Taking a page out of someone else’s book. Following Rami Malek‘s extremely well-received role as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, the actor is taking on a whole new challenge: the role of Safin, the villain in the upcoming James Bond movie, No Time To Die. Despite a very different character, the 38-year-old is taking certain things from the Queen frontman.
“If I went in there and tried to make a carbon copy of someone, what joy or fun would that be for anybody? I guess that may be a lesson I learned from Mr. Mercury. If it’s not original, then why bother?” the Mr. Robot star, 38, revealed in the latest issue of Empire magazine. “I’ve pocketed some things from some of my favorites. But I tried to every day imbue this character with something I thought made sense for the character, but might also at the same time be shocking and unnerving.”
Additionally, Malek worked with dialogue coach William Conacher, who he also worked with on Bohemian Rhapsody, to create the perfect voice for the villain that would be taking on Daniel Craig‘s Bond.
“I wanted to create something that we couldn’t quite peg from any particular part of the world,” he shared.
The film will be last with Craig, 51, in the leading role. He previously starred in previously starred Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015).
“It was there before me and it’s certainly going to be there after me,” he told Empire. “It may be that the slate is wiped clean and they begin again. That’s what happened with me. But I’m not worried. It’ll be a new person, and that’ll be exciting.”
While it hasn’t yet been revealed who will take over the iconic role, Idris Elba has been in talks for the role for years. “James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character, that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey,” The Wire star, 47, told Vanity Fair magazine in June. “Of course, if someone said to me, ‘Do you want to play James Bond?,’ I’d be like, ‘Yeah! That’s fascinating to me.’ But it’s not something I’ve expressed, like, ‘Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond.'”
No Time To Die hits theaters in April 2020.
