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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘It was wonderful to be on that ride': Christian Slater talks his beloved roles, from cult classics (‘Heathers,' ‘True Romance') to TV hits (‘Mr. Robot,' ‘Dexter: Original Sin')
When Christian Slater made his purported "comeback" on Mr. Robot in 2015, winning a Golden Globe for the eponymous role, he didn't think he had gone anywhere. He had been steadily working onscreen for 30 years, since his film debut in 1985's The Legend of Billie Jean. Sure, most of the films and television series he made over the first decade-plus of the 2000s weren't smash hits out of the gate, but neither were many of what would ultimately be his most memorable projects. Heathers, Pump Up the Volume, True Romance, Very Bad Things — all box-office failures-turned-cult classics. More from GoldDerby 'Elio' reviews knock Pixar for 'repeating itself' with 'forgettable' space adventure 'F1: The Movie' reviews: Brad Pitt burns rubber with 'macho panache' in a high-octane thrill ride Could '28 Years Later' contend for Oscars? Here's the complete awards history of the '28' franchise. The fact that Slater has so few blockbusters on his résumé (his highest-grossing movie is 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) yet has remained such a beloved figure in Hollywood for 40 years now is a testament to his both his undeniable talent and enduring appeal. He just has a presence that's unforgettable. Since Robot, Slater has done high-profile projects like The Spiderwick Chronicles (for which he earned a Children and Family Emmy Award) and Dexter: Original Sin, the Paramount+ prequel series that was just renewed for a second season. In our latest edition of The Gold Standard, Slater talks through his greatest hits, even if you wouldn't necessarily call them hits. After making his television debut at the age of 8 on the ABC soap One Life to Live and starring on Broadway at 11, the New York native became a fixture in Hollywood with roles in The Legend of Billie Jean, The Name of the Rose (1986), and the dark teen favorite Heathers. I was living in Los Angeles, I was 18, 19 somewhere around there. I had my first place in the Hollywood Hills, a little one-bedroom that I loved. I would have parties and just never really took anything too seriously. I read the script called Heathers and thought it was kind of fun. I really did get into it, went in, auditioned, met with [director] Michael Lehmann and Winona [Ryder]. I think having done The Name of the Rose with Sean Connery gave me a good foot in the door. … I think I'd also done Tucker: The Man and His Dream at that time. I was working, so it opened the door for me to get in and do something else. Heathers was considered a total failure. When it opened up here, it was not successful at all. I mean, I think people in Los Angeles saw it. But as far as it being a real juggernaut of a movie, [it wasn't]. And I don't know if it is today, but it definitely has taken on several lives since then and been rediscovered and has become a musical. All these fun things have happened with it, which I love and think is very, very cool. But yeah, when it came out, not successful, I think the for the people [in the industry] who did see it in Los Angeles, it was good to get other gigs, and it made getting other movies produced a lot easier. Slater showed a penchant for dark teen movies when he played a rebel radio DJ 'Hard Harry' in this early '90s favorite, for which he earned an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor. Pump Up the Volume was the next script I read, and it came together [easy] like, 'Whatever you want to do, kid, you can do it. The world is your oyster.' And fortunately, I had read a good script. And that was really my favorite movie. But again, it didn't break any box-office records. It was a nice elegant movie to have done and a great character, and more of an acting opportunity for me, to kind of get to play two different characters in a way. So that was something I really enjoyed. And I got to work with Samantha Mathis, who's great. I've gotten the chance to work with her several times, so I feel very, very blessed. It is [my favorite to a certain degree]. It was just a really special time. I was so excited to do it and really loved working with the people on it. And I felt like it was a very special movie, I just liked the heart of the character, how he reacted to the people he spoke to on the radio. It was more unpredictable. He didn't judge people. He was more embracing. … I thought it was great. So it's definitely one of my favorite movies. Following 1988's Young Guns, Slater was the new guy on set joining other rising stars Kiefer Sutherland, Emilio Estevez, and Lou Diamond Phillips in the Western sequel. As Slater became a bigger and bigger star, however, the temptations of Hollywood were catching up with him and he was arrested for drunken driving in 1989. It absolutely was [as fun as it looked]. If you ever get a chance to do a Western, it's the best, man. I had such a good time. I loved working with those guys. It was remarkable. Pump Up the Volume hadn't come out yet. Going into Young Guns, putting on a cowboy hat and strapping on a couple of six-shooters and spending time rehearsing with my horse, it was the best. I just had a great relationship