Rami Malek Opens up About Playing Freddie Mercury

The actor was initially skeptical of joining 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'

Rami Malek attends the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Grants Banquet held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 9, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.  (Photo by Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
Rami Malek attends the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Grants Banquet held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 9, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
FilmMagic

Rami Malek has taken on the role of a lifetime, and The New York Times sat down with the man who plays Freddie Mercury in this fall’s Bohemian Rhapsody. For Malek, playing Mercury was an endlessly involving and taxing process that saw some of the Queen frontman’s personality bleed into Malek’s own.

Malek, who gained fame and critical acclaim for his leading role in Mr. Robot, initially demurred at the notion of playing Mercury. As Malek told the Times about his thinking, “Why would you want to alter anyone’s perception of their hero?” Malek got past that inhibition by taking Mercury as seriously as he could, studying with dialect and movement coaches, and even practicing his lines wearing a model of Mercury’s teeth.

The actor, surprisingly, identifies Mercury as a guarded, private person. In studying Mercury, Malek discovered that the rock star rarely gave away more information than was absolutely necessary. “It’s nice to be able to own privacy, some bit of anonymity,” Malek told The New York Times. “That’s a Freddie thing.”

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