Oscar winning actor Rami Malek isn’t your typical leading man. He’s a bit quirky, a bit unknowable, and slides easily between hero and villain. He’s made a career shifting between indie features and bigger blockbusters, and even ventures into the spy thriller genre with this week’s “The Amateur.” He’s had a wildly varied career, so take a spin through the best of his filmography on streaming.
Malek’s mainstream breakout role was on the television series “Mr. Robot,” created by Sam Esmail, where he played anxious hacker Elliot Alderson, recruited by Christian Slater to join a group of hacktivists. The widely awarded series ran from 2015 to 2019 and is currently only available to watch via purchase on iTunes.
Prior to “Mr. Robot,” Malek was a memorable part of the ensemble cast in Destin Daniel Cretton’s 2013 film “Short Term 12.” The film starred future Oscar winner Brie Larson, as well as future Oscar nominee LaKeith Stanfield in his first feature film role, as well as acclaimed actors John Gallagher Jr. and Kaitlyn Dever, about a group of residents and workers at a group home for troubled youth. This affecting drama captured a group of actors on the verge of greatness. Stream the film on Prime Video, Peacock and the Roku Channel.
He also appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2012 film “The Master,” starring two titans of the screen, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix, as cult leader Lancaster Dodd and impressionable naval veteran Freddie Quell, respectively, and the strange relationship that unfolds between them. Malek co-stars as one of Dodd’s inner circle. Stream “The Master” on Prime Video and Peacock, or rent elsewhere.
