Latest news with #EgyptianAmerican
The National
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Rami Malek's road to Hollywood Walk of Fame: Career evolution from Gilmore Girls to Oscars and Oppenheimer
Rami Malek 's journey in Hollywood is one of perseverance, talent and transformation. This week, it was announced that the Egyptian-American actor will be honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. From modest beginnings in television to becoming an Oscar-winning actor and international star, Malek has steadily carved a space for himself in an industry often dominated by familiar faces. His presence and versatility have made him one of the most distinctive actors of his generation. To mark his latest achievement, we look back at the career that led him to this point. Early life and education Rami Said Malek was born on May 12, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, to Egyptian immigrant parents. Though raised in the US, he has often spoken of the cultural tension he felt growing up with a dual identity. His parents, who had traditional aspirations – his father worked as a tour guide and later sold insurance, while his mother was an accountant – initially steered him towards a more conventional career path. Malek studied theatre at the University of Evansville in Indiana, where his professors quickly recognised his potential. After graduating in 2003, he returned to Los Angeles, struggling to find work while living with his parents and taking on odd jobs. His persistence paid off in 2004 with a guest role on the sitcom Gilmore Girls – a brief appearance that marked the start of a significant acting career. Roles in The War at Home, The Pacific and 24 Malek's first recurring role came in 2005 with the sitcom The War at Home, in which he played Kenny – a teenager grappling with his identity. Despite the series' lukewarm reception and early cancellation, Malek's performance stood out for its emotional honesty. His major breakthrough arrived in 2010 with The Pacific, the Second World War miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. As Corporal Merriell 'Snafu' Shelton, Malek impressed critics with his ability to portray a complex, psychologically intense character. That same year, he appeared in season 8 of 24, playing Marcos Al-Zacar – a conflicted suicide bomber – further showcasing his range. Working with Ben Stiller, Brie Larson and Philip Seymour Hoffman Between 2006 and 2014, Malek appeared in a variety of supporting roles in film and television. He gained wider visibility as Ahkmenrah, a pharaoh brought to life in the Night at the Museum franchise. Starring alongside Robin Williams, Ben Stiller and Steve Coogan in these family-friendly films, Malek got mainstream exposure and showed his ability to contribute meaningfully to ensemble casts. He also pursued more dramatic roles, including a small but memorable turn in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, playing the son-in-law of Philip Seymour Hoffman 's character. Sharing scenes with acting heavyweights such as Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams, Malek continued to build his reputation. In 2013, he appeared in acclaimed indie drama Short Term 12, alongside Brie Larson, Kaitlyn Dever and LaKeith Stanfield – a film that further solidified his credentials. Mr Robot and critical acclaim Malek's career hit a new high in 2015 when he was cast as Elliot Alderson in Mr Robot, a psychological thriller created by Sam Esmail. He played a mentally unstable cybersecurity engineer recruited by a hacking collective to take down corrupt corporations. The series quickly became a critical success and cult favourite. Malek's performance – intense, unpredictable and deeply human – earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2016, making him the first actor of Egyptian heritage to win in the category. The show ran for four seasons, cementing Malek's standing in the industry. Bohemian Rhapsody and Oscar glory While Mr Robot made Malek a television star, it was his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody that made him a leading man in cinema. Malek spent months preparing – studying Mercury's movements, vocal style and mannerisms – to deliver an uncannily accurate performance. Though the film drew criticism for historical liberties and its direction, Malek's performance was universally praised. In 2019, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor – becoming the first Arab to receive the honour – along with a Bafta, Golden Globe and SAG Award. In his acceptance speech, he reflected on being a first-generation American born to immigrant parents and the importance of telling Mercury's story – 'a fellow immigrant and outsider who defied expectations'. James Bond's foe Following his Oscar win, Malek signalled a desire to explore different genres. In 2021, he starred opposite Denzel Washington and Jared Leto in The Little Things, playing a young detective in the tense crime thriller. Later that year, he took on the role of Bond villain Lyutsifer Safin in No Time to Die, Daniel Craig's final outing as 007. Malek's antagonist – a bioterrorist fuelled by revenge – was enigmatic and chilling, adding gravitas to the blockbuster. Oppenheimer, The Amateur and the future In Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer (2023), Malek made a strong impression despite limited screen time. He portrayed a key figure in a pivotal moment of the film – a testament to his ability to command attention with restraint. This year, he starred in The Amateur alongside Jon Bernthal and Laurence Fishburne, playing a CIA cryptographer. The role echoed elements of Mr Robot, returning Malek to the cinematic world of shadowy expertise and global consequence. Speaking to The National ahead of the film's release, Malek said his passion was simply 'to be a working actor', crediting character actors such as Gene Hackman as inspirations. 'I always loved the character actor – that guy that just kind of appears in things,' he said. 'I remember watching Gene Hackman when I was young. He just kept popping up, until one day I realised 'that's Gene Hackman' – may God rest his soul.' Despite his achievements, Malek remains modest about his success, saying: 'It's just not about me. I think it's about everybody else. I appreciate those grand moments – the respect you gain from your peers, from the world and from the audience. But I just want to give. And because of that, I've wanted to see what I could do in this business beyond acting for quite some time.' Malek is next set to appear in Nuremberg, a historical drama directed by James Vanderbilt and based on the book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai. The film, also starring Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Richard E Grant and Colin Hanks, is due for release later this year.
