believed that it 'could be problematic' to play a gay man in his new drama after portraying in an Oscar-winning role eight years earlier.
Showbiz
Rami Maleks Concerns Over Playing Gay Role
Rami Malek believed that it 'could be problematic' to play a gay man in his new drama after portraying Freddie Mercury in an Oscar-winning role eight years earl...
Advertisement
The 45-year-old actor, whose at the on Wednesday, got candid about his reservations to initially play the leading part in the movie at a press conference.
Malek Mercury passed away in 1991 at the age of 45 from complications amid his AIDS battle.
In his latest project, which was directed by Ira Sachs, the star plays a man named Jimmy George in 1980s New York who is also facing a battle with AIDS.
Advertisement
'When I read the script, I said, "I can't do this. There's too many similarities. It could be problematic,"' he admitted on Thursday, per Variety.
Despite having 'a certain sense of fear,' Malek began to question what he had been 'afraid of.'
Rami Malek, 45, believed that it 'could be problematic' to play a gay man in his new drama after portraying Freddie Mercury in an Oscar-winning role eight years earlier; seen earlier this month in Cannes
'When I read the script, I said, "I can't do this. There's too many similarities. It could be problematic,"' he admitted on Thursday, per Variety
Advertisement
'Was it the similarities? Was it the singing? Was it what was going on in the period?' the star had asked himself.
Malek revealed that after playing Mercury in the past, he had learned from the late singer to 'address the fear.'
'He is such a unique filmmaker with a very, very specific perspective and voice that I wish more people were aware of,' the actor told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month; seen on Thursday in Cannes
Sachs further reflected on his film after the premiere by saying, 'This is a film about what we can bring to each other through art, through love, through pain, through memory.
'And I hope there are some memories we share from this evening for the festival and our love of cinema.'
The cast of the drama also includes Tom Sturridge, Luther Ford, Rebecca Hall and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
The premise is: 'In 1980s NYC, an artist experiences a precious window between sickness and mortality - a time when beauty and love remain within reach,' per IMDB.
Back in 2019, Malek won the Academy Award for Best Actor based on his performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
'The scariest endeavors that I've chosen to take in my life have been the most fulfilling and rewarding,' he told The Guardian when it came to portraying the late singer
Back in 2019, Malek won the Academy Award for Best Actor based on his performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).
'The scariest endeavors that I've chosen to take in my life have been the most fulfilling and rewarding,' he told The Guardian when it came to portraying the late singer.
'And this has proven to defend that equation,' the actor continued to the outlet.
Malek's other recent projects include the action thriller The Amateur (2025) and psychological historical drama Nuremberg (2025).
Advertisement
Advertisement