Rami Malek landed the part of Freddie Mercury after confessing that he can’t sing.
When it comes to casting a legendary role in what will shape up to be one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, you would think that a lot of checkboxes would need to be filled. For starters, you want someone who can act, someone who has the image and to come across as a convincing Freddie Mercury, you would think you would want a sensational singer… which Rami Malek was not.
Funnily enough, producer Graham King was able to see past Malek’s confession that he could not sing and cast him for the role anyway.
“We sat down for a six-hour meeting and he’d really only seen me in Mr. Robot, where I played this profoundly alienated, socially anxious human being who’s a pretty far cry from Freddie Mercury,” Malek recalled to Deadline.
He then confessed: “Graham saw something in me with Dennis O’Sullivan, and gave me a shot. I said, ‘listen, I’m not a singer. I don’t play the piano. I move in a very interesting way on a dancefloor – I don’t know if I’d call it rhythm.’
“But somehow, I just said, ‘if I have the time, I can get there. If you help me out with the things I need’.”
In the end, King’s faith definitely paid off. Malek gave an astonishing performance in Bohemian Rhapsody and is already a favorite to win an Oscar next year.