Hindustan Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
'Our military action targeted...': What MEA said on ‘nuclear' questions around Pakistan
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs, on Tuesday addressed questions about alleged damage to Pakistan's nuclear facility in Kirana Hills during the recent conflict that followed Operation Sindoor. He indicated that it was for the Pakistani side to respond to such claims. 'Talk of Egyptian American aircraft etc — those questions are for them to answer, not for us... In the defence briefing our side became very clear... As far as your question, the Pak minister also had made some comments on that,' he said. Clarifying India's position, he stated, 'The military action from our side was entirely on the conventional domain... There were some reports, however, that Pak National Command Authority will meet... It was denied by them... Pakistan GM has himself denied on record.' He also reiterated India's broader policy approach: 'As you know, India has a firm stand that it will not give to nuclear blackmail or allow crossword terrorism to be conducted, invoking it in conversations with various countries, we've also cautioned that they subscribing to such scenarios would hurt them in their own region.'
Time Magazine
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
The Best New TV Shows of April 2025
The natural world is finally blooming, and spring TV is starting to look pretty vibrant, too. If there's one thing that unites the best new shows of April 2025, it is an irrepressible liveliness. We've got a relatively hot-blooded Agatha Christie adaptation, a high-spirited sitcom set in the northernmost reaches of Canada, a madcap animated comedy about a Muslim family negotiating their Americanness after 9/11, and a fast-talking ballet epic that pings back and forth across the Atlantic. Even the series that's about a woman dying of cancer is fun, sexy, and bursting with life. #1 Happy Family USA (Amazon) On Sept. 10, 2001, Rumi Hussein is just a regular Egyptian American kid—living in the suburbs, grieving his grandfather, making horny mix CDs for the teacher he's hoping to woo into becoming the next Mary Kay Letourneau. Then comes 9/11. Suddenly, neighbors urged to 'say something' when they 'see something' are treating the Husseins like terrorists. Rumi's dad responds with a frantic performance of patriotism to prove they're the safest, most secular family in town. His mom veers in the opposite direction, embracing her given name, Sharia; donning a hijab; and trying to connect with fellow Muslims at a local mosque. Meanwhile, Rumi's older sister Mona is struggling to come out as queer. Then an FBI agent moves in across the street. This is some heavy material for adult animation. But if anyone can be trusted to make a light but not glib show about post-9/11 Islamophobia work, it's Ramy Youssef, the creator behind two great dramedies that capture the experience of being Muslim in 21st century America: Hulu's Ramy and Netflix's Mo. A collaboration with South Park vet Pam Brady, #1 Happy Family USA is a funny and insightful kid's eye view of growing up in a society that forces you to choose between constantly code-switching to appease bigots and being openly hated for who you are. Led by Youssef, who plays Rumi as well as his dad, the voice cast also features Alia Shawkat, Mandy Moore, Chris Redd, Kieran Culkin, and Timothy Olyphant. The lively animation was designed by Pulitzer-winning illustrator and journalist Mona Chalabi, also an executive producer. Agatha Christie's Towards Zero (BritBox) Sometimes a project adds up to precisely the sum of its parts—and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that if those parts are all solid. Here we've got a three-episode BBC miniseries adapted from an undersung Agatha Christie novel, set in 1930s England, at the seaside mansion of the imperious, housebound Lady Tressilian (Anjelica Huston). Her beloved nephew Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a dashing tennis player, and his gorgeous new wife, Kay (Mimi Keene), are visiting the estate on their honeymoon. Also there for an extended stay: Nevile's first wife, Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland), with whom he's obviously not yet finished, even after a messy public divorce. The holiday household is rounded out by a fractious assemblage of relatives, employees, and lovers played by great actors like Clarke Peters, Jack Farthing, and Anjana Vasan. So there's plenty of interpersonal friction happening long before the murder takes place. About that murder: the conceit of Towards Zero is that it doesn't happen until more than halfway through the series, allowing us to get to know the