It has

7:52

echoes of born identity and

7:54

mission impossible in these, but

7:56

is markedly different in who

7:58

is the protagonist. Well, that's

8:00

a huge compliment. I remember

8:02

being taken by Storm watching

8:05

born identity and what a

8:07

phenomenal actor Damon is in

8:09

that role. You know that

8:11

was a subversion of that

8:13

genre and I thought What

8:15

if we could do that

8:17

in a different way from

8:19

this character's point of view

8:21

who is the last person

8:23

you would expect to go

8:25

take on the people who

8:27

stole essentially the love of

8:30

his life that made him

8:32

whole? And if he could

8:34

persevere and find some steely

8:36

resilience inside of himself to

8:38

do what no one could

8:40

ever expect? possible out of

8:42

him. Maybe that would resonate

8:44

with people all around the

8:46

world, I hope it does.

8:48

Were there things in the

8:50

Charlie Heller character that you

8:52

learned from someone, picked from

8:54

someone? I think it's the

8:57

perseverance and resilience of the

8:59

human spirit. I can look

9:01

at my mom and think

9:03

about her coming to the

9:05

US and not speaking a

9:07

word of English and... taking

9:09

three buses to get to

9:11

work with having a daughter

9:13

at home and you know

9:15

two baby boys in her

9:17

belly as she was she

9:19

was getting getting from job

9:22

to job to you know

9:24

make a living for us

9:26

and there's there's a strength

9:28

in that and a resilience

9:30

and I saw I saw

9:32

heroism in that I saw

9:34

love in that and What

9:36

I see with Charlie is

9:38

when he loses his soulmate,

9:40

someone who he would do

9:42

anything for. There is something

9:44

extraordinary about the power in

9:46

that when someone could easily

9:49

bury their head in the

9:51

sand. Why did you want

9:53

to play that type of

9:55

character? I think I gravitate

9:57

to these characters who are

9:59

profoundly... Alienated, seen as outcasts,

10:01

different. Is that because there's

10:03

something personal for you? You're

10:05

going for it, yeah. I

10:07

don't know who hasn't. felt

10:09

different in their life, who

10:11

hasn't felt like an outsider.

10:14

But perhaps, yes, my origin

10:16

story, for lack of a

10:18

better word, is as a

10:20

first-generation American, and we definitely

10:22

were seen as different to

10:24

a degree, and fitting in

10:26

was something I worked hard

10:28

on and never seemed to

10:30

perfectly adjust to. Your parents

10:32

went to the US in

10:34

1978. from Egypt, Coptic Christians,

10:36

you spoke Arabic at home.

10:39

But it seems you also

10:41

had a very southern California

10:43

side of life too. To

10:45

a degree, yeah. We grew

10:47

up in the San Fernando

10:49

Valley. I think for the

10:51

most part we truly believed

10:53

for so many years that

10:55

that's the only part of

10:57

Los Angeles that existed. We

10:59

weren't sheltered so much as

11:01

I think my parents were

11:03

trying to protect us from

11:06

the elements that they perceived

11:08

as a little bit too

11:10

liberal and yeah wanted to

11:12

create a very safe structured

11:14

place for us that perhaps

11:16

allowed my imagination to flourish

11:18

in a way. You were

11:20

what in your room imagining

11:22

things playing games? Yeah, I

11:24

was coming up with characters

11:26

alone and to the point

11:28

where I thought something very

11:31

unusual is going on up

11:33

there and you have to

11:35

find a way to utilize

11:37

that or might take over

11:39

in a negative way somehow.

11:41

Was acting a natural jump?

