Rami Malek, 35, will be starring as Freddie Mercury in the upcoming biopic, appropriately titled “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The “Mr Robot” actor spoke about it with Stephen Colbert on the “Late Show” on Monday, saying that by playing the role, he might have his “Beyoncé moment.”
Abbey Road audition for Rami Malek
Malek spoke about having to meet Roger Taylor and Brian May, two of the original members of Queen, to discuss his role, as they will be the music producers for the biopic.
He was set to meet them at Abbey Road Studios in London and said as he crossed the street, he suddenly realized he was on the iconic crosswalk used by the Beatles as their “Abbey Road” album cover. It was then that the impact of what he was doing hit him. He asked himself what on Earth was happening to him right now?
Freddie Mercury photo inspired Rami Malek
As he ran up the four flights of stairs to the studio, he noted all the photos of various famous bands on the way, including an autographed photo of Queen. Suddenly he saw Freddie Mercury looking out at him from one of the photos. He said Mercury seemed to be telling him, “Don’t do this.” While he said seeing the photo was inspiring, the look on Freddie’s face told him to not "f*** this up."
Malek explained to Colbert that he had sent them an audition tape for the role and when he went to meet them, he assumed they had watched it.
It turned out they hadn’t downloaded the tape properly, so he had to sit and watch them watch him for the first time. He added that there was “No pressure.”
The interview ended with Colbert mentioning that Malek had tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, but only one post – that of the two of them posing when Rami -- was last on the show. The pair then proceeded to make a second post to Instagram. Readers can watch the "Late Show" interview in the video below.
According to a report by Entertainment Weekly, it wasn’t easy finding the right actor to play the role of Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Sacha Baron Cohen was reportedly first picked to play the role in 2010, but he broke with GK Films due to creative differences.
According to The Record, May had recently hinted that the biopic, which has been in development for around eight years, is almost complete and is set to be released in 2018. May also teased that the band could be set to tour the UK after they complete their North American tour with Adam Lambert, who now stands in for Mercury. May said the band will be in the U.S. for most of the summer and will probably be back in the U.K. at the end of the year.
Freddie Mercury was the iconic voice of Queen up until he passed away at the age of 45 back in 1991, due to complications caused by AIDS.