with that animal, and shooting guns and being a kid was so much fun. It was incredible. There were certain things that the stunt people asked me to do that I was unwilling to do. I was willing to jump through the glass into a store, and be like a bull in a China shop on my horse. But there was one stunt they wanted me to do where I was like, 'No, I want to live. I'm good. I don't want to do that.' It was some crazy stunt. And they let Lou Diamond Phillips do it. And I was like, 'Let him do it.' I think he broke his arm doing it. Not that I wish him ill, but I think I made the right choice. I got into a little bit of trouble right before doing Young Guns, too. And I got sober. I got sober and stayed sober for a few years. But there was pressure and anxiety. Certainly being that age, what success does to the people around you is a little bit confusing and a little bit confounding. It just it changes things and to a certain degree makes you feel less safe and less trustworthy of people. It's like, why are they really there? What do they really want? And dating is tricky. And so all of that is a little bit confusing and you can end up feeling more alone. I did stay sober for a few years, but then I think the anxiety finally got to me, and I needed to escape again. Which I did. And I did that through alcohol and some other substances. And it was fun for a while, until it wasn't. It always starts out fun. It always feels like a relief. But then it always turned on me, it got hard, got very difficult to deal with. So there were absolutely challenges, struggles, hurdles, personal hurdles to overcome, lessons to learn. His star still rising, Slater joined Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Rickman for what would become one of the biggest movies of 1991 — even if critics thrashed it and Slater earned a Razzie nomination for his role as Will Scarlett (shared with his turn as Lucky Luciano in Mobsters). I mean, look, you can't have everything. I'd had a nice run of some critical successes, I think. And some very complimentary people saying nice things about me. And then, yes, Robin Hood struggled a little bit with the critics. But you know what? It was a fun movie. I loved it, getting to be one of the scoundrel Merry Men was a lot of fun. And we actually shot in Sherwood Forest, which was pretty authentic and pretty amazing. And I'd always been a fan of Robin Hood. I mean, I guess my version of Robin Hood was Errol Flynn, which is just weird. And now here I am on the set with these other merry men dancing around and just having a great time. I love [director] Kevin Reynolds. I loved Alan Rickman. Kevin Costner is a legend. Morgan Freeman, we were friends, so it was a really special, special time. Slater teamed with Patricia Arquette, whom he remains close friends with today, for the Quentin Tarantino-penned, Tony Scott-directed crime thriller about a couple on the run with a suitcase of drugs stolen from the mob. So it was only around the beginning, during rehearsals, [that I met Tarantino]. And Patricia [and I] only had one meeting with him from what I recall, where he talked about what he thought these characters were like and how he based Clarence on himself. And when I heard that, I just thought, 'Well, thank you.' That really gives me some insight and some knowledge into who this guy is and his level of obsessiveness. You can just tell with Quentin Tarantino, he's got a particular energy and particular passion that is unmatched. So I think that is what I wanted to be able to try and accomplish, conveying that uncomfortable in his own skin sort of character, but full of passion, full of life, full of love and determined to do the next right thing. Yeah, I wanted to [channel Tarantino] for sure. I think this is where Tony Scott and I at times had mixed opinions, because Quentin was just sort of becoming well-known. And I don't think he developed the coolness factor that he now has to such a degree. So I think my desire to play the character exactly as being Quentin Tarantino kind of freaked him out a little bit. He was more interested in me being like the character from Heathers, who was a little bit cooler and a little bit smoother. Slater was cast as the interviewer Daniel Molloy alongside Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt after the tragic death of River Phoenix, who was originally hired for the role. It was tragic for sure. River Phoenix was a legend and somebody that I was extraordinarily competitive with. I just thought, "This guy's such a good actor." We're both growing up at the same time, and I just thought we'd be competing for roles for the rest of our lives. I thought we'd be trying to get one job from the next, and battling back and forth, for our whole lives. So I think we lost a great actor. I feel like eventually he and I would have become really good friends. I feel sad about it every day. I tried to make it, to a certain degree, more comfortable for myself by donating the salary from that movie to River Phoenix's charities that he was involved with. Just because there was just a part of me that didn't feel like I wanted to take any money for the job. It happened in such a tragic way that I wanted to honor him in any way that I could. So that's what I did. The majority of my work was with Brad. And I think I was catching him at the end of a long shoot [laughs]. It was a good, long six month shoot. And I feel like he was at the end of his rope at that point. I think he was sick and tired of getting his face painted with those little veins and wearing fangs. But you know what? He was a professional. He was great. Certainly in the role. He did it. … He still showed up. 100 percent. But I just thought it was funny that he was so sick of it by that point. He was just over it. And Tom was amazing. I mean, he's Tom Cruise, and he's a phenomenal human being. He heard somebody else say this about working with a vampire. 