Travel back to 1930s Cairo in this exclusive interview with Mido Hamada, who discusses his role as the skeptical Head of Security Mamoud in the new murder mystery film Murder at the Embassy with Mischa Barton. It’s the second installment in the Miranda Green series and is a delightfully fun watch that scratches the Whodunit? itch.
Over Zoom, Hamada opened up about the incredible experience of filming in Egyptian locations, including at the Pyramids, and the deeply personal journey of returning to the country after three decades. He shared some of the challenges of shooting in the desert heat and how he embraced the chance to time travel into this fascinating period. Read ahead for the full conversation.
The Interview with Mido Hamada of ‘Murder at the Embassy’
Ayla Ruby: Fantastic. So I’d love to know if you could kind of talk about your journey to this film. How did you hear about it? And what was your kind of process for coming on board?
Mido Hamada: Well, just a normal path really. I got sent the scripts, I did an audition and I received the part. And then the journey began. We went to Egypt and we got to shoot in these amazing locations in Egypt. Well, it’s one of my favorite genres to be a part of, and I had never had a chance to be part of this genre before. So for me it was a real first, get to be part of a murder mystery and get to shoot in 1930s Egypt. And for those that don’t know, this story takes place in the English embassy in 1930s Cairo. And I play the head of security. And so it was an incredible experience just to time travel into that space and kind of make that come alive. And then get the … Hey, it’s not every day you wake up, you get to shoot at the Pyramids, the real Pyramids. And be there and to actually shoot there was amazing.
Ayla Ruby: I have so many questions about that, but first, I was going through your Instagram before our interview to kind of get ready for it, and I saw I think a post from a year ago where you talked about how this was kind of an opportunity to come home almost to film.
Mido Hamada: Yes.
Ayla Ruby: And I’d love if you could kind of talk about that or share anything about that?
Mido Hamada: Sure, sure, sure. For those that don’t know, I’m actually Egyptian and I was born in Egypt, but I wasn’t raised in Egypt. I left Egypt when I was a child. And so I hadn’t been back to Cairo specifically I think for over 35 years. And so to have a job come that allows me and gives me the opportunity to go back home, it was a rush on my senses. A lot of memories came flushing back from my childhood. I got to go to places. I got to meet people again that I hadn’t seen in decades. So it was a really, really wonderful experience. It was like a closing of a chapter and the beginning of a new one all at the same time. And while working and being part of a genre and this great story. And working with Mischa [Barton] was a phenomenal experience. And we both got to explore these characters and go on this journey together and it was brilliant.
Ayla Ruby: That’s such a wonderful way of putting it. So without giving too many things away, your character is the head of security and is really skeptical about Greene’s crime solving skills and her detective abilities. What was your approach to playing that? Did you do any takeaways from that or prep for that? How do you get into that mindset?
Mido Hamada: Well, the mindset was that – This is my territory. Why are you coming into my embassy and trying to solve a crime in my spot? So when we played on that, and both Mischa and I, we had a lot of fun with that. And kind of figuring out what that would feel like and how does it feel when somebody comes in, and it’s your job but the ambassador gave her the job to find out who’s the murderer, what happened. And so that kind of cemented our relationship really from the beginning. And so the audience gets to actually go on this journey with us as that relationship slowly changes. And I’m not going to give too much away, but yes, it does shift and change slightly.
Ayla Ruby: The best kind of characters do.
Mido Hamada: Yes.
Ayla Ruby: So you kind of mentioned it earlier, but there’s this really cool couple of scenes where you’re on a camel at the Pyramids. And first of all, it was just really cool looking, the two camels, the Pyramids in the back. Can you talk about that? What went into that? What was filming that like? Was that always in the script? How did that work?
Mido Hamada: Yes, it was always in the script. It was a dream come true. To be able to be at those locations in the first place is an amazing thing. Now, to be at the locations and to be able to shoot and to work there was incredible. And then working with camels, I have worked with camels before, but-
Ayla Ruby: Unlike your character.
Mido Hamada: Yeah, unlike my character, he did not like the camels. No. He had enough camels, he grew up around … He didn’t like it. But I had, I had a chance to be around them before. So it was great. And I got to know the people that work with them and look after them. It was also a really hot day. That’s what I really remember. So we decided that it would be a really good idea to shoot in Cairo in the middle of the summer when it’s like 40 plus.
Ayla Ruby: Oh gosh.
Mido Hamada: And we were-
Ayla Ruby: And in the costumes.
Mido Hamada: Yes, we’re in the costume and there’s no shade. There’s not a tree in sight. There’s nothing anywhere. But you’re completely exposed to the sun. Everything is reflecting off the sand and hitting you back. So that was actually really the biggest challenge was dealing with the heat. The best thing about it was that we all just looked at each other and it’s like, I think Mischa and I had that, and Stephen [Shimek] and I had it, we looked back at it, “Can you believe we’re here? Can you believe we’re doing this? We’re actually here. This is the real Pyramid right there. We’re standing right in front of it.” So that was something that really affected all of us. And we allowed the majestic place to affect us.
Ayla Ruby: That makes sense. So I was going to ask about what was challenging, but it sounds like the heat was the big challenge.
Mido Hamada: The heat was the big challenge. Not so much for me because I’m kind of used to it a little bit, but for everybody else it seemed to be a real issue. And you can’t underestimate it. It was really, really hot. And so you’ve got to make sure you’re hydrated. And we drank lots of water. Between each take you had to finish a bottle. So you had to really look after yourself because you can’t take that lightly because that sun is real.
Ayla Ruby: You mentioned that this is kind of like a period film. It’s kind of the first in the mystery genre that you’ve kind of gotten to play in. But you’ve done other period works, you’ve done Alexander, you’ve done Spy/Master, you’ve done a lot of really cool stuff. What’s your approach to, I guess, filming in history, if that makes sense?
Mido Hamada: Yeah, it’s my favorite thing is to time travel. I mean, I love modern day stuff, the guns, the cars, all that kind of stuff. But really the profession for me comes alive when I get the chance to time travel and get to know a little bit about what it would’ve been like to live during that time period and in that environment, whether it’s 1930s Cairo or something else. It’s a great opportunity to learn and to assimilate with something that I can’t assimilate with every other day, because it’s not here.
So that to me is actually why, for the most part, I do this. It’s my favorite thing to do is to be in a different time and to allow the time to affect me. And to see what it was like, what did people relate to each other? How do they speak to each other? Because if you watch the film, you realize the language is different than how you and I are talking right now and how we communicate. And people, they have a different air on how they communicate with each other during that. So it’s great to get to study that and to be part of that and to let it affect you.
Ayla Ruby: Fantastic. I know we’re pretty close on time, but I’d love to know, is there anything else you want people to know about the film or anything you’re kind of working on in the future or about yourself?
Mido Hamada: Yes, I think go and check it out. It’s a fantastic film. I can’t wait for you all to see it. No, I can’t really talk about what I’m doing right now, so I can’t do that. It sucks. It sucks when I can’t speak my mind.
Ayla Ruby: We’ll keep an eye out.
Mido Hamada: Yes, please do. Please do. But yes, catch anything else that I’ve done before, if you enjoy my work, please enjoy it.
Ayla Ruby: Fantastic. Well, thank you so much for chatting. Again, I really had fun with the film, so congrats.
Mido Hamada: Oh, brilliant. Thank you. Thank you. Much appreciated.
Murder at the Embassy is now in theaters and on demand.
Learn more about the film at the IMDB site for the title.
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