Rami Malek has opened up about the childhood mischief he shared with his identical twin brother Sami, long before either of them settled into their wildly different adult paths.
The Oscar-winning actor, 43, told Esquire UK that he and Sami, born four minutes apart on May 12, 1981, were “troublemakers” who found inventive ways to game the school system. The brothers grew up in Los Angeles with their older sister Yasmine and their parents Nelly and Said, Egyptian immigrants who raised them speaking Arabic and steeped in cultural traditions.
Rami explained how the twins turned a reading incentive program into a small-time operation.
“[In school] if you read a book you got a gift certificate to Pizza Hut or something,” he said. “My brother and I got our dad’s tape recorder and we would read the books on tape and sell them to the other kids so they could not only get the scores they needed but also cash in on some free pizza.”
He added: “We saw an opportunity and we took it. I was a pretty resourceful kid.”
That resourcefulness extended into their college years at UCLA, where Rami studied alongside Sami before the latter pursued American literature and culture with a focus on African American studies. During a 2015 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Rami revealed that the twins once swapped places so Sami could pass a class — taking full advantage of their identical appearance in a scheme that foreshadowed none of the gravitas Rami would later bring to roles like Freddie Mercury.
While Rami climbed toward Hollywood’s highest honors, Sami built a deliberately quiet career in education. He started with Teach for America, moved on to middle school English, and now teaches high school students in Los Angeles. The contrast between their lives became starkly public when Sami accompanied his brother to the 2019 Oscars ceremony, standing on the red carpet as Rami collected the Academy Award for Best Actor for Bohemian Rhapsody.
Robert Downey Jr. Singled out the entire Malek family that same year in an essay for TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list, crediting them as the force behind Rami’s ascent.
“I contend that his mother Nelly, his father Said, his sister Yasmine and his brother Sami are the foundational pillars to his rise,” Downey Jr. Wrote.
The Iron Man star continued: “Mighta just been destiny…more likely it’s yet another testament to hardworking immigrants raising their kids right and pushing our culture toward the light.”
The brothers’ divergent paths place them among several famous Hollywood twins who chose separate orbits. Scarlett Johansson’s twin brother Hunter also works in entertainment, while Kiefer Sutherland has described his twin sister Rachel as the “great love” of his life during a Tonight Show appearance with Jimmy Fallon.
Rami’s reflections on his childhood schemes arrive as the actor continues his post-Oscars career, having followed his Bohemian Rhapsody triumph with a major role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
