Rami Malek

Rami Malek

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Mr. Robot star channels Freddie Mercury with style in Bohemian Rhapsody.

BY ANTHONY D’ALESSANDRO

WHEN SACHA BARON COHEN LEFT THE FREDDIE MERCURY biopic back in 2013, it was hard to imagine another chameleon who could step into the skin of the flamboyant 1970s-’80s musical genius. Then came Mr. Robot star Rami Malek who went from playing a paranoid introvert on the USA series, to portraying one of the rock world’s loudest gamechanging extroverts in Bohemian Rhapsody. Stepping into the shoes of a recent celebrity is one of the most daunting assignments an actor can face. But after extensive physical and psychological prep, Malek fit the part of Mercury like a glove.

How did the role of Freddie Mercury come to your attention? Were you tracking it?

I wasn’t. I was unaware of it. I believe I was flying to Los Angeles to do press for Mr.Robot, and quite honestly, it was an opportune time. I sat down with [producer] GrahamKing and [executive producer] DenisO’Sullivan for six hours in Santa Monica. Ido feel like, going into the meeting, I knew what the subject at hand was going to be. Denis had seen me in Mr. Robot and brought it to Graham’s attention. From there, howI’d be the right choice for Freddie Mercury is beyond me. When I sat down with them I refused to fall into the trap that most actors do where they overcompensate. “Listen, I’m not a singer, I don’t play the piano. I think I’d be able to figure out his moves, but even that might be a question,” I told them.

So, how did you transform into Freddie?

I just stopped everything. I put everything on the back burner. The film was not officially green lit, we didn’t have a studio backing us yet. Graham had faith in me. He told me that the studios were going to need to see something. So I put myself on tape doing interviews as Freddie Mercury. That’s when it all started in some immediate connection .I couldn’t tell you what it was; there was a state of confidence I conjured, having to emotionalize him in a short period of time.

I went off what I heard [in Mercury] and I sent it off. I was told it would not be shared, only among a few people. I would be naïve to believe that. I’m pretty sure every studio saw the tape.

What wisdom did Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor impart to you in preparing for your role?

We would go to dinner. They were absolutely essential to me. Surviving this, even coming close to this, that I was even capable of making this dream a reality. They are beyond classy; they are so sophisticated and elegant and smart, two really brilliant human beings who allowed me to tell the story of their dearest, closest friend for the first time.

I got to audition a choreographer for the film. In regards to who I’d mesh with the best, I needed a movement teacher, and to be spontaneous. I never wanted anything to feel overly rehearsed or planned. As Freddie would say, “If it’s planned, it’s boring.”There’s a danger of mimicry or imitation and I wanted to make sure that every moment was combusting spontaneously on stage or in a scene. Polly Bennett helped me .

William Conacher was my dialect coach. We’d listen to Freddie’s mother speak, there was a good Gujarati accent that was under his RP, his received pronunciation ,because he went to British boarding school in India.

Jan Sewell found a way to get me to look as physically close to Freddie; it took two hours a day in hair and make-up. It truly took an army to create Freddie. During wardrobe and costume fittings, I felt that I could be my most audacious and liberated in finding the flamboyant side of him. I wanted to try things on for the purpose of being opulent or audacious. I thought about what he would choose, and how he wanted them to flow in concert, and how they shaped his body.I also spoke with his sister Kashmira. It’s their demeanor that alters when they speak about their dear friend and brother, that’s what I gathered the most; the impact and effect he had on them and the world over. He’s an iconic, defiant figure. He never hid who he was, but didn’t want to become a poster child for anyone’s causes.

After Sacha Baron Cohen pulled away from the project back in 2013, what was important for Brian May, Roger Taylor and JimBeach in seeing the realization of Freddie Mercury on the big screen?

I have no idea what came before me, but I had one obligation and that was to get this right.There was no time for any type of interference.One thing I know is that they never wanted to show a hedonistic, salacious, gratuitous side of his life. They wanted to see every aspect of who the man was, the highs and lows. You don’t want to overshadow what a magical human being he was in such sadness. The main goal for Brian and Roger was that they wanted his story structured more triumphantly than tragically.

What were the specific takeaways from all the research you did on Freddie Mercury?

It was difficult as I could hear as many stories as possible. I looked at all the archival footage and listened to all the radio interviews. I thought they were the most candid. You could hear how he’s communicating with a server at a restaurant and asking for a vodka tonic. I made a diary of all the lyrics of the songs he wrote, so that I could understand what he was embroiled with, what he was so desperate to share. There’s a poet of great stature and beauty in his lyrics and I beg anyone to print those lyrics and tell me if they are not comparable to the voice itself. I wrote out all his lyrics, which became a diary, because if you’re writing something that you want to sing and repeat over and over; I don’t think that’s going to be a lie as a human being.

For God’s sake, think about “Find Me Somebody to Love” or the song “You Take My BreathAway”: “Every breath that you take/Any sound that you make/Is a whisper in my ear.” I challenge anyone to say that these are not the message sand lyrics he was confounded by, searching for throughout his life. ★