Rami Malek's "I'm a Fan"

2019viral videoclassic

Published September 24, 2026

Rami Malek's "I'm a Fan" is a viral video meme from March 2019 built around a slow, unsettling Mandarin Oriental hotel commercial in which the Oscar-winning actor recites a list of things he loves. Twitter users trimmed out the brand mention, and the awkward monologue quickly turned into edit fodder for horror mashups, dubbed thriller scenes, and fake Bond villain auditions.

Overview

The source clip is a roughly one-minute Mandarin Oriental promo in which Malek stares straight into the camera and calmly declares his affection for his mother, chamomile tea, handwritten letters, classic movies, and looking sharp regardless of the occasion1. His flat delivery, long pauses, and unblinking eye contact give the whole thing a serial-killer confessional energy that reads as unintentionally menacing rather than warm1.

Once Twitter users trimmed off the closing "and Mandarin Oriental" tag, the video worked as a standalone character study, and edits pushed the unsettling tone further with horror music beds, dubbed thriller scenes, and cuts that fake Malek into a Bond villain audition35. The joke leans on the mismatch between the ad's earnest luxury-brand pitch and Malek's already off-kilter screen presence from Mr. Robot and Bohemian Rhapsody1.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube (source ad) / Twitter (viral spread)
Creator
@tireddeaky
Date
2019

Mandarin Oriental uploaded the original "Rami Malek: I'm a Fan" video to YouTube on January 15, 2019, as part of a celebrity fan series that also featured Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci, and Morgan Freeman2. The clip sat quietly for weeks, eventually pulling more than 131,000 views before it went viral in early March 20195.

Per Mashable, Twitter user @tireddeaky (account since deleted) posted the first cut version that removed the Mandarin Oriental sign-off, letting the monologue play with no context1. Retweets piled on about how uncomfortable Malek looked reading the lines5.

How It Spread

On March 1, 2019, one Twitter edit stitched Malek's clip into a fake Bond 25 scene opposite Daniel Craig, positioning him as the villain in a leaked-footage bit3. The same day, YouTuber Hobi is my city posted a version with thriller music layered under Malek's monologue that pulled roughly 800 views in three days4.

On March 2, a Twitter user dubbed Malek's audio over a Silence of the Lambs scene, letting Hannibal Lecter mouth lines about chamomile tea and handwritten letters7. YouTuber Happy Lou Videos posted an edit the same day that slowly zoomed toward Malek's mouth each time he spoke, hitting about 545 views in two days6.

Mashable wrote up the trend that week, framing the video as evidence Malek could headline a creepy thriller and pointing readers toward the rest of Mandarin Oriental's celebrity "I'm a fan" series1.

How to Use This Meme

Common edits typically pair the source video's audio with a horror or thriller visual, or vice versa. People often swap the closing "Mandarin Oriental" line for a punchline of their choice, or cut the video down so Malek's list of favorite things reads like a killer's diary.

Frequently Asked Questions