Rami Malek worked hard to land a role in the upcoming drama “Nuremberg.”
“I put myself out there, and I think there were a lot of other actors in the running for the role, but I followed it hard and fought for it,” he told Page Six exclusively at the film’s Cinema Society screening earlier this week.
The “Bohemian Rhapsody” star said he was reminded of his days as a struggling actor because he was so hungry for roles.
“[It]reminded me of when I was younger and I was overjoyed when a little job came along. Just having that feeling… just that it wasn’t dead yet was enough to say, ‘Wow, this is a magical art form that we can be a part of.’ And when you get a story like this,[it]becomes very deep.”
This historical drama is based on the 2013 book “Nazis and Psychiatrists.” In it, Malek plays Douglas Kelly, a psychiatrist tasked with determining whether Herman Goering (Russell Crowe) is legally sane to face the Nuremberg trials.
Göring was found guilty of all crimes, including crimes against humanity, and sentenced to death by hanging. The night before his hanging, he committed suicide with a capsule of cyanide.
The Oscar winner said he didn’t know much about the history of World War II allies putting Nazi leaders, propagandists and business leaders on trial.
“I think I was as knowledgeable as anyone who studies history,” he explained, but upon reading the book on which the film was based, “I was immediately hooked.”
“I thought it would be a fascinating movie,” he said.
The MoMA screening and party at the Lobster Club were attended by the film’s other stars, Michael Shannon and John Slattery, as well as Candice Bergen, John Benjamin Hickey, Judd Hirsch, and Sony Pictures Classics chiefs Michael Barker and Tom Bernard.
