Egyptians have been infiltrating Hollywood for nearly fifteen years

From top left, clockwise: Ramy Youssef; Hoda Kotb; Yasmine Al Massri; Sam Esmail; May Calamawy; Rami Malek. Image composite by Lara Ayad.

And what a wonderful incursion it’s been. From acting, to screenwriting, to journalism, Americans and Canadians of Egyptian descent have shaped some of the most popular movies and TV shows over the past decade.

“But, wait... Egyptians still exist?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Tell me about building pyramids.”

“Zero experience with that. Sorry.”

“Riding camels into the sunset?”

“Nope.”

Shocking, I know.

But with over 42 million first-generation immigrants from Egypt in the U.S. (not counting their kids!), and the homeland’s rather sexy status as the Hollywood of the Middle East, the emergence of Egyptians in American media and entertainment was bound to happen.

Debates about the roles of minorities in show business have reemerged in the wake of the 2021 Emmys Awards, but many Arab Americans working in the entertainment industry do not often get (or necessarily want) a lot of attention focused on their racial background.

I’m highlighting the profiles of several Egyptian-Americans who have made major strides in the media industry, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

Sam Esmail

Actors and actresses are, by far, the most visible entertainment workers in the public eye, and we’ll get to some of my favorites in a minute. For now, let’s take a look at major producer and screenwriter Sam Esmail.

Sam Esmail, 2015. Photo by Neilson Barnard.

Esmail is most famous for creating the thriller series Mr. Robot (2015-2019) and for executive producing Homecoming (2018-2020), the latter feeding a growing appetite among Hollywood execs and audiences for film and television adaptations of popular podcasts. While he founded the eponymous Esmail Corp, a production company in Los Angeles, in 2017 he actually got started as a post-production coordinator for A&E, Lifetime, and Comedy Central in 2004, helping edit reality TV show episodes. His long-standing interest in tech got him academic probation while he was studying at NYU, where he hacked the college’s emails. However, his love for computer coding also fueled his imagination when he created Mr. Robot’s hacker protagonist, Elliott Alderson.

Life lesson?: Channeling your inner trickster can get you into trouble, but it can also open up new opportunities for your creativity and industry know-how in unexpected ways.

Hoda Kotb

If you know anything about the Today show, you’re probably familiar with Hoda Kotb’s mega smile, and mega hair, lighting up broadcast television. She and co-host Jenna Bush Hager are known for delivering celebrity interviews, lifestyle highlights, and special gifts for devoted fans, many of whom are women.

Hoda Kotb’s infectious smile lights up broadcast TV on Friday mornings, along with her current co-host, Jenna Bush Hager (not pictured here).

Since 2007, Kotb has had an uncanny ability to deliver laughs and light-hearted inspirational stories to her fans. What many don’t know is that she got started in media doing hard journalism, and it was a long and rocky road to get to where she is now. Kotb was born in Oklahoma in 1964 to Egyptian parents, who she credits for giving her the opportunity to build a career and an independent life as a woman in the U.S. After completing her degree in Journalism at Virginia Tech, she struggled to land a job and dealt with a long succession of rejections while driving around Virginia and Alabama looking for news anchor roles at TV stations. She found an unexpected mentor in Stan Sandroni at WXVT in Mississippi, and finally got her big break when she served as correspondent for Dateline NBC in 1998, where she would go on to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as well as the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2010, Kotb won a Daytime Emmy Award, along with her then-co-host Kathie Lee Gifford and the rest of the team, for her work on the Today show.

Life lesson?: Telling your life story, and those of others, with authenticity, charm, and radiant energy can go a long way.

And now we get to the actors and actresses! Two of the most intriguing screen talents of Egyptian heritage today are Rami Malek and May Calamawy, both of who take their craft very seriously.

May Calamawy

To say that May Calamawy is an American would be to simplify her eclectic upbringing. She was born in 1986 in Bahrain to a Palestinian mother and an Egyptian father, who both wanted her to become an industrial designer. As soon as Calamawy reached Boston’s shores for university, however, she applied for Emerson College’s Theatre Studies program.

May Calamawy can transform from innocent maiden to sultry goddess with just a glance.

Her love for acting may have not thrilled her parents, but she proved she could find success in her career passion and landed roles in the National Geographic miniseries The Long Road Home and Madame Secretary, starring alongside Téa Leoni and Elizabeth McCord in the latter. Calamawy is best known for her role in the Hulu dark comedy series Ramy, where she plays the protagonist’s sister, Dena Hassan. Her character struggles with asserting her independence in a household where boys roam free and girls must be eternally obedient to Mama and Baba. Calamawy brought these realities for young Arab American women to life while seeing the role as a path for personal transformation. Not only did she incorporate her difficult struggle with alopecia into Dena’s story, but she also now seeks acting roles where she can explore her own identity and experiences of womanhood. Calamawy is slated to play a role in the upcoming Marvel miniseries Moon Knight on Disney+, and I can’t wait to see how her career blossoms in the future.

Life lesson?: Write and act from the places you know – and the places you are still discovering – about yourself. Audiences can tell it’s real, and they want real.

Rami Malek

Probably the most famous Copt in the universe, Rami Malek has skyrocketed to fame over the past several years, sweeping up a Critics’ Choice Award and the Primetime Emmy Award for his role as male lead in Mr. Robot, one of my favorite series. This is not countig the slew of other awards he has accrued for his acting since 2018. His outstanding performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody wowed audiences and helped initiate younger generations into the explosive world of 70s and 80s rock. Along with Calamawy, Malek has served as something of an inspiration for me because I grew up in the U.S. as both a Coptic Egyptian and an all-American girl: his personal story of straddling two identities - a conservative upbringing in the Coptic Orthodox Church community of LA, and being an American kid – resonates with me on many levels. He’s a hot ticket, that one.

Rami Malek. With his eyes. Have you ever felt so beheld?

Known for what’s called “character acting,” Malek communicates the most nuanced aspects of his roles, whether villain, rock star, or computer hacker, by performing long, intensive research on them before even going to audition. His tenacious approach to developing his acting career is likely the result of a humbler immigrant upbringing, and a challenging journey to Hollywood. Born alongside his identical twin, Sami, in 1981 to Egyptian parents in Los Angeles, Malek grew up knowing he wanted to act. He spent years working odd jobs at restaurants, sneaking his resume and headshot into the to-go bags of major producers. After snagging a small, but unsuccessful, role in a candy commercial, he finally started to see his persistence pay off when he was casted as Ahkmenrah in Night at the Museum (2006). His first lead role as Elliott Alderson in Mr. Robot (written and produced by you-know-who) gave audiences a chance to see him infuse the thriller with a mix of vulnerability and monstrosity so essential to the protagonist.

Life lesson?: Live and work as if you’re already holding your biggest dream in the palm of your hand. Oh, and don’t be afraid to use those big Egyptian eyes, while you’re at it.