Ramy Youssef was born in March of 1991 to Egyptian Muslim immigrants and raised in suburban New Jersey.
And while the character he plays inRamyis somewhat lacking in direction, Youssef was not that way at all.
In fact, he began making films as a teen and enrolled in a production class in high school.
“I’ve been making things since I was 16,” he toldHemispheres Magazinein April 2020.
“I’ve always been the kid with a camera.”
Right away, Youssef learned to appreciate the instant gratification he got while delivering jokes to a live audience.
“They knew I was making stuff and they were always really supportive.
It wasn’t ‘don’t do it,’ it was, ‘Ah, man, that’s great.
It sucks that you’re going to have to stop doing it and make money.’
That was always the attitude.
“I was going to say it anyway,” he assured reporters after the monumental moment.
“He saw the way that he did business and I think my dad enjoyed working for him.
I don’t know that my dad saw all of the things that we now see.
My dad started working at that hotel very shortly after he got his citizenship.
“I know I have solace in spiritual connection.
What a moment like this does is make your brain so loud.
You could read every article.
You could listen to every podcast.
So in my spiritual practice it’s like, how do I get quiet?
How do I get to a place where I can just turn that off and have faith?”
he explained toThe New York Times.
“A lot of things are illogical!”
So why couldn’t Moses part the sea?”
