When it comes to heroes in spy films on our screen it feels like there are two extremes. You either get the highly trained at their job, like Ethan Hunt or James Bond, or you get the bumbling buffoon like Johnny English who is there for comedic relief.
That is where the brand new spy thriller The Amateur is very, very different. It’s main character, Charlie Heller, played by Rami Malek may work for the CIA but he is desk bound and certainly can’t hold his weight in a fight or even shoot a weapon. Yet when his wife is killed in a terrorist attack and he is backed into a corner by his superiors he embarks on an international journey to bring the people responsible to justice.
The obvious comparison that people are going to make are that Charlie is so similar to the character that make Malek a household name – that of Elliott Alderson in Mr Robot – and that is a similarity that Malek himself can see as well,
“I remember there was a moment saying goodbye to that character of Elliot Alderson that was quite sad, as I know we’ve all had those moments where you kind of have to walk away,” he says thoughtfully. “Or they live with you to a degree, and you carry them with you. I don’t know how we all go about this. But I was a bit reluctant to relinquish him. And I won’t say this is an iteration, but there are similarities, of course. I gravitate to those characters who are on these, you know, the fragile intersections of feeling broken, maybe brilliant at the same time.”
“And going through some sort of grief and persevering. So many elements to him were rich and complex, reminded me of Elliot, but in a different way,” he says continuing. “So many elements to him were rich and complex. Reminded me of Elliot, but in a different way. He has this magnetic, incredible wife that allowed for this beautiful love story. And what Rachel does so seamlessly, easily, brilliantly, just by virtue of her screen presence and then, as a performer, elevates that to a level that, yeah, it’s otherworldly at times. So I thought that would be the perfect partner.”
“And that takes it to a place where, you know, Elliot was probably not capable of that, and Charlie is capable,” he adds. “And she sees something in him that is just as magnetic in a certain way, that felt very real. And if you could take all of that and allow that to, just the combination of everything, galvanize it and put it into an action thriller. I thought, what a way to transcend the genre and make it authentic and real and emotional.”
That leads me to ask the question were there any personal moments or emotions that Malek was able to tap into for the role.
“Oh, how personal could I get?” he asks. “I mean, sadly, most of us I imagine have dealt with a certain amount of grief in our lives, and I don’t look at acting or filmmaking as — I’m not trying to have a therapy session or seek some personal catharsis from it. But there are definitely things I could access as a human being. Who couldn’t? But I tried not to lead with that. I put myself in the position of creating that relationship with Rachel’s character, Sarah, and just the immense amount of loss that you would feel. I kept reminding myself that, naturally, I think someone could go one of two ways, and the other way would be quite bleak.”
“And talking through this with James Hawes, our director, we went through the stages of grief and we were very meticulous about how to pinpoint those throughout the film,” he continues. “So, there would be kind of this subversive relationship that the audience would have to, oh, that’s where I would be if I was him. I would understand that relationship because these are natural reactions that he’s having. And that made it a very, you know, personal, it tethered me personally to him because all of us would be tethered in the same way, I think. Or psychology probably tell us that, to a degree.”
Of course, the other big difference this time around for Malek is that he is also a producer on the film and he says that definitely did impact his involvement with the film.
“I guess it did have an impact on my performance as an actor in a number of ways,” he says after thinking for a moment. “But I just love to see things from beginning to end all the way through every element. I hope it’s not a perfectionist aspect, but I found myself, we were just talking about this, on bohemian and bond remembering moments on certain cameras, certain lenses on other actors that I would talk to the directors about, or in post and wanting to make sure we get the best of the best. And I think I hear about a lot of actors who come in into the editing suite, and I thought, how could I do that without having to do it in kind of this sneaky manner in this thing.”
“And so the way to do that was to start from the iteration,” he continues. “And it was nice to see this develop, to work on the script with Dan Wilson and of course, great Hutch Parker and James Hawes and sit down day in and day out and try to make this feel as authentic and unique as possible from beginning to end. And there’s nothing like getting into a sound mix at the end of the film and seeing how you can elevate that for the big screen as well.”
The Amateur is in cinemas now.
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