Rachel Brosnahan Reveals How Rami Malek Influenced Her Career-Breaking Role

Rachel Brosnahan was already an Emmy nominee when Amy Sherman-Palladino entered her life, but the prolific creator’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel quickly turned the actor into an Emmy-winning leading lady. 

Oscar and Emmy winner Rami Malek also understands the benefits of working with the 6-time-Emmy-winning Sherman-Palladino, as a 2004 episode of Gilmore Girls is what launched his now-decorated career and landed him his SAG card. After Brosnahan took home her Emmy statuette in 2018, Malek eventually approached her at a New York City music festival to bond over their good fortune involving Sherman-Palladino. Years later, at the Met Gala, Malek again sought Brosnahan out, but this time it involved an offer to play his beloved wife in James Hawes’ elegant espionage thriller, The Amateur. 

“[Malek] tracked me down at the Met Gala and was like, ‘I’m doing this thing. It’s in your inbox. You have to say yes,’” Brosnahan tells The Hollywood Reporter in support of The Amateur’s April 11 theatrical release. “A lot of people don’t actually know this side of Rami, and I’m here to shout it from the rooftops in a way that he never will. As an actress in this business, he really looked out for me in more ways than one.”

Brosnahan plays Sarah Heller, the spouse of CIA analyst Charlie Heller (Malek), and her violent death at the hands of terrorists is the inciting incident that leads Charlie to pursue his own unique brand of vengeance. Sarah’s demise happens early on in the film, but her presence is still peppered throughout via flashbacks, momentary flashes mid-scene and photographic reminders. It was a wise move by Hawes and co. since there are many comparable situations where the motivating loss is quickly lost in the shuffle. 

That said, Brosnahan was more focused on supporting Malek’s starring vehicle and producorial effort than she was the size of her role.

“It was less about this particular character. It was the opportunity to work with Rami and also have a front row seat to him as an actor who also produces,” Brosnahan says. “So the real estate in the film was less important; it was more the entirety of the experience that I got really excited about alongside this team.”

The Milwaukee-born, Highland Park-raised actor has been working professionally since she was in high school, but she still routinely feels like an amateur due to roles that push her beyond her comfort zone.

“I feel like an amateur every day. That’s not me being humble, and I feel better knowing that I’m not alone in that,” Brosnahan admits. “I’ll never forget walking on and off a set [The Dovekeepers] with Sam Neill. He walked off set, going, ‘It never gets easier, does it?’ And I was like, ‘Man, I’ve never been able to relate to something more.’”

This July, Brosnahan’s life will change once again courtesy of her take on Lois Lane in James Gunn’s highly anticipated Superman. She realizes the pressure of succeeding previous Lois Lane actors, such as Margot Kidder and Amy Adams, but the many different versions of Lois in the comics provide her with reassurance that her Lois can stand shoulder to shoulder with the other on-screen incarnations.

“I was really inspired by how many different versions of this character have existed, and it feels true to the comics [to have different on-screen interpretations],” Brosnahan says. “I grew up completely obsessed with the Christopher Reeve-Margot Kidder Superman films. But I also love Amy Adams, and I’ve had the chance to run into her a couple of times since taking the mantle. So I know we’re standing on the shoulders of giants, and hopefully, we can make the fans proud.”

Below, during a conversation with THR, Brosnahan also discusses her recent PaleyFest reunion with Sherman-Palladino and the unique challenge she’s faced, post-Maisel. 

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I spoke to Rami Malek and James Hawes for the trailer release last November, and I commented, “You guys picked a good time to be in the Rachel Brosnahan business.” And Rami, without missing a beat, remarked, “It’s always a good time to be in the Rachel Brosnahan business.” 

(Laughs.) That’s really nice.

Is that a good indicator of how Rami is as a leading man?

Truly. Rami is not only one of the most talented actors working right now, but he is also one of the most generous people I know, on and off screen. I even learned today that he tracked so many of us down, as a producer. He played a huge hand in pulling this ensemble together, and it’s a true testament to how many people want to work with him and share in his passion for these projects. He tracked me down at the Met Gala and was like, “I’m doing this thing. It’s in your inbox. You have to say yes.” He, very sweetly, said that it felt really important to bring out a softer side of his character before you see him go on this journey where he does some pretty unthinkable things. So it was just such a joy, and I could go on all day. A lot of people don’t actually know this side of Rami, and I’m here to shout it from the rooftops in a way that he never will. As an actress in this business, he really looked out for me in more ways than one, and he made this work with my schedule. He also made me very comfortable out in London, and we just had a blast. 

Your character’s death is the inciting incident of this film, but Sarah is still threaded throughout the film in a rather elegant way. Did that make a difference for you?

There were so many things about this project that I was interested in, and it was less about this particular character. It’s different, project to project, what attracts you to something. For me, it was the opportunity to work with Rami and also have a front row seat to him as an actor who also produces. It was also a chance to work with the brilliant James Hawes; I’m such a fan of Slow Horses. And it was an opportunity to be able to experiment with a softer character than the ones that I had been playing. So the real estate in the film was less important; it was more the entirety of the experience that I got really excited about alongside this team. I mean, look at the rest of this cast; it’s insane: Caitriona [Balfe], Laurence Fishburne, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jon Bernthal. It was a really special experience, top to bottom.

