Whoa, Rami Malek looks a whole lot like legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. The “Mr. Robot” star headlines Bryan Singer’s upcoming biopic, and the first image of the actor in character should inspire confidence.
The first-look photo from “Bohemian Rhapsody,” released by Entertainment Weekly (below), shows Malek on stage sporting Mercury’s signature mustache and the outfit from his iconic performance at Live Aid in 1985. And yes, that is, indeed, Malek — who appears the spitting image of the late rock star in the pic:
“When you’re able to open your eyes and see a different person staring back at you in the mirror,” Malek told EW, “it’s a very affirming moment.”
The movie will follow Queen from the band’s inception in 1970, when Mercury teamed with Brian May and Roger Taylor, until that famous 1985 performance.
He also revealed that he will be doing some singing himself in the film, with a mixture of Malek’s voice, recordings of Mercury and a vocal stand-in being used for the movie’s musical elements.
“We’re going to use Freddie as much as possible and use myself as much as possible,” he said.”I’m in Abbey Road [Studios] right now if that should say anything to you. I’m not working on my acting.”
Malek joined the long-gestating project from producer Graham King of GK Films last November, following Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Whishaw, who had both previously been attached to play Mercury.
If you’re not yet convinced of Malek’s resemblance, just compare his pic to ones of the real Mercury here:
People on Twitter seem to agree — Malek looks the part. Survey reactions here:
https://twitter.com/slutsnguts/status/905171988758622209
Oh my god this picture of @ItsRamiMalek as Freddie Mercury is amazing in every single way pic.twitter.com/l3KnIH9aX5
— jvlfilms (@jvlfilms) September 5, 2017
Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury is a wet dream come true. pic.twitter.com/KWUmjljHmQ
— Patrick Crowley (@pcrowl) September 5, 2017
I can’t get over how amazing @ItsRamiMalek looks as Freddie Mercury here: https://t.co/rO4zJR2tyP pic.twitter.com/D7WawgqtMA
— Jessica Derschowitz (@jessicasara) September 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/kpfallon/status/905161917265842176