'Once a vampire bites you, once you share that experience, you're connected for life.' And he did swoop down on me in that Mustang and he did bite me, and I'll never forget it. That was a special night. I mean, we closed down the Golden Gate Bridge to shoot that scene. So it was just me and Tom going around and around on the Golden Gate Bridge. So again, another moment that I just will always cherish and remember for the rest of my life. He is incredibly generous. He gave each and everybody a beautiful photo album. Like not just a photo album, but high end, probably each one of them cost $1,000. I have it somewhere. … Oh, I think I see it. It's in the bookshelf. Slater had stopped drinking again when he made the debaucherous dark comedy about a bachelor party gone very wrong with Jeremy Piven, Jon Favreau, and Daniel Stern. It was [a good experience]. I got in sober again, so that felt better. It felt better to show up and actually be present on a movie set. I've always felt like I was able to participate. I always felt like I was showing up and giving 100 percent. But you just end up feeling better when you're not drinking the night before. Like, for example, that movie Hard Rain (1998) I did. That was a tough shoot. It was six months. We were shooting in this huge airplane hangar in the dark every day, and it was wet. It was gross … not one of the more fun experiences. Definitely challenging, but I think there was an element of, I'm not going to say needing to have a drink while making it, but there was a great deal of need to escape. It was just a hard one. So anyway, Very Bad Things … I mean, it was Jon Favreau, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, some legends again, that have become more legendary since then and are just people I was grateful to work with. Fantastic, crazy character. To a certain degree, I felt like I was trying to do something that I had done before in a movie, so I wasn't 100 percent comfortable with that. I felt like, 'I'm trying to be the nut again.' But now I really don't judge it, you know? Now I don't put that kind of pressure on myself today. After a string of underseen film and television projects released in the 2000s and 2010s, Slater landed his biggest role of the millennium with the eponymous anarchist who recruits Rami Malek's hacker to his cause in Sam Esmail's Emmy-winning cyber thriller. Yeah, it [felt special from the beginning]. It started off with me and Rami sitting in the Wonder Wheel doing all those scenes together. And that was the perfect way to start it. It put us together in close quarters where we couldn't help but get to know each other and how it was we both like to work. So that was a wonderful accident. Whoever organized that did a great job. Did the same thing on Dexter, too. … It was exciting. And it just drew the two of us together. So I think it just helped with our chemistry throughout the show. Well, I mean, [as far as it being called my comeback], I definitely had done some other TV shows. I was giving it a shot in the TV world a few times, always with the best of intentions. And no matter how they performed, it's not like I was used to huge successes initially, anyway. I was never really used to having huge successes right out of the gate, right? Like a lot of the things that I've done have become popular over time, not initially. ... So when it came to a [movie] or a TV show not really necessarily working out? It didn't disturb me greatly. I just looked at it as an experience. And that somebody will get it later down the line. That's what kept happening, right? But I don't think they're going to be doing a musical of The Forgotten [Slater's short-lived 2009 detective series], unfortunately, but that's OK. But Mr. Robot, it was wonderful to be on that ride. I was definitely proud of the show. You just never know. There's no guarantee something's going to turn up. You just got to keep showing up and not give up. And have the faith that, at some point, people are going to find something interesting and exciting. And I'll find something interesting and exciting to be a part of and just keep swinging. Babe Ruth it, man. Slater has drawn more strong reviews for playing Harry Morgan, the role originated by James Remar in Showtime's long running hit Dexter — a Miami detective who trains his homicidal son (Patrick Gibson) to become a vigilante serial killer. I was a huge fan of Dexter, the original series. So to get the chance to be a part of that show in this capacity was very exciting for me. Dexter was the type of show you watch, and especially if you're an actor, you're like, 'God, I wish I could be on that show.' You just talk to yourself that way. And I loved it. To get to fill James Remar's shoes, who I've always been a huge fan of … and to get to play this character and to get some more insight into the Harry character was very, very fun. And I think Clyde Phillips, the creator, does such an amazing job. It's just a great team. So it made it very special. I just I can't wait to get back to it. Best of GoldDerby Sam Rockwell on Frank's 'White Lotus' backstory, Woody Harrelson's influence, and going all in on 'this arc of Buddhist to Bad Lieutenant' Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh admit they 'never had the audacity to realize' a show like 'Deli Boys' was possible From 'Housewives' overload to the 'shadiest queens' alliance: The dish on 'The Traitors' Season 4 lineup Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Beyond Alexis Bledel: 7 other times actors withdrew themselves from Emmy consideration
