Rami Malek was thrown into a police car during a racial profiling incident

In a recent discussion with The Guardian, Rami Malek described his experiences with racism as an Egyptian-American, pointing to a racial profiling incident that left him on the hood of a police car.

“I was thrown onto the hood of an LAPD squad car because someone robbed a liquor store and stole a woman’s purse,” Malek explained. “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 there and it almost burned my hands.”

Luckily for the “Mr. Robot star, he had a “smart” friend nearby who could clarify Malek’s race to the arresting officer.

“My friend, who was white, was smart enough to say, ‘Actually, sir, he’s Egyptian.’ No Latin,” Malek recalled. “I remember laughing in the police car and thinking, ‘Okay, this is a very precarious situation. It’s very possible that I’m going to jail for something I didn’t do.’”

Malek said he is concerned that this could worsen discrimination against immigrants in the US Donald Trump take office on January 20. He further explained that former President Barack Obama’s book “Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope” remains an important source of perseverance even if the election does not yield the desired results.

“The idea that a man with a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas could become president of the United States was one of the most hopeful moments in the story of the American dream,” Malek said. “That has been turned upside down. I always look at situations like this and hope it brings out the very best in us.”