Can you believe that Rami Malek wasn't the first choice to play the musical legend Freddy Mercury?
Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was the initial pick for the role.
Luckily for the actor, things didn't work out in Sacha's favor because if it weren't for his
role in the movie, Rami would have never met the love of his life, Lucy Boynton.
Did these love birds find comfort in one another because of all the drama that happened on set?
And what really happened in that fan-released video that threatened to ruin Malek's career?
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If it weren't for Rami's father, his life would have turned out very differently.
But, unfortunately, his father wasn't able to see Rami succeed in his dream to become an actor.
"I think he's looking down on me right
now, "The actor said about his father during his Oscar speech.
Both his parents left Egypt in 1978 and traveled to Los Angeles together.
However, when Rami confessed to them that he wanted to become an actor,
they weren't very supportive. Having moved their family to LA to pursue a better life,
they thought it would be better for young Rami to choose a "safer" career path.
"I don't think my parents ever thought that being
an actor would be the best use of this transatlantic trip of theirs.
You know, reshuffling their entire existence, so I could take a shot in the arts." Rami admitted.
Thankfully, the actor did more than just prove his parents wrong. He made them proud. Rami exploded
onto our radars with his Oscar-winning role as Freddie Mercury. Some of you may have known
him for his role in Mr. Robot, but if you didn't know him back then, you definitely know him now.
Remember we said that Malek wasn't the first choice to play Freddy Mercury?
Well, he wasn't, and he almost lost out on the opportunity to star in the movie entirely.
Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen was initially offered the role, and he accepted it.
So what happened? Well, Sacha had a fallout with one of the members of the Queen band.
Although he didn't mention names,
Sacha got into a disagreement with one of the surviving members about the film.
According to Cohen, the second half of the movie was originally going to
show how the band recovered after Mercury's passing, and he wasn't on board with that.
"I said: 'Listen, not one person is going to see a movie where the lead
character dies from AIDS and then you see how the band carries on.'" Cohen shared.
When Cohen departed the project, Queen guitarist Brian May called him an "arse" and a liar
and indicated that he wanted Ben Whishaw to play Mercury.
Thankfully, fate had a different plan, and Rami got the role instead, and everything
worked out in the end. Especially for Rami, you know, cause he met the love of his life.
Yeah, yeah, we know you've been waiting for all the romantic details,
and we have them right here for you!
In real life, Freddie Mercury's heart was stolen by a woman named Mary Austin – the love of his
life. We don't know if this is just a crazy coincidence, but it turned out that Malek fell
hard and fast for the woman that portrayed Austin in Bohemian Rhapsody. Crazy right? We know!
The two met on the set of Director Bryan Singer's Queen biopic.
Although the film was riddled with a scandal that resulted in Bryan being fired from the production,
Lucy could only gush about her newfound beau. She admitted that Malek was professional,
poised, and got the entire cast and crew through the whole scandal.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, there was an "on-set altercation" between Singer and Malek.
Other reports also alleged that the director's behavior went far beyond arriving late,
which caused several costly delays in production. There were also stories
alleging that he'd had fiery clashes with Rami. Insiders revealed that the actor made an official
complaint about the director after he threw electrical equipment during a heated argument.
"Rami felt so much like the leader of that set. The cast became so close going through that,
as you always do when going through a particularly stressful experience,
to put it politely." Lucy shared.
According to People, Malek confirmed he was romantically involved with his co-star
at the 2019 Palm Springs International Film Festival. When accepting the award
for 'breakthrough performance,' the actor thanked the woman who had stolen his heart.
"You have been my ally, my confidant, you are my love," he said. "I appreciate you so much."
Boynton was right by Malek's side when he won his Oscar. They embraced in what Twitter quickly
determined to be the kiss of the night. She was also one of many people the actor thanked in his
acceptance speech, along with his late father. "Lucy Boynton, you're the heart of this film.
You're beyond immensely talented. You have captured my heart. Thank you so much."
