Fan favorite Egyptian actor Rami Malek has been invited to join the Oscars Jury Committee.
The "Mr. Robot" star has been chosen to serve on the panel of experts who get to pick the Academy Award winners, becoming one of the first Egyptians to take on a position in the jury.
Malek is among 774 people from 57 countries, including several prominent Arabs in the film industry, to be invited to the jury.
Malek, 36, who was born in the United States to Egyptian parents, was invited to join the big leagues at the Oscars and take part in the voting process during the upcoming Academy Awards in 2018.
The actor is known for taking on the lead role in the critically acclaimed USA Network television series "Mr. Robot," for which he has won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He has also been nominated for the Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and TCA Awards.
Malek is not the only Egyptian, nor the only Arab, to be selected to join the jury. If he accepts the Academy's invitation, he will be joined by renowned film writer and director, compatriot Mohamed Diab, as well as Egyptian-French documentary writer, director and producer Jihan El-Tahri.
Diab's work, which often centers on pressing issues in Egyptian society, has made it to international screens and won several international awards.
He has >captured international attention with his film "Eshtebak" ("Clash"), which was viewed at the> Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, winning the Arab Critics Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay.
Meanwhile, El-Tahri has worked as a news correspondent and producer with international media outlets like U.S. News, Reuters, and BBC. In 1992, she filmed Osama bin Laden's training camps in Sudan.
Several Arabs were invited to the jury
Seeking to diversify its composition, the Academy has bumped up the number of people of color in its rank from 11 to 13 percent, according to the >Washington Post.
Apart from Malik, Diab and El-Tahri, several prominent Arabs in the film industry were invited to join the committee.
Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch and his compatriot Khadija Alami, a producer and production manager, were selected for the jury, along with Algerian film director and screenwriter Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina and Syrian documentary film director Diana El-Jeiroudi, Arab News reported.