“Rami Malek has made history by becoming the first actor of Arab heritage to win the best actor Oscar, after taking the Academy Award for his performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.
“Remarkably, it’s a role he almost never played: Ali G and Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen was originally earmarked, before disagreements with Queen band members who were producing the project; another actor, Ben Whishaw, was named by Queen guitarist Brian May as his preferred choice, before Malek was asked.
“Malek told the Guardian that taking the role was a “kind of the gun-to-the-head moment”. “What do you do? … The scariest endeavours that I’ve chosen to take in my life have been the most fulfilling and rewarding. And this has proven to defend that equation.””
Read more at The Guardian
