He's known best for his award-winning role as the cute/creepy hacker in Mr. Robot, but now Rami Malek is hanging up his black hoodie to play one of the most iconic figures in music history - Freddy Mercury. Now, we get to see the first shot of Malek as Mercury, and the resemblance is either uncanny or that's some damn good makeup.
Rami Malek is Freddie Mercury in this 'Bohemian Rhapsody' first look: https://t.co/MEBDvQymdB pic.twitter.com/z7N5OCWHuK
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 6, 2017
Rami was just as surprised as the rest of us when he saw himself as Mercury. "When you’re able to open your eyes and see a different person staring back at you in the mirror," he said to Entertainment Weekly about his first time in hair and makeup. "It’s a very affirming moment."
It was announced earlier this year that the 36-year-old actor would take on the role as Queen's frontman for the biopic. Bohemian Rhapsody follows the band from its formation to the iconic performance at Live Aid in 1985. Six years after that performance, Mercury died of complications from AIDS.
Check out Queen's original Live Aid performance:
Bryan Singer, the producer of the film, has said that it is meant to be more of a profile on the contributions Freddy Mercury made to the world of music throughout the 70s and 80s. We can also expect a mix of both Malek and Mercury's voices throughout the film.
The project is currently in post-production, and it slated for Christmas Day 2018.