OREANDA-NEWS.The actor refused the role of the villain, not because he wanted a higher fee or joint scenes with Daniel Craig, but because he did not want to play the role of an Arab terrorist. 

Malek has Egyptian roots, and he is proud of his origin, so the role of the Arab terrorist, which he had to play in the new picture, turned out to be unacceptable for him. He discussed in advance with the director that he agreed to appear as an antagonist of James Bond, provided that his character would not have religious preferences.