Rami Malek has had quite the awards season run with his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” But now, with the film landing five Oscar nominations including one for Best Actor, Malek says that he’s “on cloud nine.”
“I didn’t know [the nominations were] today, but I had a feeling it might be,” Malek told TheWrap following his nomination announcement. “I’m in Paris so I’m ahead of schedule, so I didn’t have to wake up that early. It’s everything you expect it to be — I’m walking on cloud nine. It felt otherworldly. It was snowing outside, so it already felt magical, and the nomination just added to it.”
Malek doesn’t know who he will be taking to the Academy Awards, although he imagines that the entire cast will be there given how close they grew during the making of the film.
“I can’t wait, no matter what happens that day,” he explained. “It’s a prestigious honor to be considered among those actors and to have an Oscar nomination is something that will be with me for the rest of my life. I am so proud.”
“Bohemian Rhapsody” stars Malek as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, alongside Lucy Boynton, Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee, Joseph Mazzello, Aidan Gillen and Allen Leech.
Malek said that the nominations speak “to just how much people appreciate the music and the story that is worth making a movie about. It’s a story about an underdog — a human being who did struggle and went through insurmountable odds to eventually live his dream and create music that would last the test of the time and eventually, we’d make a movie about it.”
Malek was nominated in the Best Actor category alongside Christian Bale (“Vice”), Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”), Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”) and Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book”). “Bohemian Rhapsody” also got a Best Picture, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing nod.
Will Malek prepare his speech (should he win) ahead of time, or is he someone who wings his acceptance speeches?
“When you have a moment that is this massive, you have to prepare to some degree,” he said. “I would rather be overprepared than underprepared. Getting to this place is something I never thought could be a reality. This is tremendous — if I ever get a chance to be up there, I would love to be able to hold it together. It is the cream of the crop.”
The 91st Academy Awards will take place on Feb. 24.