very lighthearted, and then along comes mr. robot, which is this dark cyberpunk drama about a hacker named elliot, played by rami malek, who is trying to bring down the biggest and worst corporation in the world. [elliot] they're so big, they're literally everywhere. a perfect monster of modern society. [rami] i remember opening up that script, and i could tell this was just special. a young man who was so anxious, but unafraid to take down the system. it just felt powerful. it resonated with me. [elliot] if mr. robot was here, what would he do? the first thing he'd tell you is to stop talking to your imaginary friend. that is about as perfect a casting as you're gonna come across. that character had to be brilliant, mercurial, odd, and driven. and he was. [elliot] i'm crazy. i have to be crazy because that didn't just happen, right? this is a delusion. is this a delusion? shit, i'm a schizo. there's a sense of him being off balance, which keeps the audience off balance.