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Rami Malek has rubbed elbows with all kinds of stars from James Bond to the royal family! The 40-year-old Oscar winner spoke to ET’s Rachel Smith ahead of the release of his highly anticipated new Bond installment, “No Time to Die”, about the star-studded world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which was attended by none other than Kate Middleton, Prince William, Prince Charles, and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
“For me, I just try to treat them like I would anybody else,” Malek tells ET of the royals. “I’m sure a dose of normality is probably something that is quite refreshing to them.”
He adds that he tries to ask the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge about themselves whenever he sees them.
“I remember we were at the BAFTAS, and I met them and they have a lot of questions to ask you,” he recalls, “But it is nice to just say, ‘How are you doing? How are you dealing with all of this? I know you just had kids, one kid, specifically,’ so just try to be normal because they live a very unusual life, I imagine.”
Calling the glamorous Bond premiere “breathtaking,” Malek adds that he was sitting right behind the royals during the screening.
“I got to gage their reaction from their body language,” he shares. “Definitely not going to put words in their mouths, but yeah they seemed pretty taken aback by the film.”
Malek is playing the villainous Lyutsifer Safin in “No Time to Die”, which marks Daniel Craig’s last time playing Agent 007.
“This role, I mean, it is very special to me because I am such a Bond fan,” Malek says. “And I am such a fan of Daniel’s. I think the guy is such a versatile actor and so to be able to be a part of allowing even more people to recognize that and celebrate it is such a gift. I wanted this to be a really special send-off to him, and I think we accomplished that.”
To take on the role, Malek decided to go all-out.
“I love a transformation, and you can look at all of the previous villains and what they have done, and it’s just such a privilege to be in a long line of really exceptional actors,” he says. “And to be able to do something I felt was very nuanced and unnerving and unsettling, but something that excited me throughout.”
Tune in to Monday’s episode of Entertainment Tonight for more of ET’s interview with the “No Time to Die” cast. “No Time to Die” arrives in theaters Oct. 8.
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