For your consideration… or not. Earlier this month, Alexis Bledel withdrew herself from Emmy consideration due to a rule change. The actress, who won Best Drama Guest Actress in 2017 for The Handmaid's Tale, made an appearance in the show's series finale, but the new rule prohibits her from competing in guest for the same show because of her prior 2018 nomination in supporting. Instead of submitting in supporting, Bledel took herself out entirely. And she's far from the first star to do so. More from GoldDerby 'It was wonderful to be on that ride': Christian Slater talks his beloved roles, from cult classics ('Heathers,' 'True Romance') to TV hits ('Mr. Robot,' 'Dexter: Original Sin') 'Elio' reviews knock Pixar for 'repeating itself' with 'forgettable' space adventure 'F1: The Movie' reviews: Brad Pitt burns rubber with 'macho panache' in a high-octane thrill ride Here are seven other times actors voluntarily bowed out of the Emmy race. Larroquette dominated Best Comedy Supporting Actor in the '80s, winning the category four years in a row from 1985 to 1988 for his turn as Dan Fielding. And then he decided four was enough, withdrawing his name in 1989, three years before Night Court ended. "As we got to that fifth season, I thought that Dan Fielding has been a great character. I didn't think that the work deserved more attention," the actor told Gold Derby in 2024. "It wasn't so that somebody else could win at all." After winning five Best Comedy Actress Emmys in seven years — defeated only by Kirstie Alley (Cheers) in 1991 and Roseanne Barr (Roseanne) in 1993 — Bergen stepped aside after her fifth win in 1995 to give others a shot. Murphy Brown would last another three years. Ironically, Bergen's exit from the category opened the door for Helen Hunt's four-peat for Mad About You from 1996-99. The Friends cast famously submitted in supporting as they viewed themselves as true ensemble, but someone on Perry's team effed up in 2000. He was accidentally entered in lead and was "furious" when he read about it, according to Variety. Warner Bros., which produced the sitcom, offered to pay to mail out a new ballot with Perry in supporting, but the TV Academy said no-go since the error was made by the submitter. So, Perry withdrew. "It is very important to Matthew and to me that the correct message be sent to his costars and the Friends audience that he considers himself part of the ensemble," his publicist, Lisa Kasteler, said at the time. "We [publicists] made the mistake and we apologize to both Matthew and the Academy." Two years later, after Friends finished the season as the No. 1 show, the cast decided to all submit in lead going forward, and Perry received his first and only lead nomination for the show. Dan MacMedan/WireImage The most infamous withdrawal in modern times. It wasn't the fact that Heigl bowed out but how she did that that caused a stir. After winning Best Drama Supporting Actress in 2007, she announced she would not submit in 2008 because she did not feel her material was up to par (this was the season in which Izzie saved a deer). "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention," Heigl told Gold Derby at the time. "In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials." The actress was seen as "difficult" and "ungrateful," coming on the heels of her calling Knocked Up "a little sexist." During a 2024 appearance on Shannen Doherty's podcast Let's Be Clear, Heigl said she regrets announcing the withdrawal. "I should have said nothing. I should have said, 'Oh, I forgot [to submit],' because it created such a maelstrom that was so unnecessary, and it really was," she said. "I was kind of trying to make a bit of a snarky point about my material that year, but I was also just not feeling my material. I didn't think I had anything that warranted even the consideration for a nomination. I just wasn't proud of my work. I would never be so bold or so arrogant to turn down a nomination. I would take that nomination if it came my way. I'd be down. But I just knew there wasn't anything that would really warrant one that year, and I was trying to be honorable, I guess. I was trying to have some integrity. I wasn't trying to be a dick." SEE Alexis Bledel withdraws from Emmy consideration for The Handmaid's Tale due to rule change Like Heigl, Jones was a one-and-done reigning champ who had no interest in defending her crown. Jones won Best Drama Supporting Actress for her turn as President Allison Taylor on 24 in 2009, but she was MIA on the ballot in 2010. "So honestly it never occurred to me (or my two agents who know