11:43

How did that happen? No,

11:45

my father wanted to... My

11:47

father instilled this idea in

11:49

myself and my siblings that

11:51

we came to this country

11:53

so that you could do

11:56

something special, to be somebody

11:58

special. But what he really,

12:00

I think, wanted me to

12:02

do was to be a

12:04

politician. So I went into

12:06

a debate class and I

12:08

wasn't very good at... but

12:10

I had a substitute teacher

12:12

who came in and said

12:14

there's actually this element of

12:16

class that you could do

12:18

that's a dramatic interpretation or

12:20

a humorous interpretation of a

12:23

play and he handed me

12:25

one and I dug in

12:27

and I ended up performing

12:29

it for him within a

12:31

week and he said you

12:33

memorized it and I said

12:35

yeah yeah it's just something

12:37

clicked and He said, I'd

12:39

like to enter you into

12:41

this competition. And soon after,

12:43

it was the first thing

12:45

that I invited my parents

12:48

to come see. And I

12:50

remember my mom and dad

12:52

sitting in the audience, and

12:54

my father being stoic, Middle

12:56

Eastern man. never showing any

12:58

emotion, and I could see

13:00

a tear slowly drop from

13:02

his face, and I thought,

13:04

wow, if I could have

13:06

that effect on him, what

13:08

could I do with the

13:10

rest of the world? So

13:12

that was it. That's what

13:15

triggered the interest in acting.

13:17

I think it was the

13:19

potential to move people to

13:21

relate to them, to share

13:23

something. You're known for your

13:25

preparedness. You're known for studying

13:27

the roles. I don't think

13:29

you could play a character

13:31

like Freddie Mercury without doing

13:33

copious amounts of homework. Watching

13:35

that man over and over

13:37

was something that I took

13:40

pure joy in as well.

13:42

So that's a luxury when

13:44

you get to invest so

13:46

much time in someone that

13:48

means the world to so

13:50

many people. Doesn't feel like

13:52

it doesn't feel like work.

13:54

It feels like you're just

13:56

getting to embrace and imbue

13:58

yourself with with someone's essence

14:00

over and over. Some could

14:02

call that research. I called

14:05

it pure joy. How was

14:07

it portraying a real person

14:09

compared to someone who character

14:11

you create? I think you

14:13

have to mix it up.

14:15

You can't have a career

14:17

of just biopicks, right? Is

14:19

there one that you prefer

14:21

or think you're better at

14:23

or like more? No, it

14:25

depends on the context of

14:27

this. I mean, doing Oppenheimer

14:29

with Christopher Nolan. I came

14:32

in and played a real

14:34

character. There's an expectation because

14:36

they... lift on this planet,

14:38

you have to honor them

14:40

to a degree in a

14:42

way that when you're creating

14:44

a character there is more

14:46

of a creative license I

14:48

suppose. There were things about

14:50

Freddie that I could only

14:52

assume because of the nature

14:54

of his privacy that was

14:57

enjoyable but also scary because

14:59

you wanted to honor him

15:01

and get it right. you

15:03

collect all of the facts

15:05

in order to allow yourself

15:07

to possibly tell a story

15:09

about him that you have

15:11

tethered yourself to and is

15:13

hopefully as close as you

15:15

can be because there is

15:17

a relationship that possibly you've

15:19

created through some sort of

15:22

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16:48

Winning an Oscar obviously opened so

16:50

many doors creates so many opportunities.

16:52

What challenges are there? Does it

16:55

set expectations that you feel then

16:57

you've got to meet? It doesn't

17:00

actually. I've never really set any

17:02

lofty expectations for myself. I wanted

17:04

to be just a working actor.

17:07

That's all I aspire to do.

17:09

I think that's a success in

17:12

and of itself. to have a

17:14

stable working life as an

17:16

actor. So I would hope that

17:18

it would open doors, but I

17:21

never had any expectations. Some of

17:23

it seems hard to believe though.

17:26

I would think that once you

17:28

win an Oscar, you must think,

17:30

oh my gosh, I've got to

17:33

keep doing this at this

17:35

level. I guess there's a level

17:37

of a standard you want to

17:40

hold yourself to, but that would

17:42

be compromising. You

17:44

can look at actors who

17:47

have multiple Oscars and what

17:49

are you gonna keep searching

17:51

for the next one or

17:53

the next one? I mean

17:55

how much is good enough?

17:58

I'm pretty satisfied with what

18:00

I've accomplished Yeah, I'm I

18:02

feel really really humbled by

18:04

that moment, very proud of

18:07

that moment. It was extraordinary.

18:09

And if anything else comes

18:11

of it that can top

18:13

that, I would be flabbergasted.

18:15

But I'm open to it.

