Brian May interview: how Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody movie was made

Queen guitarist Brian May on Rami Malek, Roger Taylor’s socks, and what Freddie would have made of it all…

Brian May can laugh about it now: the fired directors, the departed leading men, the eight agonising years when the Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, crawled through production, up among the leaders in the bad-luck stakes. “I think the best thing is to look forward, and not back,” the ever-diplomatic Queen guitarist considers when asked for his crowning head-in-hands moments.

At last, Bohemian Rhapsody is here – and despite that difficult birth, early signs suggest it’s one of the best rock biopics of recent times. From the forensic detail of the sets and costumes, to a soundtrack that takes in unreleased live tracks, this is a time machine for Queen fanatics. But it would be nothing without the lead performance of Rami Malek, whose note-perfect turn is the puzzle piece that May never thought they’d find. “He absolutely smashed it,” the guitarist says.“It’s not enough to look the part. He inhabits Freddie.”

Did you ever think that this project wouldn’t make it? 

Oh, there were about a thousand moments when we doubted it was going to get made. It was a very bumpy ride, but that’s the way life is sometimes. Things are not always straightforward, and perhaps in the end they’re better for it. In a way it mirrors the actual history of the band. We hardly had a smooth path in Queen, but some of those moments of adversity do make you stronger, and it’s the same for the film. I wouldn’t even hesitate to say I think it’s wonderful.

How do you feel when you watch it – happy, sad, nostalgic?

All of that, yeah. Joy and horror and sadness and all those big emotions. I’ve seen it hundreds of times now, in fragments and eventually coming together, and it still gets me, I must say. It’s very emotional. It’s all about Freddie. Yes, we are in there, but the story is about Freddie and that was always the aim. Obviously Freddie is so precious to us. One of the great breakthroughs early on was [screenwriter] Peter Morgan saying: “This is a film about family.” It’s about all the stuff that happens in a family – some good, some bad, the going away, the searching for independence and then the nurture of the family. It’s a film about that stuff, on one level, and then it’s about Freddie’s emerging talent, his amazing resilience and sense of humour.

The film ends with Queen playing Live Aid in 1985. Was there a temptation to go beyond that? 

No. I think there’s a natural culmination there. And that has pretty much always been the case, from the earliest scripts. We felt that was the pinnacle – despite what some people have said in the press, who know fuck-all about it. Somebody who shall be nameless said: “Oh, they’re going to portray Freddie dying in the middle of the movie, and then the rest of it is gonna be about life without Freddie.” Well, complete bullshit. This is all about Freddie, and I think Live Aid is a good point to leave it. Who knows, there might be a sequel [laughs].

Was playing at Live Aid one of the best days to be a member of Queen? 

It was an amazing moment. And pretty much unexpected, because we were the last band to be booked on the bill, and it was all sold-out before we were even announced. So we knew it wasn’t a Queen audience, and we went on not expecting much, feeling a bit like the outsiders. To see that response was mind-blowing. And you’ll see that in the film – and from our point of view, too, which is what you can’t get from a documentary. You’re looking at a fantasy recreation, but it’s astonishingly real.

Finding the right person to play Freddie was always going to be a nightmare, wasn’t it? 

I think we all thought it would be difficult. At some points we thought it was impossible. But along came Rami, and we had a great feeling immediately.

I suppose if Sacha Baron Cohen had kept the lead role, you’d never have found Rami? 

Well, that was a near-disaster. I think we realised just in time what a disaster that was going to be. And it actually wasn’t rocket science to figure that out. But yeah, that’s one of the rocks that we nearly hit. I think we were all nervous in the beginning, when the casting process was going on. Because yes, that’s a real tough thing to contemplate – somebody playing the part of you. The guy who plays me, Gwilym Lee, I spent a lot of time with him, so he understood me. He’d be picking up my mannerisms and what makes me tick. So when Freddie and me are in the studio, confronting each other, it’s very real. Some of it was improvised, but they did it with the knowledge that they understood us from the inside out.

Is it an entirely flattering portrayal of Freddie, or does it show his flaws, too? 

Yeah, it shows everything. Nobody thinks Freddie’s perfect, but he sure was unusual. You see it all. Not in a gratuitous way. It’s not meant to be messy and licentious, and I think that was a good decision.

But it’s not a druggy rock movie? 

No. It didn’t need to be. All that stuff is in there. But you don’t need to be revelling in scenes of debauchery. Not that Freddie was particularly debauched anyway. I know some people were looking for that. But no, it’s a film which portrays the truth, in a fairly gritty and honest but also entertaining way.

Do you think Freddie would have approved of and liked the film? 

I do. I think he would have felt it was a fair cop, really. It shows all his greatness and all his fallibility and insecurity – the whole bit. I think it shows him very truthfully and not sycophantically, but in a way that appreciates his talent. Because he was sure was unique. I’ve never met anybody like Freddie in my life, before or since, and it’s probably not going to happen again.

Do you think Freddie could have been a good film star? 

No. He didn’t have the patience. He was offered a residency in the West End at one point, and he said: “Yeah, I’ll do it. How many shows a week?” They said: ‘Eight.” And he said: “I’ll do a couple.” He didn’t like repeating stuff. Patience was not one of Freddie’s virtues. I think he would have found it difficult turning up every day on the set. I don’t think that would have lasted long [laughs].

Which is your favourite scene in the film? 

My favourite Rami moment is when Freddie is plucking up the courage to tell us he’s going off to do his solo album. It’s a wonderful piece of acting – and a lot of that wasn’t in the script. And when I watch it I feel that is so Freddie. He’d talk quietly, puff on his cigarette, not want to come out with the words. Eventually he did it – in a very cut-and-dry manner. But you can see the angst inside. That scene nearly got cut from the movie – that’s a little secret – just because there’s always this pressure to make things shorter. But we fought for that scene to stay in, because the realism of it is quite gut-wrenching. That was a difficult moment for us. It’s Freddie kinda leaving his family.

You’ve also updated your Queen In 3-D book with exclusive photos from the film set. What was it like being there? 

Various different emotions, really. In the early days with [director] Bryan Singer, it was very taut and tense, and I didn’t feel some of the time that I ought to be there – I felt like I was interfering in the process. But nevertheless I was, and I took the camera and captured some moments in the shooting. In the latter part, when Dexter Fletcher took over the direction, it was like a different universe, with everybody very jolly and relaxed. I think the movie benefits from both regimes; it has a very serious undercurrent, but also has some lightness, a lot of real joy and fun.