Rami Malek: How did Rami Malek prepare to play Queen frontman Freddie Mercury?

Rami Malek has reached a new level of stardom, but the actor has been around for a while. He got his start playing small roles in huge vehicles – he had a cameo in Gilmore Girls and also appeared in one of the Twilight movies. But it was in Mr Robot that he found acclaim, and now as Freddie Mercury, no one has any doubt of what Malek is capable of.

How did Rami Malek prepare to play Queen frontman Freddie Mercury?

In an interview with Screen Daily, Malek described the path to playing Mercury.

“I watched all the archive footage you could ever find and I keep searching for more because I’m even more of a fan than I’ve ever been.

“I really did look at him as a rock god, an icon for all of us. He did anything he wanted to do on stage.

“Just to capture that aspect of him was going to be a challenge. And I thought the only way to do it would be to have time.

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“If I had enough time, I was giving myself a fighting chance.”

To capture his essence Malek enlisted the help of movement coach Polly Bennett.

He said: “She was getting me to be as spontaneously Freddie as possible.

“To not mimic him in any way, or try to do an impersonation, so that I, in any moment, whether it be a straight scene or a concert, felt as though he was existing in my body, and it was all grounded in my physicality and my performance.”

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With movement also came dialect; Malek is from California, whereas Mercury was not.

His physical transformation into Mercury required wigs, extensive makeup, and a prosthetic nose.

And of course Mercury’s iconic teeth, which resulted in Malek’s needing to wear a false set.

He said: “I wore them every night, almost, for a year to get used to them.”

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Malek described feeling “incredibly insecure” wearing them, and as a result, compensating for the insecurity in his posture.

Malek added: “I thought, ‘Wow, what gorgeous posture Freddie had. Was he doing the same thing?’ I never really had an answer for that.”

Filming difficulties weren’t the only thing Malek had to contend with.

Bohemian Rhapsody was mired in controversy from go, and Malek had been relatively tight-lipped about the experience.

He told Screen Daily: “It was a very, very difficult, complicated time on set.

“All I wanted to do was honour this man and do him justice.”

Though critics have lauded Malek’s performance for doing just that, many critics disagree with the biopic’s inclusion in the best picture category.

Whether his performance is enough to get him the Oscar remains to be seen.

The 2019 Oscars will be air on Sky on February 25, 2019, at 1.30am GMT.

source: express.co.uk