Freddie Mercury Movie: Rami Malek, Ben Hardy Star as Queen Members in Biopic
Former "EastEnders" and "X-Men: Apocalypse" actor Ben Hardy is joining the upcoming biopic about legendary rock and roll band Queen.
Hardy is in the fast track to Hollywood stardom. After playing the winged mutant Angel in "X-Men: Apocalypse," the 26-year-old rising star is set to play Queen drummer Roger Taylor in the upcoming biopic.
The film, which is titled "Bohemian Rhapsody," will be directed by "X-Men" director Bryan Singer. "The Theory of Everything" writer Anthony McCarten will pen the script
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A source told The Sun that film producers decided that Hardy is the perfect man for the role and signed him up. The source added that he still has a lot of work to do before filming for the Queen biopic starts and that he has started taking drumming lessons to prepare for the role.
"Mr. Robot" actor and Emmy winner Rami Malek is set to play Queen front man Freddie Mercury. In an interview on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," Malek said that he is a huge fan of Queen, but he felt the pressure to give justice to the rock icon.
He shared that while he was at the Abbey Road Studios in London, he saw a photo of Mercury and felt the challenge to give a great performance as the lead vocalist in the film.
According to Queen drummer Brian May, the film has been in development for 12 years and is expected to be released in 2018. In an interview with HuffPost UK, May said the film will not be a watered-down version of the band's real-life journey.
"This has to be definitive, respectful, not avoiding any of the issues, and it has to be entertaining, something wonderful, so you come out feeling uplifted and joyful about the talent that Freddie was," May said.
He added that the film will be "honest and truthful."
Filming for the Queen biopic will begin later this year with a projected release date sometime in 2018.
