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Portrait of Sam Esmail

Sam Esmail

(1977) Screenwriter

102 quotes in 354 categories

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Sam Esmail is a screenwriter.

Quick Facts About Sam Esmail

Born: September 17, 1977
Profession: Screenwriter

About Sam Esmail

Sam Esmail, an Egyptian‑American director and writer, runs the production company Esmail Corp. He works as a film and television producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for creating, writing, and directing the award‑winning USA Network series Mr. Robot, which aired from 2015 to 2019 and starred Rami Malek.

Quotes by Sam Esmail · Page 2

I've lived a very isolated life.

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I'm very protective of my online life, and I try and take as many security measures.

Cybersecurity

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I'm not a huge fan of very plotty shows. I'm much more of a fan of character-driven stories.

Character

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The 2016 election, I'm sure, wasn't the first one to be hacked; it was just the first one that was made public.

Election

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I had a funny last name, and I didn't look like everybody else, and I got faced with a lot of racism.

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I'm not saying I'm a control freak, though I'll admit that I am at times.

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I've seen shows that start to go down the path of fan service, and it really diminishes the quality.

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I always thought the writing process for movies and TV shows was just a blueprint. The making of it was the thing.

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You have to have that core creative team around you who's going to support your vision, and challenge and evolve it.

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With some actors, if I have upward of 10 notes, I don't want to give them all 10 notes and overwhelm them.…

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I did have friends who have suffered from schizophrenia and mild dissociative identity disorder, as well as more extreme cases of social…

Friends

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The one thing that I know from the personal experiences that I've had with hackers and from people in tech who are…

Angst

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The experience you're going to take the audience on is as important as the story you're trying to tell. And that experience…

Experience

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'Taxi Driver' is one of those films that is groundbreaking in how much you're inside this character's head. It uses voice-over in…

Character

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There are some critics that will just write provocative stuff to get attention, but I would say most of the time that's…

Attention

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I don't want to watch a show or a movie about the guy who doesn't have any problems, who is sort of…

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Typically, whenever you're envisioning how you're going to shoot something, you have a location or a set that you're going to build,…

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I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican or a conservative, the election of Trump is a national tragedy for…

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You don't even know if the person you're communicating with online is actually that person. And your persona on your social media…

Internet

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I've always said that the first season was the first act of my feature, so this is what I meant. I wanted…

Chaos

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I never look at twists as a way to trick the audience. Obviously, I think a good story has surprises and unexpected…

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“Is any of it real? I mean look at this. Look at it! A world built on fantasy. Synthetic emotions in the…

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I have a brilliant sound design team who's been working with me since 'Mr. Robot,' and one of the things we always…

Cinematography

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We frame things in an off-kilter way because it's unsettling. In the 'Mr. Robot' world, that's the norm, and it's the norm…

Camera

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I know when it comes to TV, the writer is king, but to me, the filmmaker is king.

Filmmaker

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That's what I did growing up. Other than being on the computer, I was watching TV and movies. I make no apologies.

Being

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With acting, a lot of it has to come from that real, honest place.

Acting

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Growing up, my parents were very much about the Egyptian culture. They never really wanted to assimilate in American culture.

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I've always been fascinated by this idea of who we are versus who we want to be.

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I think technology gives the illusion that you are connecting with people, social media particularly.

Media

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I used to hold Stanley Kubrick film festivals at my house in high school. These are not cool things.

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I love when a protagonist and antagonist can find common ground.

Antagonist

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I'm Egyptian, and my parents stupidly decided to move us down to South Carolina when I was five, which was pretty brutal.

Egyptian

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I'm controlling over anything I create. I'm very precious about it.

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When I first created the world of 'Mr. Robot,' I thought it would be a niche television series with a small, cult…

Cult

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When I started thinking about 'Mr. Robot,' I thought about it as a movie, and I thought about the complete arc, and…

Movie

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I was a nerd, growing up, I was really into computers and technology, and most of my friends were basically in that…

Computers

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For shows that are hyper-serialized, it just seems to make more sense to follow a feature film model than follow a television…

Film

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I'm not a fan of these very cutty, handheld-y kind of films or TV shows, where a cut is just every half…

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I use voiceover just like I use dialogue. There's a way to give out information or give out insight to the character…

Character

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Sam Esmail by topic

Television (10)