After he won the Best Lead Actor awards at the BAFTAs, the Golden Globes, and the SAG Awards, is it any real shock that Rami Malek was destined for Oscar gold? In a surprise to absolutely no one, not even Bryan Singer’s controversies could derail Malek’s destiny to win the 2019 award for Best Actor, courtesy of his flashy role in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” at this year’s Oscars.
In a film that is nothing short of a box office phenomenon and is generally regarded as a mediocre biopic, anchored by incredible music, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was further elevated by Malek’s performance. His role as the legendary musician Freddie Mercury was tailor-made for the Oscars. Malek played an iconic real-life figure. And he went through a true “wigs and teeth” transformation, in a performance that touches all the social issues that Academy voters love.
Of course, even though it sounds like we’re being a tad bit reductive, let’s not mince words – Malek gave a truly great performance in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” And while fellow nominees Christian Bale also went through a physical transformation to play a historical figure in “Vice” and Bradley Cooper became a musician and heartthrob for “A Star is Born,” Malek combined it all for his ‘Rhapsody’ work. And the thin line between so-so biopic and expensive Queen’s Greatest Hits commercial would have completely been obliterated if it wasn’t for the actor.
Malek has previously been a big-time awards recipient thanks to his work on the USA Network thriller “Mr. Robot,” where the actor earned an Emmy, among a bunch of other hardware. Despite his success on TV, the actor hasn’t really been able to transition to major film work, even though he’s tried. His 2017 film “Papillon” wasn’t very well regarded, and most of his previous work was decidedly small-scale, such as “Buster’s Mal Heart.”
Now, with Oscar gold and a worldwide smash film, the big screen outlook for Malek is definitely brighter than it has ever been before.
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