NEWSActor Rami Malek Reveals He Was Once 'Thrown' Onto a 'Cop Car' in Racial Profiling Incident
Rami Malek opened up about a troubling racial profiling incident where he was thrown onto a cop car.
Rami Malek revealed he has dealt with issues just like everyone else.
The Bohemian Rhapsody star recently opened up about a shocking racial profiling experience during a new interview.
“I got thrown on the bonnet of an [Los Angeles Police Department] cop car because someone had robbed a liquor store and stolen a woman’s bag,” he recounted. “They said the [thief] was of Latin descent and, ‘You fit the description.’”
“I remember how hot that engine was, they must have been racing over there and it was almost burning my hands. My friend, who was Caucasian, was clever enough to go, ‘Actually, sir, he’s Egyptian. Not Latin.’ I remember laughing on the cop car, thinking, ‘OK, this is a very precarious situation. I may well be going to jail for something I’ve not done,’” he added.
Rami Malek is the son of Egyptian immigrant parents.
The actor also revealed the struggles he's encountered during his international trips.
“It’s difficult enough traveling. Don’t make it harder,” he dished. “I started to think, ‘What is happening?’ every time I tried to enter a country. These days, there might be a moment. Then they’ll go, ‘Nah, that’s the guy from Bohemian Rhapsody. Let him through.’”
Malek reflected on his childhood in Sherman Oaks, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, where he was raised by Egyptian immigrant parents. Growing up, he grappled with his sense of identity.
The actor once experienced racial profiling and was thrown onto a police car after being mistaken for a suspect.
"There was also a definite … I won’t say alienating yourself from certain aspects of the culture, but definitely not accepting them," he said. "I don’t know how you ever get over that. I’m what’s called ‘white-passing,’ but I have very distinctive features, and we definitely didn’t fit in."
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The Night at the Museum star grew up with his identical twin brother, Sami Malek, and their parents, who worked hard to give them opportunities.
“We just had an uncanny way of sensing people. … I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse. Sometimes I find it detrimental. You can’t help it," he said.
“The school system in Los Angeles was not great. She would handwrite these long letters in blue fountain pen explaining our situation. She’d say, ‘I’m going to give my kids every opportunity possible,’” he said, referring to his mother. “I would hear stories about her being pregnant with my brother and me, and taking three buses — three different buses — to get to work and back.”
Rami Malek won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'
Despite the racial problems Rami encountered, he admitted that his experiences have “toughened” him up.
"It's important to represent my Egyptian heritage. I grew up in Los Angeles, which not everybody knows has a big Egyptian community. I think that's probably because the climate is similar to Cairo. We spoke Arabic in the family home while growing up," he revealed in a 2018 interview with Vogue Arabia.
In an interview, Rami Malek spoke about his upbringing.
These past few years, Rami made history as the first actor of Arab descent to win an Academy Award for Best Actor and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. His resume also includes winning an Emmy Award for Mr. Robot.
In his Oscar acceptance speech, Rami paid tribute to Freddie's legacy while reflecting on his own journey.
"I am the son of immigrants from Egypt. I'm a first-generation American, and part of my story is being written right now,” he said in 2019.
"When I grew up as a kid, part of me felt like I needed to shed some of that. I didn’t feel like I fit in; I definitely felt like the outsider," he shared. "As I got older, I realized just how beautiful my heritage and my tradition is. The wealth of culture, magic, music, film, and just pure art that comes out of the Middle East. I am so privileged to represent it, and to anyone from there, we all got a shot at this."
The Guardian interviewed Rami.
