Mr. Robot‘s Rami Malek went on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert where the two bonded over profound alienation and discussed Malek’s own relationship with technology.
In the interview, Colbert praises the accuracy of the show and we learn that Malek was almost guilty of bad Hollywood hacking and even underwent typing lessons at his house after getting reprimanded with a “you’re not playing the piano.” I love hearing about actors being a bit clueless about roles they’re very convincing in, and this story about Malek being a horrible typer is up there with Zach Woods of Silicon Valley not knowing who Elon Musk is.
The two also discuss the connection many feel to Elliot, the show’s anti-hero, and other similar roles that Malek has played. After Colbert jokingly asks, “Do you enjoy playing people who can’t connect to other people?” the actor responds that he’s interested in uncovering the motivations of these figures.
I think, you know, so many people feel alienated in a way. They feel disenfranchised by the society they live in and they feel like they want to do something about it but it’s very difficult to rail against this society that is positioned, you know, the 1% against the rest of us, I feel. It’s just a difficult place for people striving to achieve something and who are different.
“I get a lot of mail that I have to refer to the police department and the CIA,” he adds, to which Colbert responds, “That’s called market penetration.”
The highlight of the interview, however, is when Colbert addresses the fact that Malek has a verified Instagram account with nearly 100k followers (now over 100k) that he doesn’t use and despite the actor’s (very valid) comments on how he finds social media polarizing and manicured he agrees to take a selfie with Colbert. After some initial technical difficulties, they shared this gem with the world:
Nothing like a good selfie stick Instagram after bonding over profound alienation, am I right?
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