Bohemian Rhapsody: Rami Malek wanted more of THIS in Freddie Mercury biopic

Malek plays Freddie Mercury in the box office smash, which has recently become the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time. But the movie has not been without its critics: some argued that important moments concerning Mercury’s sexuality and his battle with AIDS have been underplayed.

In a recent interview, Malek said the singer’s relationship with Jim Hutton is something he wishes there was more of in the movie.

However, he argued that the film-makers were somewhat constrained by the fact they only had two hours to play with – and a lot to fit in.

“In those two hours I know that those men want to celebrate Freddie’s life, and there was definitely a cognisant effort not to make this a hedonistic, salacious film,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

“I think we all would have loved to show more of Freddie’s relationship with Jim [Hutton] toward the end of his life.

“That relationship was absolutely gorgeous, and if I had it my way, boy, would I love to tack on another hour to this film and fill in a few gaps.

“It’s never going to be perfect in fulfilling the story of a man who we could make countless documentaries about and countless miniseries about.”

The Mr Robot star added: “He, and the band, they brought down every convention of what music should be and how human beings should act in public.

“He’s a revolutionary in that he just refused to be segregated or marginalised in any way.

“I know there’s always going to be polarising aspects to this film. There’s no way around it.

“You can do the other version of this film, but we needed to focus on a finite period of time and we always wanted to bookend the film with Live Aid.”

Malek has recently begun picking up Oscar buzz for his work, and is considered a contender for a nomination at the 2019 ceremony.

Bohemian Rhapsody is out now.