“I got thrown on the bonnet of an LAPD cop car because someone had robbed a liquor store and stolen a woman’s bag,” Malek said in an interview with The Guardian.

“They said the [thief] was of Latin descent and, ‘You fit the description.’ I remember how hot that engine was, they must have been racing over there and it was almost burning my hands.”

Malek described himself as “white passing,” reflecting on the challenges he faced due to his distinctive features and his family’s immigrant background.

“My friend, who was Caucasian, was clever enough to go, ‘Actually, sir, he’s Egyptian. Not Latin,’” Malek said.

“I remember laughing in the cop car, thinking, ‘OK, this is a very precarious situation. I may well be going to jail for something I’ve not done.’”

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He expressed concern about the future under the Donald Trump administration, particularly regarding the rising hostility toward immigrants.

“The idea that a man with a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas could become president of the United States, it was one of the most hopeful moments from the story of the American dream,” Malek said.

Malek expressed a deeper fascination with Greek tragedy, linking it to themes of identity and self-discovery as he prepared for his role as Oedipus in a new adaptation at London’s Old Vic theatre.