I know you have to be diplomatic on this one, but Charlie Heller’s brain, not his brawn, is what he relies on to defend Sarah’s honor. Is that type of human ingenuity more impressive than someone who was born with superpowers? 

Ooh! Impressive might be the wrong word, but it’s really aspirational to see somebody who’s relatable achieve things that they never thought possible. The spy thriller is a familiar genre. We’ve seen so many great ones over the history of cinema, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character who’s so unlikely in this space. He figures out a way to navigate his own strengths and bring his own form of ingenuity to the …. “Murdering game” feels like the wrong word, but he finds his own way through. (Laughs.) So it doesn’t make any of us any less strong to need a different kind of hero sometimes, and that’s one of the things I loved so much about this script and the Heller character.

As mentioned, Laurence Fishburne is a castmate on The Amateur, and he famously played another character named Perry White in Man of Steel. Did the two of you ever get a chance to talk about how you were about to go off and play one of Perry White’s reporters in James Gunn’s Superman? 

We didn’t! Laurence and I never worked together on this project, so we’ve actually spent the most time getting to talk about it in the last couple of weeks. But I’d have a thousand other questions for Laurence about his epic career before I probably arrived there. I didn’t even put that [Perry White connection] together. But I could listen to Laurence tell stories all day long, and I think he’s in the room next door. I’ll have to ask him about it.

Your House of Cards scene partner, Michael Kelly, also worked under Fishburne’s Perry White at the Daily Planet, so the degrees of separation get real weird, real fast.

They really do! It’s a small world. It’s the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, as they say.

Since I conveniently brought it up, how intimating was it to follow in the footsteps of all the great actors who’ve played Lois Lane?

(Laughs.) You did very conveniently walk right into that one. Intimidating? A little, but intimidating might be the wrong word. I was really inspired by how many different versions of this character have existed, and it feels true to the comics [to have different on-screen interpretations]. Lois has maybe changed more than any other character in the history of the comics: the way she looks, what she’s prioritizing from version to version. There’s also tons of different versions of her backstory. She becomes Superwoman, sometimes. The Red Tornado is another character she’s been. 

I was most familiar with Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane. I grew up completely obsessed with the Christopher Reeve-Margot Kidder Superman films. But I also love Amy Adams, and I’ve had the chance to run into her a couple of times since taking the mantle. So I know we’re standing on the shoulders of giants, and hopefully, we can make the fans proud.

You recently attended a Palladino family reunion, and Rami is a part of that family, too. Gilmore Girls helped him get his SAG card. Was that PaleyFest event a cool collision of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Gilmore worlds? 

It was, and it was so much more moving than I expected it to be. As somebody who adores Amy and is forever grateful and indebted to her for changing my life, it was very cool to be in the room with so many different eras of Amy Sherman-Palladino. I got to hear all the stories about her from other projects, and I got to see Alex Borstein and Luke Kirby again. I’m so excited for Étoile. [The latter is Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino’s upcoming Prime Video series with Kirby.]

One of the first conversations that Rami and I ever had was when he came up to me at the Global Citizen Festival. He told me that he got his SAG card on Gilmore Girls and to say hi to Amy, so [The Amateur] is another weird melding of worlds.

After working with the Palladino brand of snappy, uptempo dialogue for so long, does the dialogue on other jobs feel easier in comparison? 

Everything is easier on the other side of that show. For a show that, on the surface, looks like a woman running around in a skirt telling jokes, the technical elements that went into making it were some of the most impressive I’ve ever seen. From a filmmaking perspective, such as some of the oners that were pulled off, our entire crew felt like we were constantly dancing together to bring different parts of the show to life. 

There was also just a monstrous amount of dialogue. The scripts for an hour-long are usually about 60 pages, and on Maisel, they were about a hundred pages an episode. So it’s a muscle, and that muscle feels very well-trained, I suppose. I now find myself having to slow myself down a lot. I worked to pick up my pace for so many years, and while it feels like a blessing, it’s also difficult sometimes to slow back down. 

Lastly, you’ve been a professional actor for 17 or 18 years now. 

Oh my God. (Laughs.)

Do you even remember the last time you were technically considered an amateur?

I feel like an amateur every day. 

Oh stop!

I mean it! That’s not me being humble, and I feel better knowing that I’m not alone in that. I’ll never forget walking on and off a set [The Dovekeepers] with Sam Neill. It was one of my earlier jobs; I was maybe 22. We were shooting Sam’s first day on set, and he walked off set, going, “It never gets easier, does it?” And I was like, “Man, I’ve never been able to relate to something more.” 

Every set feels intimidating in its own way. I also feel like the minute that you step back and go, “Nailed it! Got it right,” that’s the beginning of the end. So it’s cool to feel like an amateur if you’re given the opportunity to make interesting choices and try things that feel out of your wheelhouse all the time. I’ve been very, very fortunate to have been able to do that for an absolutely terrifying number of years now that you say it out loud. (Laughs.)

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The Amateur opens in movie theaters nationwide on April 11.