18:18

In that acceptance speech, you

18:20

wish that your dad, you

18:22

say that you wish your

18:24

dad could be there. You

18:26

thank your mom. Your relationship

18:29

with your parents is clear

18:31

in that. except in speech,

18:33

speech, what seems to be

18:35

clear. Well, I think they

18:38

sacrifice so much to leave

18:40

their country, to come to

18:42

the US, and just for

18:44

the opportunity that their kids

18:46

could flourish. I appreciate that

18:49

courage, that conviction, that strength,

18:51

that humility to do something

18:53

for someone else. I don't

18:55

think there's anything greater than

18:58

that. Do you still get

19:00

advice from your mom? Yeah.

19:02

Oh yeah, that'll never stop.

19:04

That's an onslaught of it

19:06

advice. What does she say?

19:09

I think the Brits say

19:11

it very well. Keep calm

19:13

and carry on. How about

19:15

your brother? You have a

19:18

twin brother. How did having

19:20

a twin affect life growing

19:22

up? It was pretty

19:24

fascinating because he was much

19:26

more of the gregarious individual

19:28

between the two of us and

19:31

I was quite shy. I guess

19:33

that was me busy creating

19:35

characters alone in a room

19:37

by myself where he was out

19:40

being more of a bright shining

19:42

star I suppose. It's funny

19:44

to hear you say this

19:46

you would think you'd be the

19:48

one who'd be the gregarious one

19:51

out. Well, no. Hollywood star.

19:53

Yeah, yeah, no, but maybe

19:55

I learned a lot from him

19:57

so I have a lot a

20:00

lot to thank him for

20:02

but he He is an

20:04

extraordinary human. He's a school teacher

20:06

and has devoted his life

20:08

to that. And my sister's

20:10

ER doctor, I think the

20:12

parents did all right. The parents

20:15

did all right. Though they

20:17

didn't love the idea that

20:19

you wanted to be an actor

20:21

at first. No. I think

20:23

making that transition to the

20:25

states, it was certain cultures

20:27

expect lawyer, doctor. You know, we've

20:29

heard this over and over.

20:31

There is an expectation to

20:33

do those things that are stable

20:36

and are proven, so to speak.

20:38

And I think a work

20:40

in the life in the

20:42

arts is probably the most unstable

20:45

thing you could set out

20:47

to do. You don't still

20:49

feel like an outsider and

20:51

outcast, do you? It's an interesting

20:53

way of questioning that, yeah.

20:57

I don't know, there's an

20:59

unusual aspect to all of

21:01

us. Do I, I don't

21:04

know how anyone ever feels

21:06

truly integrated into the world

21:08

and settled. Maybe there's some

21:10

gurus out there that feel

21:12

quite naturally at peace and

21:14

have found a way to...

21:16

acknowledge exactly who they are.

21:18

I don't know exactly where

21:21

I'll be in 10 years.

21:23

I don't know who I'll

21:25

be. I don't know if

21:27

I don't know that I'd

21:29

ever want to not feel

21:31

like an outsider. Why? I

21:33

like eccentricity. I like feeling

21:35

unique. I like feeling different.

21:38

Are you unique? Different eccentric

21:40

in your own personal life?

21:42

Off screen? I would hope

21:44

so. How does that manifest

21:46

itself? Oh, come on. Ask

21:48

anybody who's ever met me.

21:50

I'm asking you. I don't

21:52

know. I don't know how

21:54

I could explain it. Is

21:57

there something you do it?

21:59

home or something that you

22:01

I think yeah yeah I'm

22:03

it's it's the artsy fortsy

22:05

thing to say but yeah

22:07

I like to paint and

22:09

I like to write poetry

22:11

I like you know things

22:14

of that nature I'm yeah

22:16

I don't think anything is

22:18

worthy of being placed on

22:20

a wall or in a

22:22

library but for me there's

22:24

eccentric things that I I

22:26

enjoy doing that make, yeah,

22:28

I guess have to exhaust

22:31

themselves from my interior so

22:33

that they can be dispelled

22:35

in a way if there's

22:37

not a camera or a

22:39

stage around. Your breakout role

22:41

was Elliot and Mr. Robot.

