Rami Malek talks “immense responsibility” of playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody

Actor Rami Malek has talked about the “immense responsibility” of playing the role of Freddie Mercury in the new Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

The film will receive its world premiere at London’s SSE Arena Wembley on October 23, with Malek joined in the cast by Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Joe Mazzello as John Deacon and Lucy Boynton as Mary Austin.

The new trailer for the “foot-stomping celebration of Queen” features interviews with some of the cast, producer Graham King and Polly Bennett, who coached Malek on how best to portray the iconic frontman.

Malek says: “One of the first times I heard about this was the producer calling me on the phone and asking if I’d come to Los Angeles. He was considering me for this role of Freddie Mercury.

“When you set out to play Freddie you think, ‘How am I ever going to fill those shoes?’ It’s an immense responsibility but one that I was very eager to take on.

“You don’t want to mimic Freddie – you want to be able to understand why he did what he did.”

Producer King adds: “He came in and I was like, ‘Woah! This is Freddie.’ And he wasn’t just acting – it was something that came natural to him.”

Watch the full trailer below.

Queen will release the official soundtrack to the film on October 19.

The 22-track collection will feature previously unreleased audio from the band’s celebrated Live Aid performance in 1985, new versions of old favourites and a selection of songs from the band’s back catalogue.

It's now available to pre-order.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack
1. 20th Century Fox Fanfare
2. Somebody To Love
3. Doing All Right... revisited (Performed by Smile)
4. Keep Yourself Alive (Live At The Rainbow)
5. Killer Queen
6. Fat Bottomed Girls (Live In Paris)
7. Bohemian Rhapsody
8. Now I'm Here (Live At Hammersmith Odeon)
9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
10. Love Of My Life (Rock In Rio)
11. We Will Rock You (Movie Mix)
12. Another One Bites The Dust
13. I Want To Break Free
14. Under Pressure (Performed by Queen & David Bowie)
15. Who Wants To Live Forever
16. Bohemian Rhapsody (Live Aid)
17. Radio Ga Ga (Live Aid)
18. Ay-Oh (Live Aid)
19. Hammer To Fall (Live Aid)
20. We Are The Champions (Live Aid)
21. Don't Stop Me Now… revisited
22. The Show Must Go On

Artists

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.