Sam Esmail is a writer, producer, and director who was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on September 17, 1977. His first feature film screenplay was ‘Sequels, Remakes, & Adaptations’ and this was released in 2008. Unfortunately, this was not well received and landed on the Black List. Fortunately, his career has since taken a turn for the better and he released his directorial debut ‘Comet’ in 2015. He is now best-known as the creator of the television series ‘Mr. Robot’. This drama-thriller series premiered on June 24, 2015, on USA Network. Here are five things you don’t know about Sam Esmail.
1. He is Married to Emmy Rossum
Emmy Rossum was a singer-songwriter and an actress. She appeared in ‘Comet’ and Esmail met her while he was directing this film. The couple dated for two years before they decided to get engaged. They were married in a Reform synagogue in New City on May 28, 2017. This was the second marriage for Rossum as she had previously been married to Justin Siegel, a music executive. Siegel and Rossum married on February 17, 2008, but were divorced on September 25, 2009. They cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their divorce.
2. He Has Won Awards
Esmail has been nominated for eleven awards in his career and he has won six of these. His first nomination was for ‘Comet’ as the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival. Unfortunately, he did not win on this occasion. His other nominations were between 2015 and 2016 and were all for ‘Mr. Robot’. One of these was the 73rd Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series-Drama. Another was the American Film Institute Award for Television Program of the Year.
3. His Heritage Has Inspired Him
Sam Esmail is from an Egyptian family who are Muslim. He has said that his heritage has influenced his work. His experiences of growing up made him feel different from American culture and as though he stood out from the other children in his neighborhood and school. This has led him to often write about alienated figures who find it difficult to connect with others.
4. He Can Write Computer Code
Esmail is a man of many talents and one of these is that he can write computer code. He got his first computer at the age of just nine and within a few years, he could write code. He even worked in the computer lab at New York University while he was studying at the Tisch School of Arts. Following an incident in the computer lab, he was put on academic probation.
5. He Planned ‘Mr. Robot’ as a Feature
One of the works for which Sam Esmail is best-known is the television series ‘Mr. Robot’, for which he was both the creator and the executive producer. However, he had not always intended the show to appear on the television as he originally planned for this to be a feature film. The show is now in its third season which began on USA Network on October 11, 2017. It stars Rami Malek in the lead role with other cast members including Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday, and Martin Wallstrom.
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