Rami Malek: On becoming Freddie Mercury for 'Bohemian Rhapsody'

Rami Malek, star of acclaimed television series Mr Robot, got the opportunity of his life when he bagged the role of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. The movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, is out now and Malek's take on playing one of the most iconic rockstars of all time is being lauded by critics and audiences alike. The 37-year-old moves like lightning in the scenes in which the band is playing live concerts. At the same time, Malek's gaze does most of the talking when reel life Freddie is dealing with the demons of his personal life. It is difficult to be as alive as Freddie Mercury in front of a live audience, but Malek does justice to the daunting responsibility give to him. Here, he explains what it was like getting under the skin of his character...

What was your initial reaction when they asked you to play Freddie Mercury?

At first, it was a shock. As an actor, I don’t think there’s ever this law of depreciating excitement when things like this happen in your career – especially when you are being
asked to play Freddie Mercury – so it’s a moment that halts you in your tracks and it is at once euphoric and thrilling and then there’s a hit of the magnitude and of the weight you have to take on with this legendary man who lives in the hearts of so many people and is revered as being one of the most talented artists of anyone’s generation. So you can imagine the immense weight of that. Now there’s also some ambitious part of me that gets wildly excited and starts thinking about how to begin to inhabit this unique and magnificent creature.

How did you prepare for the role?

I began to look through the songs that Freddie wrote and look for the themes that underlined every track, so that through the songs I could understand the man. My thinking was that if you are going to write something so passionately you are going to draw on some deep emotions.

There’s also a physical transformation on screen. Was this physicality also a way into finding him?

It gives me chills just thinking about it because he is exactly that, he transforms. It’s always Freddie but there are different versions of him, which I think is beautiful. It’s not like he’s hiding anything, it’s not Jekyll and Hyde, they are all him. It’s who he wants to be in the given moment and the given situation, which I find so endearing. I saw one interview where he said ‘on stage, I can be the macho man that everybody wants me to be.’ And I think you see that in the 80s, this performer who throws his fists in the air and holds the crowd with the raising of one arm. Whereas in his younger days he was very fluid and erratic when he was trying to find himself and there was more of a whispy-ness to him. So I started to identify that and worked on the progression of the character in that way. What was incredibly useful was when I started to find a team of people who were going to help me assemble him, essentially.

When did Brian May and Roger Taylor first hear you sing as Freddie? And what was their reaction?

That was an earth-shattering experience. It was quite funny because I went to Abbey Road to record everything, which was a completely unforgettable moment.  It is the holy grail of recording studios and it’s full of photographs of the legends that have recorded there and it’s incredibly inspiring. On my last day, when we got to go back and do a little more recording, I got to play a little bit on the piano that The Beatles used. It was incredible. This film has run the gamut of emotions for me but the highs have been higher than any you could hope for. Sharing what I got to record, which is a tape of me emulating Freddie, with Brian and Roger was quite a moment. I thought they had seen it before they showed up at Abbey Road and halfway through our conversation I Realized they hadn’t. And so I had to watch myself, interpreting Freddie for the first time standing between two of the people who know him better than anyone. You can imagine how intimidating that was. 

What did Brian and Roger say to you?

Roger was characteristically cool and reserved and Brian, who I have noticed had been eying me up and down came out with such a compliment that I was quite moved by. I had put all of myself into preparing for this and trying to do this person justice that getting that acceptance from them was inspiring and propelling.

What’s your favourite Queen song?

You know it’s too difficult to pick a favourite, but I do really love Brian’s 'Hammer to Fall'(from Queen’s album The Works). That’s a great song. But for me, it would be like picking a favourite child. They are all going to last for a long, long time.