Malek reportedly fell on the way back to his seat and needed to be checked by paramedics
before being given the go-ahead to celebrate the rest of the night at the Oscars' After-party.
The man was quite literally falling at Lucy's feet. Head over heels? We think so.
"Him winning for his performance was like winning for the tip of the iceberg of everything he had
done. You kind of forget that there are hundreds of other people in the room." Lucy shared.
In his interview with GQ, Malek shared that his longtime girlfriend is a "bath taker,"
and he bought her a necklace as well as a perfume-like deodorant. He sneakily had a
salesperson wrap the deodorant in a jewelry box and put the necklace in the Goop bag.
"This will be funny. She'll think I'm being goofy." Malek shared jokingly.
A year into their relationship, Boynton opened up about her boyfriend's fame and
how it can be very overwhelming for them both once they've been spotted by fans.
She explained that it's always great to see people get excited about his work,
whether it's from Mr. Robot or his Oscar-Winning role.
However, when fans get too physical and grab at him in the street, things tend to get out of hand.
"I mean, you'd never grab a complete stranger in the street. And I think
there's a sense of ownership." Lucy explained.
We obviously can't forget the awkward moment that went viral with one of his fans!
In 2018, Malek found himself caught up in some bad publicity - which is incredibly rare for him,
might we add - after he refused to take a video with someone at a Bohemian Rhapsody Q&A event.
A 19-year-old fan by the name of Xan Black started filming and got into a close-up shot with Malek.
The fan asked if he would say hello to some friends, and well,
that's when things got a little awkward. Malek politely declined, suggesting that they take
a photo instead. When Black posted the brief video online, it quickly went viral, and the
actor was criticized for not accepting the offer to say hello to the fan's friends in the video.
When Rami - who is "by all accounts one of the nicest actors in the business," according to The
Hollywood Reporter - learned about the backlash from his publicist, he watched the video himself.
"I finally brought myself to watch [the video], and I thought,
'Oh, that's not that bad.' I don't find myself offensive. I am happy
to take photos with anyone. I just want to be aware of what people are doing in the moment.
When someone films you automatically, it's a bit intrusive." He explained. Which makes sense; we
can imagine that being recorded and having cameras shoved in anyone's face would be pretty invasive.
When The Cut contacted the fan in question to ask about the incident,
Black admitted that it was simply bad timing. "I think he's a genuine person, and this was
not at the right time, because this was at night, and he was rushing.
I'm sure in a more intimate setting, in the daytime, he would be much more approachable."
Malek was right by Boynton's side for the premiere of her new Netflix series, The Politician.
Both looked stylish and happy, proving that their love wasn't going anywhere.
However, in 2020 at the peak of the pandemic, Malek and Boynton spent months not really being
photographed out together, which makes sense since not many people were going out anyway.
The couple probably enjoyed the time away from the public eye, as did most celebrities.
However, a few months later, Malek sparked rumors that all may not be well between him and Boynton.
He was photographed without her in Miami while he was partying with friends and a group of women.
An eyewitness made it clear to the tabloids that no questionable behavior was happening.
Malek was "in a great mood and didn't seem to outwardly flirt
or be romantic with any of the women." The insider shared.
A few days later, Boynton and Malek subtly confirmed that their romance was just fine
when they were photographed spending time together at the Hotel Esplanade in Croatia. Boynton had
been working in the city, filming her upcoming mini-series The Ipcress File, and Malek traveled
to see her. Awww, isn't that sweet? No distance is too far to travel to see his special lady!
There's no doubt that Rami Malek and Lucy Boynton aren't just another Hollywood couple that met on
set and took their romance into real life. This couple is one of the sweetest pairs out there.
From Malek's awards season homages to the coordinating outfits, they're giving fans plenty
to love every time they step out together. It's clear that Lucy has stolen his heart for good.
As For Rami, he’s stolen the hearts of fans all over the world. With his latest role as
the villain in the new James Bond movie, we can’t wait to see even more of him in the near future!