22:43

What was it about that

22:45

role you think that you

22:48

connected with, that audiences connected

22:50

with? What was it about?

22:52

I think it's that sense

22:54

of someone profoundly alienated who

22:56

is suffering from grief, who

22:58

is trying to overcome an

23:00

extraordinary amount of pain, and

23:02

some drug usage was involved,

23:05

and someone suffering from a

23:07

dissociative disorder. who could, despite

23:09

all of that, have this

23:11

inclination to go on and

23:13

save the world, as he

23:15

says. He really thinks he

23:17

can save the world. I

23:19

think it was just a

23:22

subversion of what we see

23:24

as heroism that seems to

23:26

be a theme in what

23:28

we're talking about. Particularly in

23:30

that, you have this gaze,

23:32

you have this ability to

23:34

connect with your eyes. So

23:36

do you. But it really

23:39

stands out in Mr. Robot,

23:41

I think, and in other

23:43

roles. I don't know. Something

23:45

about the camera that can

23:47

read right inside your soul

23:49

and There's no lying to

23:51

that camera. So I think

23:53

Elliot was a character that

23:55

I felt quite deeply inside

23:58

of myself through, again, the

24:00

research I had done, the

24:02

work I had done. Felt

24:04

deeply because you did so

24:06

much research or because it

24:08

affected you personally and someone?

24:10

The two. It affected me

24:12

personally. There were times in

24:15

a few roles where I

24:17

won't say a border-lined on

24:19

method acting, maybe more of

24:21

a chameleonic grace, I would

24:23

say. going to a place

24:25

where I could really delve

24:27

into the inner workings perhaps

24:29

and take that with me

24:32

for far too long. Can

24:34

you give me an example?

24:36

Specific? I would spend quite

24:38

a large amount of time

24:40

in solitude. prepping for roles

24:42

like Snafu in the Pacific

24:44

and going home and imagining

24:46

what it would be like

24:49

to sit in a foxhole

24:51

for hours and hours and

24:53

hours. So you'll just sit

24:55

in your house for hours

24:57

and hours and not talk

24:59

to someone or how does

25:01

that play? I did when

25:03

I was younger to a

25:06

degree which I thought could

25:08

become quite damaging at some

25:10

point. I wouldn't, I learned,

25:12

I learned as I evolved

25:14

that you didn't have to

25:16

go to the, I didn't

25:18

have to go to the

25:20

nth degree to be able

25:23

to create a character that

25:25

was as authentic. There's just

25:27

something when you're younger, you

25:29

want to, you feel like

25:31

you have to give it

25:33

every ounce of you. And

25:35

it's not that I don't

25:37

anymore, I just don't know

25:40

that I have to suffer

25:42

so much to get there.

25:44

It's faster to access now

25:46

the emotion or the depth

25:48

or the portrayal You're better

25:50

at doing it. Yeah, I

25:52

suppose it was yeah, it's

25:54

um, it's it's a growth

25:56

I don't know, maybe there

25:59

was some pleasure I took

26:01

in doing all of that

26:03

work that meant, oh I

26:05

had proven something, I had

26:07

done something, I had accomplished

26:09

something. It was worth being,

26:11

you know, in front of,

26:13

in front of Hanks and

26:16

Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson,

26:18

Spike Lee, and that's a

26:20

lot of name dropping, Watch

26:22

Your Feet. But, yeah, to

26:24

just walk in there with

26:26

that sense of... confidence because

26:28

it is terrifying going into

26:30

those places that you want

26:33

to feel like you've done

26:35

everything absolutely possible and putting

26:37

yourself through kind of a

26:39

sense of mental trauma for

26:41

what these people have gone

26:43

through. I mean if you

26:45

are digging so deep as

26:47

to deal with the psychological

26:50

trauma of so many characters

26:52

that I've played it could

26:54

have some effect on you.