me well) to submit me this year," she told Gold Derby then. "One of the lessons in life is to know when to leave well enough alone and be grateful." In October 2020, to encourage the public to vote, the cast of The West Wing, including Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford, and Janel Moloney, recreated the Season 3 episode "Hartfield's Landing," with Sterling K. Brown stepping into the late John Spencer's role of Leo McGarry. The actors were all on the 2021 Emmy ballot when it was released, but they were removed by the end of the day, likely because it would look uncouth to chase trophies when the whole point of the special was to promote a civic duty. In 2023, Yellowjackets star Liv Hewson, who is nonbinary, decided to pull out of the Best Drama Supporting Actress race, where Showtime was submitting them, because of the gendered categories. "There's not a place for me in the acting categories," Hewson told Variety. "It would be inaccurate for me to submit myself as an actress. It neither makes sense for me to be lumped in with the boys. It's quite straightforward and not that loaded. I can't submit myself for this because there's no space for me." Hewson also did not submit this year for Season 3 of the Showtime drama. Best of GoldDerby 'It was wonderful to be on that ride': Christian Slater talks his beloved roles, from cult classics ('Heathers,' 'True Romance') to TV hits ('Mr. Robot,' 'Dexter: Original Sin') Sam Rockwell on Frank's 'White Lotus' backstory, Woody Harrelson's influence, and going all in on 'this arc of Buddhist to Bad Lieutenant' Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh admit they 'never had the audacity to realize' a show like 'Deli Boys' was possible Click here to read the full article.
Tom's Guide
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
One of the year's best spy thriller movies is finally streaming — and it's perfect for ‘Jason Bourne' fans
I feel like 2025 has been a pretty great year for spy movies. We got the seriously excellent 'Black Bag' in March, and the popcorn thrills of 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' are still delighting audiences in the theatre. But good things often come in threes, and this is no exception. 'The Amateur,' a gripping little action-thriller which arrived in cinemas back in April, perhaps didn't get the love it deserves. The critical reception was mixed, but I'm here to argue its merits now that it's finally arrived on premium video-on-demand via platforms including Apple and Amazon. Starring 'Mr. Robot' lead and Oscar-winner Rami Malek, it's an engaging spy flick very much in the mold of the 'Jason Bourne' franchise. However, don't worry: It's a cut above Bourne's most recent secret agent efforts. Plus, it includes one of my favourite action scenes of the year — though sadly, it was completely spoiled in the various trailers, so preview watcher beware! If you're looking to inject a dose of excitement into your weekend or just want to absorb yourself in a thrilling revenge mission, look to 'The Amateur." Based on the Robert Littell novel of the same name, which was previously adapted into a Canadian movie in 1981, 'The Amateur' opens as many action-thrillers do with CIA decoder Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) living a seemingly perfect life with his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan). When Sarah travels to London, she is murdered in a terrorist attack. Using his own computer wizardry, Charlie identifies those responsible, but is rebuffed by his superiors, and stunned when they refuse to take immediate action. Blackmailing his bosses, he demands to be given expert training at a military base and given a license to hunt down the four assailants himself. New to the spy game, Charlie finds himself in way over his head as he travels across the globe to find the men who killed his wife. But while he's no sharpshooter, his knack for outsmarting his enemies soon becomes his greatest weapon on his revenge mission. Conceptually, 'The Amateur' isn't breaking new ground. Anybody who has seen 2017's 'American Assassin' might get a sense of deja vu about the whole 'man trains as a spy to get revenge for the murder of his girlfriend' narrative, and that's just one example of the trope. It's been used in the genre for decades. But it's a rich well for storytelling that spy media returns to so often for a reason. It's effortlessly compelling. It's very easy to immediately get onboard with Charlie's mission and want to see those responsible for the attack brought to justice. Or at least, what Charlie perceives to be rightful justice. Some critics were scornful of the movie's cold tone, but I found it fitting for both Charlie's detached headspace in the wake of his wife's death and the morally grey world in which he operates. Even his mentor figure, Henderson (Laurence Fishburne), is far from a wisecracking sidekick. It's not a movie full of levity, and it doesn't have to be either. It's very focused, much like Charlie. While the portion that sees Charlie trained up to be at least vaguely competent in the field does drag a little, once he flies off to Paris to begin his quest, the pacing quickens, and it doesn't let up from there. I said there was no levity, but there is an almost comedic element to his first attempted hit as he bumbles his way through his