Rami Malek recently recalled handling a case of mistaken identity. In an interview, he spoke about a kid who wept after mistaking him for popular musician Bruno Mars. Malek’s experience is unsurprising, as fans have frequently mistaken numerous celebrities for their peers.
Rami Malek talks about being mistaken for Bruno Mars
Rami Malek appeared in a podcast interview celebrating Mr. Robot‘s 10th anniversary, alongside Sam Esmail and Christian Slater. During the discussion, the actor was asked if he had been mistaken for another celebrity.
“I’ll get Oscar Isaac. I get Bruno Mars,” Malek told Happy, Sad, Confused‘s Josh Horowitz. Upon hearing this, Slater asked The Amateur actor if what he said was true. The latter confirmed, noting that he and the Grammy winner had once met, and Bruno Mars called him “doppelgänger.”
The 44-year-old did not stop there. He opened up about a hilarious incident where he inadvertently made a girl — who mistook him for Mars — cry, after she approached him for an autograph.
“I was at a Dodgers baseball game, and this sweet little girl came up to me and said, ‘Can I have your autograph?’ And I said, ‘Sure,’” Malek shared. “And she showed me a picture of Bruno Mars, and I said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I’m not him.'” The Oppenheimer star said he took the girl’s picture and signed it Bruno, after seeing her weep.
Moreover, in the same interview, Slater shared his personal experience with a case of mistaken identity.
Furthermore, Malek also discussed playing Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot. He shared that the character had a “unique resilience” in him, which gave him “some sense of hope about humanity.” However, he said the portrayal was grueling.
“It was a lot of mental gymnastics day in and day out,” Malek shared. “And I’m not going to lie — [the] schedule and [show creator] Sam [Esmail] put me through absolute hell.”
“But it was a challenge that I embraced and look back on with great pride,” he continued. “I mean, I would remember going through Monday to Friday [and] by Friday, I feel like I would look at my body and feel I had gone through … a bit of a battle.”
Malek also explained they had seven days to shoot a scene. Due to this, he could do nothing but “sit in Elliot’s skin.” He added that the role wasn’t “the easiest place to be.”