26:56

At least my psychiatrist tells

26:58

me that. Do you have

27:00

a psychiatrist? I think everybody

27:02

does a bit of therapy

27:04

here and there. Do parts

27:07

that you play help you

27:09

resolve things or do parts

27:11

that you play deeper into

27:13

things to be resolved? It's

27:15

a great... It's a great

27:17

question because I'm constantly wondering

27:19

about other actors if it's

27:21

some type of cathartic endeavor

27:24

for them to be going

27:26

through something in front of

27:28

another actor and Expelling some

27:30

part of themselves But I

27:32

don't think that would be

27:34

very helpful for me psychologically

27:36

I prefer to find ways

27:38

to to separate my personal

27:41

experiences from from work, but

27:43

you can't help but have

27:45

your life influence what you

27:47

do in terms of storytelling.

27:49

Yeah, I wouldn't want to

27:51

be so robotic as to

27:53

not bring any ounce of

27:55

my life experience, but am

27:57

I healing myself through it?

28:00

I hope not. We were

28:02

backstage with you after your

28:04

performance at the... the old

28:06

Vic. One woman said you

28:08

make Egyptians proud or something

28:10

along those lines. Do you

28:12

hear that when you're surrounded

28:14

by so many people? How

28:17

could you not? Yeah. I

28:19

do. Yes, simply I do.

28:21

I love connecting with people.

28:23

It's been the trickiest part

28:25

of... The fame that has

28:27

come my way is sometimes

28:29

you have to walk down

28:31

the street and keep your

28:34

head down and not be

28:36

able to acknowledge people or

28:38

have the conversations. Interesting. That

28:40

you could have. So you

28:42

want to have those conversations?

28:44

Oh, I'm desperate for them.

28:46

So this is kind of

28:48

an act when you put

28:51

on a hat and... It's

28:53

not an act, it's a

28:55

survival mechanism. Sometimes you have

28:57

to get from point A

28:59

to... point B, but there

29:01

are other times where you

29:03

want to share. Most of

29:05

the time, I love sharing

29:08

and communicating and learning. How

29:10

else would you want to

29:12

go through life? Inside you,

29:14

you wish you could stop

29:16

and talk to these people

29:18

who are recognizing you in

29:20

some cases. I still can.

29:22

I still can. At the

29:25

height of Bohemian, it was

29:27

pretty wild. But how did

29:29

you deal with that fame

29:31

at that point? That was

29:33

life changing, I imagine, that

29:35

degree of... recognizability of fame.

29:37

It was a very slow

29:39

burn. The Marine Corps element

29:42

of the Pacific, people would

29:44

start to recognize that. After

29:46

then Mr. Robot, people would

29:48

start to recognize that character

29:50

as someone they connected with.

29:52

And, you know, they were...

29:54

It was quite some time

29:56

in between those two roles

29:58

and, you know, other roles

30:01

in between. You know, kids

30:03

still come up to me

30:05

from playing the Farrow in

30:07

the Knighteth Museum movies. And

30:09

so I've adapted to it

30:11

slowly, but I think the

30:13

aggressive peak of what happened

30:15

with Bohemian Rhapsody was... was

30:18

quite a lot to absorb

30:20

and I can't say that

30:22

it wasn't a bit anxiety

30:24

inducing in what way because

30:26

there's a level of expectation

30:28

and adoration and and people

30:30

are I think compelled to

30:32

want a tangible connection. to

30:35

you that is hard to

30:37

offer to so many people

30:39

who appreciate that human being

30:41

and appreciate the film. But

30:43

as time and space has

30:45

allowed some distance from that,

30:47

it's allowed for more conversation

30:49

and more appreciation between myself

30:52

and the world because that

30:54

human being meant so much

30:56

to so many people still

30:58

does. Yeah, it's an achievement

31:00

and accomplishment and a source

31:02

of pride that I will

31:04

always cherish. And if other

31:06

people want to share that

31:09

with me, they should. And

31:11

they can, and I'm happy

31:13

too. How do you now

31:15

wrestle with fame and how

31:17

you balance being recognized for

31:19

doing what you do? Much

31:21

more calm about it. It

31:23

doesn't shake me as much.

31:26

But it seems you try

31:28

to keep... your relationship for

31:30

instance for the most part

31:32

to yourself or relationships? Yeah,

31:34

this is probably the most

31:36

I talk about my family.