first stab at things. As the movie progresses, Charlie becomes more and more skilled in the role, and by the time he confronts one of his wife's killers at a rooftop pool in Madrid, he's ruthless. It's this scene, which sees him execute a well-staged plan that marks the movie's high point, and it's a shame its culmination is so thoroughly spoiled in the trailer. The focus on brains instead of brawn is probably my favorite aspect of 'The Amateur.' Charlie quickly realizes he can't outmuscle his enemies, or outgun them, but he can outmanoeuvre them. This leads to several thrilling sequences when you think Charlie has been backed into a corner, only for him to reveal he was pulling the puppet strings all along. While the overarching international conspiracy plot does require viewers to suspend their disbelief quite often, the gritty and grounded tone reminds me of the 'Jason Bourne' franchise more than the slightly cheesy suave spy escapade you might find in the 'James Bond' movies. As somebody who's always preferred the former (yes, even as a Brit), that's a win in my books. 'The Amateur' was no flop with critics, but it wasn't a darling either. It currently holds a 61% score on Rotten Tomatoes, enough for a fresh rating, but only just. The site's 'Critics Consensus' reads, 'Rami Malek is a compellingly unconventional action hero in the otherwise formulaic The Amateur, which dispenses justice with solid execution but a curious lack of emotional stakes. However, chalk this one up as another case where viewers were impressed than the critics. 'The Amateur' holds an 88% score on the RT Popcornmeter. Some of the user's recent reviews describe it as 'perfect,' 'thrilling' and 'entertaining'. I certainly wouldn't go as far as to label it flawless, but I certainly agree with the latter two statements. If you enjoy a good spy movie or just can't get enough of action-thrillers (which seem to be all the rage in the streaming world these days), consider giving 'The Amateur' a watch. With a strong leading performance from Malek and some highly suspenseful scenes, it's pretty darn gripping. Not totally sold on "The Amateur"? Here's a roundup of all the top new movies arriving on streaming this week, which offers plenty of extra choices with flicks to suit every mood and taste in cinema.
UPI
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Christian Slater honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
1 of 4 | Christian Slater was honored with the 2,815th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday in Los Angeles. Photo by John McCoy/UPI | License Photo June 10 (UPI) -- Mr. Robot actor Christian Slater was honored Monday with the 2,815th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. Slater, who was honored with a star in the Television category, was joined at the ceremony by his family, his Dexter: Original Sin co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar and Heathers director Michael Lehmann. A letter written by Patricia Arquette, who starred alongside Slater in the film True Romance, was read aloud at the ceremony, which was emceed by Steve Nissen. The Walk of Fame is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the City of Los Angeles. Christian Slater receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame Christian Slater is honored with the 2,815th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during an unveiling ceremony in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Photo by John McCoy/UPI | License Photo
New York Times
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘The Amateur,' Rami Malek and His Particular Outsider Set of Skills
The first time the world got a good look at Rami Malek, computer screens were reflected more often than not in his distinctive peepers. As the star of 'Mr. Robot,' Sam Esmail's zeitgeisty TV series about a psychologically damaged hacker's fight against the billionaire class, Malek seemed a creature of zeros and ones, shrinking into the omnipresent black hoodie of the show's protagonist, Elliot Alderson, even as his actions as a keyboard warrior shook the globe. But in his most famous role to date, Malek rocked the world in a very different way. He earned an Oscar for his performance as the Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the blockbuster rock-star biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' But underneath the glitz, the glamour and the mustache, Freddie was much like Elliot: an underestimated outsider who thrust himself into the spotlight through sheer force of will. At first glance, Malek's new film, 'The Amateur,' feels like a return to the world of digital skulduggery he inhabited in 'Mr. Robot.' In this action thriller adapted from Robert Littell's novel and directed by James Hawes, Malek stars as Charlie Heller, a C.I.A. cryptographer who takes matters into his own hands when his compromised superiors refuse to arrest the mercenaries who murdered his wife. Lacking the killer instinct to get up close and personal with his targets, he instead uses his intellectual know-how to devise a series of elaborate booby traps that take them down one by one. But Malek sees a through line that connects all three characters: They're outsiders who prove their doubters, including themselves, wrong. 'It may be an action movie, but one of the themes is personal transformation,' Malek said. 