Under pressure? If Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) is feeling the weight of portraying Freddie Mercury, one of the greatest singer-songwriters to ever walk the face of the planet, then it doesn’t show.
One week on from that stunning reveal of Malek in costume as Queen’s lead singer, and we now have some behind-the-scenes footage from Bohemian Rhapsody that shows the 36-year-old recreate Mercury’s memorable performance at Live Aid. Sporting that signature white vest and blue jeans ensemble, the attention to detail here is uncanny. Freddie Mercury was always known and loved for his flamboyant stage persona, and that’s something Rami Malek recreates almost perfectly up above, jogging onto the faux stage and gesturing to the crowd, before sitting next to the grand piano.
Directed by Bryan Singer, we know Bohemian Rhapsody unfolds across a “15-year period, starting in 1970 when Mercury met his bandmates, up through their legendary Live Aid performance in 1985.”
Behind the scenes, and in order to ensure absolute authenticity, Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor are on board as music producers, with Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything) on script duties. And though Malek will no doubt steal all the headlines as Freddie – not unlike Mercury himself all those years ago – Bohemian Rhapsody also stars Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Joe Mazzello as John Deacon and Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor.
Originally earmarked for Sacha Baron Cohen, it’s fair to say that Rami Malek is beginning to win over the naysayers with his portrayal of the great Freddie Mercury, and we simply can’t wait to clock eyes on some official footage.
Looking further afield, Bohemian Rhapsody is currently penciled in for release on December 25th, 2018, placing it in the same vicinity of James Wan’s Aquaman pic.
