Why Rami Malek's Freddie Mercury impression makes him the perfect Bond villain

The Oscar winner's quietly maniacal turn in Mr Robot is one he has occasionally seemed to reprise in real life, writes Ed Power. For evidence, check out his chilling advertisement for Mandarin Oriental hotels on YouTube

Rami Malek has been cast in the new James Bond film (Rex)

We’ve been expecting you, Mr Malek. Rumours that Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody actor Rami Malek had been lined up as the latest Bond baddie have been confirmed, with the 37-year-old unveiled as 007’s latest nemesis in the forthcoming 25th instalment in the franchise.

Malek’s as-yet-unnamed character is described as “a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology”. He comes to the role as one of the hottest stars in the business, having seen off Christian Bale, Viggo Mortensen and Bradley Cooper to claim the Academy Award for Best Actor in March.

But he is a divisive figure, too, his turn as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody among the most opinion-splitting in recent screen history.

Malek’s Mercury was unquestionably broad – a heartfelt caricature by an actor who appeared torn between embodying Mercury or merely fleshing out the star’s surface tics. Some – especially those close to Mercury – loved it. Queen’s Brian May praised Malek for getting under the frontman’s skin with uncanny verisimilitude. “He inhabited Freddie to the point where we even started to think of him as Freddie. Really remarkable,” the guitarist said.

But others were less impressed, with The Daily Telegraph’s Robbie Collin decrying the actor’s “lousy” Mercury impression. Certainly, Malek could not be accused of subtlety as he worked Mercury’s famous incisors for all they were worth and, during the climactic restaging of Live Aid, preened as if his moustache was about to start twirling like a propellor and convey him high above Wembley.

It was ridiculous – over the top with bells on. Then, Bond fans may contend that ridiculous and over-the-top is precisely what 007 is crying out for. We’ve arguably had our fill of “gritty” Bond villains lately – several even portrayed by Oscar winners. There was Javier Bardem’s low-burning Raoul Silva in Skyfall and Christoph Waltz as a boring Blofeld in the most recent Bond, 2015’s Spectre.

Both those actors approached the part as though a Bond movie were rather a serious matter – an Ibsen play only with more shooting. That has obviously has been in keeping with the texture of the franchise throughout the ever grumpier Daniel Craig epoch.

Malek's casting, however, hints at a new direction – especially factoring in the fact that Bond 25 (pencilled for release in 2020) is to be directed by True Detective’s Cary Joji Fukunaga (replacing Danny Boyle, who exited after his script was rejected by the producers). With season one of the HBO noir hit and later with Maniac on Netflix, Fukunaga’s forte has been heightened realities – adjacent to our world but not quite of it.

That’s of a piece with Malek’s breakout performance as a paranoid hacker in the TV series Mr Robot. There he looked like a graphic novel character brought to life as he slouched around in a hoodie and ranted in voiceover about the evils of social media and Josh Groban.

It was a quietly maniacal turn – one he has occasionally seemed to reprise in real life. For evidence, check out on YouTube his chilling advertisement for Mandarin Oriental hotels. “I’m a fan of... hand-written letters,” he says in a staccato hiss. “I’m a fan of looking sharp regardless of the occasion... I’m a fan of mischief... I’m a fan of being exactly who I want to be.”

He doesn’t sound much like an Oscar-winner shilling for a five-star hotel chain. With his lidless gaze and monotone patter, Malek rather resembles an evil genius monologuing just before he presses a big red button that will blow up the world (the piece sounds even creepier when paired with the music from Jordan Peele’s Us, as someone has inevitably done).

The point is that, even if you thought Bohemian Rhapsody was a right load of Scaramouche, the sheer excess of Malek’s performance suggests he has potential as an old-fashioned baddie. He may have been a divisive Oscar winner. As a Bond villain, he could be the walking creep-show for which 007 is crying out.