'Sometimes we go to the cinema to see someone race to a telephone booth and don a cape in order to do so. Freddie put on his own cloak onstage. Elliot famously had a hoodie. I've had moments of personal transformation throughout my life — we all have. For Charlie, it's a willingness to take matters into his own hands.' In a video call from New York, Malek talked about putting his own inimitable spin on the action hero. The following are edited excerpts from that conversation. Your breakout role came on 'Mr. Robot.' Now here you are in front of a keyboard again. What brought you back? If it's a guy behind a computer screen or who feels overlooked by society or who's disenfranchised and alienated, those characters just speak to me. I find them profoundly human. There's a tagline for the film that I think I actually brought to our marketing team, which is that Charlie is consistently underestimated. That's something many of us can relate to. So from the perspective of playing a quote-unquote 'action hero,' what better way to access humanity and reality than through someone who goes through life as so many across the world actually do? I have this innate willingness to venture into the fragile intersection of strength and vulnerability that characters like Elliot and Charlie are imbued with. When you put it like that, it isn't all that different from Freddie Mercury and his bandmates in Queen, all of whom speak about feeling like they never fit in except with one another. I mean, in 'Killer Queen,' Freddie says 'fastidious and precise!' I find myself reaching toward those same adjectives for all of these characters. They're capable of doing the extraordinary despite being underestimated. I keep going back to that word, but they're all unwaveringly committed despite the odds against them. There's also a common element of self-transformation. Elliot adopts his hacker persona. Farrokh Bulsara renames himself Freddie Mercury. Charlie undergoes training and blows up his career so he can become the person he needs to be. As an actor, you become new people all the time. Is that an influence on the roles you select? It is. It takes me back to when I was younger, extremely shy, quite the introvert, always feeling like I had to prove myself but at times wondering if there was ever a point. Fortunately I discovered a way to do that without having to aggressively do it in public. As odd as it may seem, doing it through performance was a more private way to explore that aspect of myself. Avenging his wife is Charlie's primary motivation, but his discovery that the C.I.A. is connected to her killers, murdering civilians and conducting false-flag operations, is nearly as big a part of his action-hero origin. Charlie's forcing himself to find another gear in his humanity to challenge these large organizations, these institutions we depend upon, that seem incapable of fulfilling the duties we all collectively wish and hope they do. It's very much his critique of institutional apathy that charges him. It ignites a fire in him and he stokes it throughout the film. But he's also lost the most radiant human being he's ever come across, the extrovert to his introvert, the perfect soul mate. We all deal with that kind of suffering at some point. Perhaps we can discover some greater strength and power within ourselves that leads to a sense of wisdom and, at best, peace. For all his self-transformation, Charlie is still just some guy. When he sets off an explosion, he doesn't calmly walk away putting on sunglasses — he flinches. In his first big fight scene, he gets his butt kicked by a woman who's nearly dying of an asthma attack at the time. That's a different dynamic for an action hero. Maybe one day in the future the mold will be broken, and a guy like me can play a Bond or be in a 'Mission: Impossible.' But I thought that Charlie would truly have to feel like an amateur. I don't know if you've ever had a gun in your hand or fired a weapon, but it's terrifying. It's dark and it's cold and it's not in the least way easy or as simple as it's made out to be. It is harsh. It is cruel. It may imbue some people with a sense of power, but that's not what it does for me. So those moments were not hard for me to act. The flinching? It's much harder to walk away from an explosion with your eyes wide open, not looking back, of course. I would love to see someone try to do it in real life. It's an impossibility. You have an unusual screen presence. Your demeanor is a bit twitchy and unpredictable, and your look is striking. The cinematographer of 'Mr. Robot,' Tod Campbell, once told me he had to change the lenses he was shooting with to better capture the beauty of your eyes. [Smiling] No, look, I know I'm a very unique individual. My mannerisms are unique. My speech is unique. There's a certain flicker behind my eyes that you can't necessarily compare to anyone else — that's what I've been told, at least. The camera has an ability to capture every essence of that. Perhaps it can see too much, at times. Perhaps it's a deficit of mine. But I've found a way to embrace it, and the world has too, in a way. Most importantly, it helps the outcasts, the misfits, those who feel disenfranchised or alienated or just, for lack of a better word, different, feel more at home and at peace in their own skin, behind their own unique eyes.
