Is this the real life, is this just fantasy? Rami Malek looks just like late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the first photo from the upcoming biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Entertainment Weekly published the first look on Tuesday, September 5, which would have been the singer’s 71st birthday. He died at the age of 45 in November 1991 of bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.
Exclusive: @ItsRamiMalek is #FreddieMercury in this 'Bohemian Rhapsody' first look: https://t.co/xfpQKXgVNZ pic.twitter.com/cplCnggZtW
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 5, 2017
Bohemian Rhapsody, which is named after Queen’s iconic 1975 hit, chronicles the British band from 1970 to 1985. In the first photo, Malek, 36, channels Mercury’s look from Queen’s performance at the 1985 benefit concert Live Aid.
“When you’re able to open your eyes and see a different person staring back at you in the mirror, it’s a very affirming moment,” the Mr. Robot star told EW of the first time he saw himself in hair and makeup. Resembling the flamboyant musician “only adds to the level of confidence that one would need to play Freddie Mercury,” he added.
The movie will feature Malek’s own singing voice, recordings of Mercury and a soundalike. “We’re going to use Freddie as much as possible and use myself as much as possible,” Malek said. “I’m in Abbey Road [Studios] right now if that should say anything to you. I’m not working on my acting.”
Bohemian Rhapsody, which is directed by Bryan Singer, hits theaters on December 25, 2018.
