Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles ”Can you go a bit higher?" ”I can't go any higher, only dogs will hear me!" "Try." Queen biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' hit theaters November 2 - with 'Mr. Robot' star Rami Malek bringing the bands charismatic frontman Freddie Mercury back to life in a performance that has gained widespread praise. For Malek to embody Mercury's energy and flamboyance, he had to undergo a dramatic transformation which involved some serious make-up and the guidance of a movement coach. Hair and makeup department head Jan Sewell was the artist tasked with taking 37 year old Malek from Mercury at age 19 into his late 30s. Sewell used eye makeup — with shading to make his eyes appear closer together — and shaded in his cheeks. "Rami has a fantastic jawline, not too different from Freddie, but I brought that out even more,” she says. The department also had multiple mouthfuls of teeth made to more closely match Mercury's distinctive pearly whites. According to Sewell, “we went through many pairs until we got the pair that we thought would do what we needed them to do, but wouldn't take over." Turns out the precision of Sewell's artistry was proven when Queen bandmember Brian May's wife, Anita, came to set. Says Sewell: "Rami came up to the stage as Freddie in his later look, and she burst into tears. It was so emotional." Meanwhile, Movement director Polly Bennett was given the job of getting Malek to move like Mercury. At their first meeting, Bennett told the 'Mr. Robot' actor she wasn't going to teach him choreography in the traditional sense. "You need to understand why this man moves the way that he did," she told him. "That's what's helpful for an actor. Rami isn't a dancer. Therefore, I shouldn't be treating him as one." In order to help Malek truly inhabit the role, Bennett did a deep dive into Mercury's life, not just examining footage of interviews and performances, but also delving into his youth so she could deconstruct Mercury's movements. Two interesting discoveries were that Mercury frequently masked his mouth using a microphone, cigarette or glass because he was self-conscious about his teeth and that he had been a long-distance runner in his youth, which contributed to the way he sprinted across the stage. Bennett explains that her greatest challenge was combining Mercury's spontaneity with the film's faithful frame-by-frame re-creation of Queen's 1985 Live Aid performance. While Sewell's moment came in the form of Anita May's emotional reaction, for Bennett, it was when she watched Malek perform the 20-minute Live Aid set from beginning to end. To read more on this story, head to THR.com. For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.
B2 US mercury bennett freddie anita freddie mercury rhapsody 'Bohemian Rhapsody': How Rami Malek Was Transformed Into Freddie Mercury | THR News 36 1 邱于嘉 posted on 2019/09/01 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary