Rami Malek is stepping into a new chapter of his career with The Amateur, marking the first time he’s produced an on-screen project since his breakout role in Mr. Robot. While he’s no stranger to investing in the characters he plays, this time he got to shape the project from a producer’s seat.
“I love it,” Malek said about producing in a cast interview with Blavity’s Shadow and Act. “Sometimes, I think I bring things home to a degree. I’ve tried to stop to where I feel like I’m producing things. So it was nice to actually have the moniker where I could have ownership over that.”
He credited collaborators Hutch Parker and Dan Wilson, as well as director James Hawes, for sharing the creative load.
“Our director, James Hawes, may as well have been a producer as well, because he was so invested in every intricacy of this,” Malek added. “He used to talk about tone. He is so great about getting the balance of grief with humor and all the elements of what it is to be an amateur and going through those stages of grief, and the evolution of that character.”
How did Rami Malek and Laurence Fishburne build their on-screen chemistry?
The film follows a CIA cryptographer, Charlie Heller, who takes matters into his own hands after a personal tragedy. Malek stars opposite Laurence Fishburne, who plays Colonel Henderson—a high-ranking intelligence official who forms a compelling bond with Heller as the mission unfolds.
“And then creating this incredible dynamic that we had … I would like to say effortlessly,” Malek said of working alongside Fishburne. “He was able to help elevate. Yeah, so it’s great to see it from beginning to end and galvanize it in a way. But don’t need much when you have this man next to you as well.”
What did Laurence Fishburne say about his role and their real-life connection?
Fishburne spoke on the connection between their characters and how much of that was rooted in mutual trust and respect—both on and off the screen.
“What’s great about Henderson is, for the most part, I would say it was about 75, 80% there, that he had this softer side,” Fishburne told us. “That he had this real empathy for Charlie Heller and his plight, because this is obviously a man who’s just lost his wife. We all can empathize with that.”
“And it’s clear that Colonel Henderson—that Charlie Heller is not cut out for field operations,” he continued. “That’s just not going to be his strength. So all of those things were fairly easy to play.”
Fishburne said their real-life connection helped elevate the performances: “Our relationship, the fact that we really just love and admire one another and respect each other as artists, it’s the secret ingredient, I suppose, to this. People call it chemistry. There are all kinds of names for it. But it’s undeniable and it’s clear when you’re watching it.”
He added, “So we leaned into it. And as we progressed with the filming, I’m sure I had to add a little more. Every opportunity there was to add a little more, we add a little more.”
The Amateur is in theaters now.