31:38

I'm just, I'm concerned for

31:40

everyone's privacy. It's not, it's

31:43

not my place to talk

31:45

about anybody else. I think

31:47

it's, you're interviewing me and

31:49

I understand that comes with

31:51

a level of wanting some

31:53

insight into a personal world,

31:55

but or some anonymity, whatever

31:57

I can latch on to

31:59

that still exists, I hope,

32:02

I hope I... I can

32:04

take that hold on to

32:06

it for as long as

32:08

humanly possible. At least a

32:10

touch. At least a touch.

32:12

Because. Because I have a

32:14

memoir to write at some

32:16

point. I think there is

32:19

still something. It may be

32:21

an antiquated thought, but the

32:23

less people know about you.

32:25

I think the more. unique

32:28

performance, you can deliver in

32:30

terms of cinema or on

32:32

stage or in any capacity.

32:34

I think there's less of

32:36

an attachment from an audience

32:38

to who that person really

32:40

is and what you know

32:42

about them. And you can

32:44

really see them as two

32:46

disparate human beings. That's probably

32:48

the diplomatic way of using

32:50

it to my advantage, but

32:52

I grew up being a

32:54

very private person. My household

32:56

was very private. We weren't

32:58

kids that were allowed to

33:00

have sleepovers. And I remember

33:02

my dad saying, here I

33:04

am now going into the

33:06

private side. I remember my

33:08

dad saying, well, you want

33:10

another kid to come sleep

33:12

over at our house, but

33:14

you have your own bet.

33:16

I would have killed for

33:18

my own bed as a

33:20

kid as a kid. So,

33:22

there is that element that's

33:24

still ingrained in me. I

33:26

think everyone desires some sense

33:28

of privacy. And when that

33:30

starts to dissipate, you just

33:32

latch on to what's left

33:34

of it. What made you

33:36

want to be in this

33:38

play in London? Is that

33:40

iconic theater the Old Vic?

33:42

If there was any place

33:44

I wanted to do a

33:46

play would be there and

33:48

to be on that hallowed

33:50

stage is an extraordinary moment

33:52

and afforded that opportunity. How

33:54

could you pass it up?

33:56

I also just wanted to

33:58

share with an audience, what

34:00

would be worthy of an

34:02

audience paying the price of

34:04

admission to seeing something unique

34:06

and special that I would

34:08

want to return to day

34:10

in and day out? And

34:12

it proved to be just

34:14

that. How much do you

34:16

care about what critics say

34:18

at this point? That production

34:20

was liked by some and

34:22

not liked by some. How

34:24

much do you care about

34:26

what critics, right? Oh, I

34:28

didn't know that, but I

34:30

guess not much because I

34:32

don't read them. Really? Yeah.

34:34

What did Daniel Craig said

34:36

on Bond? You said, if

34:38

you believe the good ones,

34:40

you got to believe the

34:42

bad ones. So you don't

34:44

read? I love journalism. I

34:46

read the New York Times,

34:48

top to bottom, every day.

34:50

So I'll, yeah, I'll read

34:52

reviews of things, but... But

34:54

not of things you're in?

34:56

I try not to. I'm

34:58

not looking to others for

35:00

a sense of what my

35:02

capability or capacity is as

35:04

an actor. I know not

35:06

everything's going to be perfect

35:08

or liked by every critic,

35:10

but if people are entertained

35:13

and, you know, they stand

35:15

up and applaud as they

35:17

did last night, then does

35:19

it really matter what the

35:21

critics say? I'm

35:23

Jane Pauli. Thank you

35:26

for listening and for

35:28

more of our extended

35:31

interviews. Follow and listen

35:33

to Sunday morning on

35:35

the free Odyssey app

35:38

or wherever you get

35:40

your podcasts. From the

35:43

director of the greatest

35:45

showman better man absolutely

35:48

sizzles from start to

35:50

finish I'm going to

35:52

say I'm all the

35:55

world to see who

35:57

I reading It's wildly

36:00

and and

36:02

entertaining. entertaining. No,

36:04

stop it's nothing. It's only the

36:06

only the biggest event

36:08

in history! Better Man, now

36:10

streaming on now streaming

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