Did Rami Malek Sing As Freddie Mercury In Bohemian Rhapsody?

In the realm of music biopics, one simply doesn't get bigger than "Bohemian Rhapsody." Frankly, it's not even close. The film about the story of the band Queen, focused largely on the late lead singer Freddie Mercury, is one of the biggest movies ever made that isn't part of a major franchise. Taking in $910 million at the global box office, it became a straight-up sensation, going on to win several Oscars. Chief amongst them was Rami Malek, who took home Best Actor for his work as Mercury.

To say that Mr. Mercury is a legend would be an understatement. Embodying that sort of distinct personality is no easy task. While the film itself, which is credited to director Bryan Singer even though he was fired from the production late in the game, is largely a mixed bag for many critics and viewers, the general consensus is that Malek was indeed outstanding as Mercury. But the big question is, did Malek actually sing those legendary Queen songs? Was it his voice as Mercury in the film?

"It is an amalgamation of a few voices", Malek said in an interview with Metro (via NME) in October 2018. "But predominantly it is my hope and the hope of everyone that we will hear as much Freddie as possible. I think that is the goal for all of us."

To get it out of the way up top, no, none of the real singing done by Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody" is done by Rami Malek. That said, when a first look at the film was released in September 2017, the actor explained that he was, indeed, working on his singing voice as part of the preparation.

"We're going to use Freddie as much as possible and use myself as much as possible. I'm in Abbey Road [Studios] right now if that should say anything to you. I'm not working on my acting."

So, who did the singing if not Malek? Marc Martel, a musician who actually sang in a Queen cover band, is the voice behind Freddie Mercury in the film. Oddly enough, Martel got his start making Christian music and posting videos to YouTube. One of his bandmates remarked, at one point, that his style is very much like Mercury. Then it all clicked into place.

The producers of the film ended up seeking him out. Martel is the key part of that amalgamation, as Malek called it, providing the singing voice of the late icon. Recordings of Martel singing the songs were mixed in with Queen's original recordings to make up what audiences hear in the film. "I never thought it would amount to anything more than a fun karaoke trick," Martel said in a 2019 interview with the New York Times. The singer further explained some of the differences between his vocal style and Mercury's.

"I'm not British, so I don't usually sing with an accent. I don't have extra teeth like he did, so my Ss come out normally — his were very piercing. But even if I don't try to sing like Freddie Mercury, people still hear him in my voice, no matter what I do. I have this weird unique thing where I can sound like him, so why wouldn't I?"

Martel was officially given an "additional vocals" credit in the final film. Understandably, in the lead-up to the film's release and as Oscar buzz built, the producers and Fox, the studio that backed the film, didn't want to take any heat off of Malek, who was the front-runner to win Best Actor.

Rami Malek won Best Actor for his work as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody," beating out stiff competition such as Bradley Cooper ("A Star Is Born"), Christian Bale ("Vice"), Willem Dafoe ("At Eternity's Gate"), and Viggo Mortenson ("Green Book"). The film didn't win Best Picture, however, with "Green Book" taking home the night's top prize.

But the real prize was the $910 million box office haul. To make matters even better, the "Bohemian Rhapsody" soundtrack became a best-seller in its own right, becoming one of the best-selling albums of 2019. To date, it has sold more than 2.7 million copies, according to BestBellingAlbums.org. Yet, for all of the success the soundtrack experienced for being tied directly to a massive hit film, Malek didn't have much of anything to do with it.

The "Bohemian Rhapsody" soundtrack does not feature any of Malek's singing, same as the film. Rolling Stone even opened its review of the soundtrack by saying, "Don't worry, you don't have to hear Rami Malek sing." Instead, the film serves as an interesting collection of Queen songs. Some old favorites, some new mixes, and even Queen's take on the 20th Century Fox jingle.

Most importantly, the soundtrack featured unreleased versions of songs from Queen's legendary Live Aid performance, which is a key part of the film. The album features versions of songs such as "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Radio Gaga," "Hammer to Fall," and "We Are the Champions" from the 1985 performance at Wembley Stadium. What it doesn't feature is Malek, save for his likeness as Mercury on the cover art.

As is so often the case in Hollywood, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was in development for years before it actually got made. As such, there were more than a few actors in consideration for the lead role before Rami Malek came along. Malek first signed onto the project in 2015, replacing Ben Whishaw ("Skyfall," "Paddington"). Whishaw certainly had the look but dropped out after Dexter Fletcher left the director's chair. Interestingly enough, Fletcher took over finishing the film after Singer was fired.

But Whisfhaw wasn't the only one who nearly played Freddie Mercury. Rather famously, Sacha Baron Cohen, of "Borat" fame, was once attached to the project before departing over creative differences in the development process. For what it's worth, in a 2021 interview, Queen drummer Roger Taylor expressed his belief that Cohen wouldn't have been right in the role.

"I think he would have been utter s***. Sacha is pushy, if nothing else ... He's also six inches too tall. But I watched his last five films and came to the conclusion he's not a very good actor. I might be wrong there. I thought he was an utterly brilliant subversive comedian, that's what he's great at."

The other big name that was attached to the role at one point was Oscar Isaac ("Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Moon Knight"). In a 2021 interview, Isaac addressed passing on the role of Freddie Mercury in the film. His reasoning seemed to make sense but, as the actor admits, he was very much wrong about the whole thing.

"At the time I was like, 'I don't think anybody wants to see somebody pretend to be Freddie Mercury.' And then, sure enough — everybody wanted to see someone do Freddie Mercury. So that was one that came by. I think I could never have done what Rami Malek did. I just think he was — obviously everyone thought so — he was great."

As anyone might expect, the success of "Bohemian Rhapsody" opened up quite a few doors for Malek. The actor had certainly made a name for himself before this film came out, appearing in movies such as "The Master" and "Short Term 12," but that Oscar win tied to such a massive box office smash rocketed him to the top of Hollywood's A-list.

The first order of business for Malek was to finish his hit show "Mr. Robot," with the fourth and final season concluding in December 2019. That show being in the books freed Malek up to take advantage of his newfound superstardom, though, and his first order of business post-Oscar win was to join one of the biggest franchises in cinema history. Namely, "James Bond."

Malek played the villain Safin opposite Daniel Craig's 007 in "No Time to Die." The film ended up not hitting theaters until late 2021 due to the pandemic, but it was a big hit and Malek helped send off Craig's version of the character in style. Amongst fans, quite a few felt that Safin was a slightly underwhelming villain, with Malek not getting a ton of screen time. Be that as it may, it was still a major opportunity.

The actor has also starred in several misses over the last few years, including Robert Downer Jr.'s ill-fated flop "Dolittle" and director David O. Russell's "Amsterdam" in 2022. That said, Malek was merely a bit-player in those movies, relatively speaking. By and large, the actor has been associated with success. That extends beyond the screen as well, with Malek playing a lead role in the scripted podcast series "Blackout."

Malek's biggest post-"Bohemian Rhapsody" success, oddly enough, is a movie that he was merely a very small part of. Malke played the small but pivotal role of David Hill in director Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Best Picture winner "Oppenheimer." Interestingly, Nolan's biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer ($975 million worldwide) overtook "Bohemian Rhapsody" to become the highest-grossing biopic in history. Malek put his stamp on both, albeit in very different capacities.

Next up for Malek is an action thriller called "The Amateur," which seeks Malk in the lead role as a CIA cryptographer who manages to blackmail the agency into letting him go after a group of terrorists who killed his wife. It's currently set to hit theaters on April 11, 2025.