Rami Malek Responds to 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Critics

Rami Malek shows off his muscles on the October cover of Attitude magazine’s October 2018 issue, which is now available in print and online editions.

In the magazine, the 37-year-old actor opens up about his highly anticipated role as Freddie Mercury in the upcoming Bohemian Rhapsody.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Rami Malek

On playing Freddie Mercury: “I was very self-aware from the onset that I was never going to portray Freddie Mercury as he was, with all of his idiosyncrasies, charisma. I will never exactly be this man. All I could do was make as strong of an attempt as possible to capture his essence. I just had to remove myself from that kind of ‘monkey on your back’ that you have to be Freddie Mercury. No one will ever be Freddie Mercury, there will only ever be one. I just wanted to possibly open up a window to what his story was all about.”

On criticism of the film’s first trailer: “It’s a shame that people are making remarks after a minute teaser where you just wanna see the music. It’s difficult. First, let me say that I don’t think the film shies away from his sexuality or his all-consuming disease, which is obviously Aids. I don’t know how you could avoid any of that, or if anyone would ever want to. It’s a bit absurd that anyone’s judging this from a minute trailer.”

On how AIDS/HIV is tackled in the film: “The film needed to approach it in a delicate manner. You can’t shy away from it. It was an important moment to have in the film, one that ultimately is very sad but also empowering in a way. It shows you just how resilient human beings can be and how much we rely on the strength of our friends and family to get us through tough times. This pandemic is still very much a horrific threat to so many people in the world. It exists as a reality for so many that I think it would be a shame not to address it.”

Bohemian Rhapsody hits theaters on November 2.

For more from Rami, head to Attitude.co.uk.