cast of characters before they're split into victims and suspects. The premiere opens with Peters' Mr. Treves, a lawyer, giving a dinner-table speech about how a murder is the end of a story that begins much earlier. This isn't as groundbreaking as it might've been in Christie's time; the result is just a more chronological version of the archetypal whodunit, with less need for flashbacks. The show's real draw is its cast, which expands to include Matthew Rhys as a troubled detective, and a skillful adaptation that highlights the glossiest, cleverest elements of classic Christie—and adds a pinch of eros. Dying for Sex (FX) The title Dying for Sex evokes trashy reality series like Sex Sent Me to the ER, but the show takes its name from the acclaimed podcast that the real Molly Kochan recorded with her best friend, Nikki Boyer (an executive producer of the adaptation), about Kochan's radical response to her Stage IV diagnosis. Rather than resign herself to a chaste marriage with a husband who treated her as a patient more than a lover, she left him and embarked upon a sexual odyssey. By the time she died, in 2019, she had explored her desires with more partners than most people would rack up in 10 lifetimes. [ Read the full review.] Étoile (Amazon) You know you're living in tumultuous times when even the biggest names in comfort TV feel compelled to get topical. Étoile is the latest project from Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband and frequent collaborator, Daniel Palladino. Sherman-Palladino is known for making chatty, witty, compulsively referential, female-focused shows that take a special interest in the arts; she previously spotlighted ballet in her short-lived but beloved series Bunheads. The voice behind all of the above titles is certainly recognizable in Étoile. But the show also represents a novel attempt to marry escapism with engagement. It's just one of the many ambitious juxtapositions that make this vindication of high art in a world on fire as fascinating—and fun—as it is messy. [ Read the full review.] North of North (Netflix) What is it about Canadian comedies? From Schitt's Creek to Sort Of, the CBC never stops cranking out funny shows that feel gentle, wholesome, and family-oriented but also contemporary. Fans of those imports—and, really, anyone who could use a pick-me-up—should add another title from the public broadcaster to their Netflix queue: North of North. Created by Stacey Aglok-MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, both Arctic locals and members of the Inuit community, the sitcom is set among the mostly Indigenous residents of a fictional town in the country's extreme north. Anna Lambe gives a wonderfully charismatic performance as Siaja, a 26-year-old Inuk wife and mother who has come to realize she doesn't want to spend her life with Ting (Kelly William), the self-absorbed heartthrob she married after high school. The rest of the cast is delightful as well, from Maika Harper as Siaja's spitfire mom to comedy stalwart Mary Lynn Rajskub (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Larry Sanders Show) as Siaja's exacting boss, the town manager. Bonus: the region's sunlit snowscapes make a gorgeous backdrop.
Arab News
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Ramy Youssef stars in new film by ‘Succession' creator
DUBAI: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman and Cory Michael Smith play four billionaires in 'Succession' creator Jesse Armstrong's HBO film, 'Mountainhead.' For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ As they enjoy their trip, the world erupts in chaos with headlines such as 'Sectarian Violence Escalates in India' and 'President of Uzbekistan Forced to Move to Secret Location' interrupting their downtime. In the trailer, the billionaires receive a call from the President of the United States. 'What could he possibly have to say?' asks Smith. Youssef responds: 'That your platform has inflamed a volatile situation, circulating unfalsifiable deepfakes, massive fraud, market instability.' Armstrong wrote and directed the film, which is a parody of the lives of the ultra-wealthy. Filming began on 'Mountainhead' in March, giving the crew a tight turnaround time before the film's release on May 31. In a recent interview with Variety, Youssef teased the film, saying it's 'funny in the same way 'Succession' is.' Egyptian American comedian, writer, actor and director Youssef is known for creating and starring in 'Ramy' on the US streaming platform Hulu, which won him a Golden Globe in 2020 in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy. His animated series '#1 Happy Family USA' had world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, in March.
