Rami Malek looks so much like Freddie Mercury “it’s frightening”

Jimmy Kimmel invited Rami Malek, who stars as Freddie Mercury in the upcoming film Bohemian Rhapsody, to his show. Kimmel opened with a prediction for the future, saying, “A number of our producers saw your film … and they are convinced you will get an Oscar nomination for playing Freddie Mercury.”

Malek “looks so much like Freddie Mercury in the first teaser trailer for biopic Bohemian Rhapsody it’s very, very frightening,” says Twentieth Century Fox in a publicity release. The movie opens November 2.

While not tossing aside mention of an Oscar, Malek said, “The greatest honor in playing someone like Freddie Mercury is getting the acceptance of the legendary band mates Brian May and Roger Taylor. But the Oscar’s big, no doubt about it.”

Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet.

The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. They reach unparalleled success, but in an unexpected turn Freddie, surrounded by darker influences, shuns Queen in pursuit of his solo career.

Kimmel asked Malek how he got the role. Malek said, “Our producers Graham King and Denis O’Sullivan saw me in Mr. Robot, of all things. I think a lot of it had to do with the jawline, because he does have a very austere jawline.”

Having suffered greatly without the collaboration of Queen, Freddie manages to reunite with his band mates just in time for Live Aid. While bravely facing a recent AIDS diagnosis, Freddie leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. Queen cements a legacy that continues to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.

“The first day, what’s nuts about it is we shot the most iconic performance in rock history – Queen playing at Live Aid - on day one,” Malek related. “Our first shot was the four of us coming out on to Wembley stadium stage as the members of Queen.”

They had to recreate Wembley stadium for the shot. They performed before a live audience that included the surviving members of Queen. There were over 70,000 people in the audience at the concert in 1985.

Besides Malek as Mercury, the film also stars Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor and Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon.

Copyright The Gayly – September 5, 2018 @ 3:40 p.m. CDT.