2018’sBohemian Rhapsodywas an incredibly polarizing musical biopic, but many can agree that Rami Malek knocked it out of the park with his portrayal of the late Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury — even though Malek wasn’t the one providing the vocals. The film follows a young Mercury, from his joining Queen in 1970 through to the band’s iconic performance at 1985’s Live Aid concert. A smash hit with audiences,Bohemian Rhapsodybroke box office records and grossed over $910 million worldwide (viaBox Office Mojo).
The movie was also an awards season darling, snapping up four out of five of its Oscar nominations, including a Best Actor win for Malek. However,Bohemian Rhapsodywasn’t without its detractors. Sitting at a barely-Fresh 60% onRotten Tomatoes, critics dinged it for being superficial, particularly with regards to its depiction of Mercury’s sexuality. Many pundits also criticized controversial Bryan Singer’s “messy” direction (Dexter Fletcher stepped in to finish the job after Singer was fired, though Singer retained sole directing credit due to DGA rules). However, almost everyone can universally agree that Malek gave a tour de force performance.
Marc Martel Provided Most Of Bohemian Rhapsody’s Freddie Mercury Vocals, Not Rami Malek
Vocal Stems From Queen Songs Were Also Used
Rami Malek can’t be accused of not givinghisBohemian Rhapsodyperformancehis all. To prepare for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, the actor enlisted a team of experts to help. He worked with a movement coach to nail Mercury’s dance moves and a dialect coach to perfect the singer’s accent (viaRolling Stone). Malek learned to speak with prosthetic teeth, and took acting and piano lessons.
However, while many will agree that Malek is all but Mercury’s doppelgänger in the stunning Live Aid sequence, he wasn’t able to nail the Queen frontman’s singing voice. Though bits of Malek’s actual voice were used in some musical numbers,most of Mercury’s vocals heard in the movie were an amalgamation of vocal stems from Queen recordings and the voice of Canadian Christian rock singer, Marc Martel. Martel has been performing Queen covers since 2011, as his voice sounds almost exactly like Mercury’s.Bohemian Rhapsodyproducer Graham King said of Martel:
Literally, you could close your eyes and it’s Freddie. And that’s a very tough thing to do.
Ultimately, this was the right call. It would have certainly added another layer of authenticity if Malek himself were able to recreate Mercury’s vocals, but the most important part is the performance, capturing the essence of who Mercury was as both a singer and a man. Malek was undeniably the perfect actor for the job.
Malek Wanted Bohemian Rhapsody To Dive Deeper Into Mercury’s Life
A More Well-Rounded Portrait May Have Satisfied Bohemian Rhapsody’s Detractors
While Freddie Mercury’s sexuality is discussed and explored in the 2018 film, perhaps thebiggest criticism ofBohemian Rhapsodyis how watered down the true story of Mercury’s personal life is. Many feel thatthe film spends too much time on his platonic relationship with his ex-girlfriend Mary Austin instead of exploring his romantic and sexual life in the gay community. Malek recognized as much, tellingVanity Fair,
The fact of the matter, that he would freely admit, was that one of Freddie Mercury’s hobbies was sex. He was very promiscuous.
The real Mary Austin approved theBohemian Rhapsodyscript.
Bohemian Rhapsodyis rated PG-13, and it’s this accessible rating that likely contributed to its massive financial success. More graphic sexual content may had netted it an R-rating. However, the criticisms of the film’s toning down Mercury’s queer life are valid, particularly as there’s really no depiction of real joy in the singer embracing his sexuality. His most significant romantic relationship with a man is with his toxic manager, Paul Prenter, and his gay experiences are conflated with his drug use. And interestingly,if Malek had his way,Bohemian Rhapsodywould have shown a more well-rounded, joyous side to Mercury:
He used to throw these elegant, gorgeous dinner parties for his friends, not a bunch of strangers as portrayed in the film. He didn’t even grow up Christian, but he would throw Christmas parties and have a gift for everyone. He loved entertaining and was so generous. I mean, you could portray every aspect of his life. The fact of the matter is we had two hours and the goal of this movie was to celebrate the man. If you wallow in certain elicit aspects of his life, you really lose out on the glory of who this authentic, defiant, revolutionary human being was and is.
If the film had gone in the direction Malek wanted, this may have gone a long way in assuaging its critics. However, the actor is right that biopics do have the unenviable task of taking a person’s entire life and paring it down to a palatable runtime. Though Mercury’s personal life storylines could have been more authentic and fully fleshed out, hopefully, Malek’s inspiring performance will encourage viewers to learn more about the iconic singer.
What Has Malek Been Up To Since Bohemian Rhapsody?
He Played A Bond Villain, Starred In A Best Picture-Winning Movie & Has Two Upcoming Projects
Rami Malek definitely didn’t slow down after his Oscar-winning turn inBohemian Rhapsody. Following the movie’s 2018 release, Malek appeared in the fourth and final season ofMr. Robot, the show that won him an Emmy for his performance as computer hacker Elliot Alderson. He also hosted an episode ofSaturday Night Livein 2021.
Chee-Chee (voice)
Nuremberg(TBD)
Douglas Kelley
The actor’s film career also continues to impress. He joined the pantheon of Bond villains when he played Lyutsifer Safin in 2021’sNo Time to Die, which also served as Daniel Craig’s last outing as 007. Malek also appeared in the starry ensemblecast of recent Best Picture winnerOppenheimer, as nuclear physicist David Hill. Clearly, playing real-life people is appealing to Malek, as he is set to portray psychologist Douglas Kelley in the upcoming historical dramaNuremberg(release date TBD). TheBohemian Rhapsodyactor will also star opposite Rachel Brosnahan in the 2025 espionage thriller,The Amateur.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Cast
Bohemian Rhapsody tells the story of the band Queen and their iconic frontman Freddy Mercury (Rami Malek). A biographical musical drama, Bohemian Rhapsody follows the meteoric rise of Queen from their formation in 1970 and chronicles some of the creative and personal differences that the band was forced to overcome to achieve global success.
