Rami Malek reveals how Freddie Mercury inspired his 'No Time To Die' Bond villain

2 January 2020, 09:59

Rami Malek won a legion of fans thanks to his incredible portrayal of Freddie Mercury, and he has continued to be inspired by the legendary Queen frontman.

Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami has explained how the experience of playing Freddie in the musical biopic influenced his upcoming role in No Time To Die.

The Oscar-winning actor will play the villainous character Safin in the next James Bond movie, which will also mark Daniel Craig’s final appearance as the British spy.

Read more: No Time To Die trailer, plot, cast and all you need to know

Speaking about taking on the role, Rami explained that he learnt how to avoid being a “carbon copy” when preparing to play Freddie Mercury.

“If I went in there and tried to make a carbon copy of someone, what joy or fun would that be for anybody? I guess that may be a lesson I learned from Mr Mercury,” he told Empire.

“If it’s not original, then why bother? I’ve pocketed some things from some of my favourites. But I tried to every day imbue this character with something I thought made sense for the character, but might also at the same time be shocking and unnerving.”

Rami also revealed how he worked again with his Bohemian Rhapsody voice coach to perfect his accent for the Bond villain: “I wanted to create something that we couldn’t quite peg from any particular part of the world."

No Time To Die will arrive at cinemas on April 2, and is directed by Cory Joji Fukunaga.