Los Angeles Times
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Nothing's funny about scared immigrants, unless it comes from Ramy Youssef
What happens when the political satire of 'South Park' collides with a Muslim kid's coming-of-age story in post-9/11 New Jersey? You get the animated sitcom '#1 Happy Family USA.' Cocreated and coshowrun by Ramy Youssef and Pam Brady, the A24 production, which premieres Thursday on Prime Video, follows Rumi Hussein (voiced by Youssef) and his family as they navigate the 'see something, say something' paranoia of the early 2000s. The semi-autobiographical story of Egyptian American comedian, actor and director Youssef is at the center of this period comedy where Michael Jordan, music piracy and Britney Spears still dominate the news. Everything is normal in 12-year-old Rumi's world on Sept. 10. He's crushing on his teacher Mrs. Malcolm (voiced by Mandy Moore — who happened to rise to fame in the 2000s). He's tolerating the cluelessness of his Egyptian immigrant parents, father Hussein (also voiced by Youssef) and mother Sharia (Salma Hindy). He's fighting with his oh-so-perfect/closeted sister, Mona (Alia Shawkat). His devout grandparents also live at home, always on hand to make whatever Rumi's doing feel haram. But within 24 hours, the Al Qaeda attacks turn the Husseins from an average dysfunctional family with unfortunate names into a suspected terror cell. Rumi's father, a doctor turned halal cart owner, goes into assimilation overdrive to prove his family is 110% American and absolutely not associated with anyone named Osama. Old Glory, Christmas decor and Easter trimmings suddenly pop up in their front yard. He shaves his beard off. He insists that his wife stop wearing her hijab, which makes Sharia, who is a receptionist for an eccentric dentist (Kieran Culkin), all the more determined to don her headscarf. Meanwhile, Rumi's classmates now eye him suspiciously despite his attempts to fit in with the other boys by wearing his new basketball jersey. But the bootleg 'Bulls' shirt reads 'Balls' instead. It's also three sizes too big and looks like a dress. Clearly he's not like the others. Elements of the storyline mirror Youssef's childhood montages in his Hulu series 'Ramy,' but the medium of adult animation allowed him to 'go wild' with the story and characters. He also got to work with Brady, an authority on pushing animated satire to hilarious extremes. 'Animation became the vehicle for how this idea should live. I wanted to look at a wholly unexplored period outside of the lens of a cop drama or the news … and go to the wildest extremes with premises,' said Youssef. 'I definitely had the desire to make something stupid in a really great, sophisticated and almost Commedia dell'arte way. Just dumb and loud [laughs]. You can put 'Ramy' in a dramedy category and you could, to an extent, put 'Mo' there, but here it's really bursting open in a medium with no limits. Then Pam's name came up and it was a no-brainer.' Brady collaborated with Trey Parker and Matt Stone on 'South Park' from the show's start, going on to cowrite with them the film 'Team America: World Police' and cocreating the Netflix comedy series 'Lady Dynamite.' 'As soon as I saw 'Ramy' and I saw his stand-up, I was a fan,' said Brady. 'I kept begging my manager: 'Please, can I meet Ramy?' So I came at it honestly as a fan, knowing that this guy's doing some next-level stuff. I keep joking with my friends that Ramy's a real writer. He explores characters. That's why this experience has been so amazing because it's pushed me. It's like, 'Oh, this is how you do it.'' Illustrator and executive producer Mona Chalabi designed the characters, each harkening back to animation styles of the late '90s and early 2000s shows like 'Futurama' or 'Daria.' 'I wanted it to feel like a found tape,' said Youssef. 'You pop it in and it looks like it could have been on Comedy Central or MTV [back then]. It's hand-drawn animation and we made it with an animation studio in Malaysia [called Animasia]. It's an all-Muslim animation house, which is so crazy. They were so happy to draw hijabs and all these characters. They were like, 'We relate to it!' But we even downgraded our computers here in order to make it like it would have been made. Whatever we did took a while and it was like the opposite of AI.' Adds Brady, 'We wanted to make sure, especially with the visuals and the direction and the pacing, that the show felt familiar. That you'd seen a show like this before. We didn't want to reinvent the form, but we also didn't want to make it look like 'Family Guy.' So it's like, 'Oh, this show existed in 1998. You remember it, right?'' Though the show takes place some 25 years ago, it's not hard to see the plot's resonance today in the wake of the deportations and roundups of immigrants and students. The Husseins are up against a wave of Islamophobia, triggered by the 9/11 attacks. They embody the very real fear of being profiled by the outside world, including FBI agent Dan Daniels (voiced by Timothy Olyphant), who happens to live across the street. A dark period, to be sure, but also one rich in comedic value if you're willing to go there as '#1 Happy Family USA' does. Its characters break out into song while on the verge of being swept up by Homeland Security, or inadvertently cause a widespread panic by dropping on the carpet at the airport to pray when they learn of the terror attacks. 'We were trying to kind of create this time capsule, like around the old DHS of this moment,' said Youssef. 'But right now is a time when an immigrant family, and surely a Muslim family, would feel the need to shout, 'We're No. 1! Happy Family USA!' Pam and Mona and I have all been looking at each other with like, 'Whoa.' Of all the times this thing could have dropped, it's dropping right now, when [it's hard] to joke about this stuff in any other medium.' At a time when everything feels like a cruel joke, '#1 Happy Family USA' bites back with the satire we need.
