Rami Malek believes his character in “The Amateur” stands apart from the typical espionage thriller protagonist.

“He’s extremely different. Usually, we see someone who would be difficult to necessarily relate to personally for the majority of us, whereas I think we can see a lot of ourselves in Charlie,” Malek told Variety at the film’s New York premiere. “Many of us, just day to day, probably feel overlooked and underestimated at some point. I know I have in the past; I can imagine 99.9% of us have. That’s who Charlie is.”

Based on Robert Littell’s 1981 novel of the same name, “The Amateur” follows Charles “Charlie” Heller (Malek), a CIA cryptographer who embarks on a personal mission to seek revenge on his wife’s (Rachel Brosnahan) killers. “He’s one of those guys who feels like he’s on the outskirts of society — an outcast,” Malek added. “I...