Rami Malek rocked his way to Best Actor Oscar glory for his exuberant portrayal of Queen's frontman Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody at the 91st Academy Awards
Rami Malek. Pic/AFP
In a tightly fought race, Rami Malek was pitted against industry veterans - Christian Bale for Vice, Bradley Cooper for A Star is Born, Viggo Mortensen for Green Book and Willem Dafoe At Eternity's Gate. Academy members love physical transformation and Malek was at his peak when he brought to life one of the greatest musicians ever, eclipsing the metamorphosis by Bale, who gained a considerable amount of weight to play former US vice president Dick Cheney.
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Malek brought a heartbreaking vulnerability to Mercury in the quieter moments of the biopic while keeping the audiences spellbound in the bits when he was performing. He was especially memorable in the last 15-minutes of the film as he recreated Mercury's Live Aid concert, considered one of the best rock performances of all time.
The role was earlier supposed to be done by Sasha Baron Cohen, but he left the project due to creative differences with Queen members, giving Malek a chance to step in and he alluded to this fact in his acceptance speech where he paid touching tributes to his immigrant parents and Mercury.
Malek, in one of the most emotional and heartfelt speeches of the ceremony, said the moment was "monumental" for him.
"I may not have been the obvious choice, but I guess it worked out. Thank you Queen for allowing me to be the tiniest part of your phenomenal, extraordinary legacy. I am forever in your debt," he said in his acceptance speech.
Malek said being the son of immigrants from Egypt, he understood how important they are in a country's history. "I am first generation American, and part of my story is being written right now. I could not be more grateful to each an every one of you who believed in me for this moment. It is something I will treasure for the rest of my life," he said. He also thanked his co-star, girlfriend Lucy Boynton, calling her the heart of the film.
Speaking to PTI about the challenges of playing Mercury in November last year ahead of the film's India release, Malek had said it was a challenging task for him to do justice to Mercury's portrayal.
Malek said his aim was to not only honour Mercury's legacy but also reintroduce him to a new generation. "It was difficult to play Freddie, a challenge I would not wish on anyone. But it was a story worth telling. When you think about Freddie, you think about someone who was almost superhuman. He defied what we consider mortal humans to be capable of," Malek had told PTI.
The actor, who burst on the international scene with his performance as a hallucinating hacker in TV show Mr Robot, is looking ahead at a great career in Hollywood after bringing home his first golden knight.
Also read: Oscars 2019 live updates: Complete list of winners
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