A decade after the groundbreaking show Mr. Robot first aired, its star Rami Malek is reflecting on the profound impact the role had on his life and career. At a recent reunion for the show’s tenth anniversary, Malek revealed just how instrumental his character, the troubled hacker Elliot Alderson, was in shaping his future, including landing him the part of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.
The Role That Changed Everything
While celebrating the show’s anniversary at New York Comic Con, Rami Malek shared a significant career milestone with fans. He disclosed that his iconic performance as Elliot Alderson directly led to him being cast as Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic.
“To your point, I was discovered for my role in Bohemian Rhapsody from Mr. Robot,” Malek revealed to the audience. “Sometimes you can see a Freddie Mercury as this grand flamboyant extrovert. But there was definitely a shy extrovert in that human being as well. And I knew how to do that quite well because of Elliot.”
Malek’s portrayal of the Queen frontman earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2019, catapulting him to international fame. He credited his work on the television series for giving him the tools to play such complex characters, stating, “I gravitate to those characters, speak to people in a very unique way, because of Mr. Robot.”
A Show That Predicted Our Digital Anxiety
When Mr. Robot premiered on June 24, 2015, it felt like a lightning rod for the world’s growing unease with technology and corporate power. The show followed Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer with social anxiety disorder and dissociative identity disorder, who is recruited by the mysterious anarchist Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) to join a hacktivist group called fsociety.
Their goal was to take down the world’s largest conglomerate, E Corp—dubbed “Evil Corp” by Elliot—and erase all consumer debt by encrypting the company’s financial records. The series was celebrated for its authentic depiction of hacking and cybersecurity, a departure from the unrealistic portrayals common in entertainment at the time.
The show arrived at a crucial cultural moment, just two years after Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks and a year after the Sony Pictures hack. Its pilot episode featured a subplot about hacking a serial cheater on an escort site, which aired just a month before the real-life Ashley Madison hack in July 2015. This eerie timing highlighted how the show tapped into the collective anxiety about digital privacy and corporate control.
The Creative Force Behind the Scenes
The series was the brainchild of creator Sam Esmail, who was inspired by the 2008 recession and events like the 2011 Egyptian revolution. At the New York Comic Con reunion, Esmail reflected on the show’s anti-capitalist themes and admitted surprise that a major network agreed to finance and market it.
“I’m going all anticapitalist and anti-corporate, and I thought someone is going to finance and market this, and sure enough they did!” Esmail said.
He also noted that the political and social landscape has only become more intense since the show first aired. “The world felt like it was in a crisis — how naive I was back then to think that was what a crisis was like. It’s like Pleasantville, now.”
The production of the show was famously unconventional. Episodes were sometimes filmed just a week before they aired, and the team paid meticulous attention to detail. A memorable piece of that history is Elliot’s signature black hoodie, which Malek found in a thrift store for $10. The actor later gifted the hoodie to Esmail, who now keeps it framed in his home.
Why Mr. Robot Still Matters Today
A decade later, the themes of Mr. Robot feel more relevant than ever. The show’s critique of vast wealth inequality, political corruption driven by tech billionaires, and the psychological toll of a hyper-connected world has only become more pronounced.
The series was also groundbreaking in its realistic and nuanced portrayal of mental health. Elliot’s struggles with depression, anxiety, and dissociative identity disorder were central to the narrative, not just a character trait. The show took audiences on a journey through the complexities of the human brain with a sensitivity that was widely praised.
Despite concluding its four-season run on December 22, 2019, the show has experienced a resurgence in popularity since arriving on Netflix. New viewers are discovering its unique blend of psychological thriller and tech commentary, finding that its exploration of a society grappling with technologically mediated corporate dominance resonates deeply in the age of ChatGPT and TikTok.
While fans have hoped for spinoffs, including one focused on the characters Darlene and Leon, Esmail has stated that the book is closed on that chapter, feeling that the story was told completely and ended well.
For Rami Malek, the show was more than just a job; it was a formative experience that defined his career. The role of Elliot Alderson allowed him to explore a character of immense complexity and vulnerability, a journey that ultimately prepared him for his award-winning performance as Freddie Mercury and cemented his place as one of the most respected actors of his generation.
Also Read: Mr. Robot Creator Sam Esmail Pitched a Darlene and Leon Spinoff by a Hacker
