Egyptian actor Rami Malek collected his first Golden Globe for best actor in a drama for his portrayal of Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury in 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. The 37 year old actor beat out tough competition for the coveted award, including Bradley Cooper for 'A Star is Born', Willem Dafoe for 'At Eternity's Gate', John David Washington for 'BlacKkKlansman' and Lucas Hedges for 'Boy Erased'.
'Bohemian Rhapsody' is a USA television series is where Malek first rose to prominence, before landing the lead role in the 2018 'Queen' biopic. For his acceptance speech, he praised the late icon for his impact. He said, “Thank you to Freddie Mercury for giving me the joy of a lifetime. I love you, you beautiful man. This is for and because of you, gorgeous.” He also said that through playing the character, he was able to draw personal connections with Mercury. In a press room speech after the film's win, he said, “I tried to find the humanity in him. I related it to him being an immigrant struggling to discover his identity. I tried to take everything he was struggling with, his complication, his chaos, his turmoil, and this beauty inside of him. He lifted me up to be everything I could be in this film.”
Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar to Parsi parents from India. After growing up in Zanzibar and then India, his family moved to Middlesex, England. He formed the iconic band Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. He has written numerous hits for Queen including 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Killer Queen', 'Somebody to Love', 'Don't Stop Me Now', 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', and 'We Are the Champions'.
The Golden Globes is known for being Hollywood's most rollicking show. 'Killing Eve' actress Sandra Oh created history this year by being the first person of Asian descent to host the show. She also became the only second Asian to win a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Drama Series.
