Austin Butler Recalls Rami Malek’s Advice After Playing Freddie Mercury

Elif Ozden
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Elif Ozden
Hi! I'm Elif. Being a rock music fan myself, I'm trying to let you know about the latest news from the rock and metal community. If...
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Austin Butler won everyone’s hearts with his portrayal of Elvis Presley, including the late singer’s widow Priscilla, who shed tears after seeing his performance. As it turns out, Rami Malek, who starred as Freddie Mercury in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ gave him a helping hand by sharing his experiences of playing the Queen icon. In a recent episode of Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show, Butler revealed what advice Malek gave him.

“Yeah,” the actor confirmed when Fallon asked whether he had received advice from Rami Malek on how to play such a rock icon like Elvis. “So, we had the same movement coach, Polly Bennett, who he worked with on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ She’s just the best. She said, ‘Nobody knows what you’re going through as Rami does, so I’ll connect you to him.’ So she connected us.”

Butler continued, “I was really nervous, especially for the live performances, because I was never a singer, I was never a dancer. I’m always a wallflower at a party. I’m very shy. So, I was naturally perfect for playing Elvis. I had all that going for me. But I talked to Rami, and he said, ‘Those days seem like the most daunting, but when you get out there in front of the audience, feel a genuine rapport, you see genuine emotion on these people’s faces, something ends up happening that you can never expect.’”

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“And those days ended up becoming my favorite days on set,” Austin admitted, as he also noted, “And probably that I’ll ever have because it’s the closest thing to what Elvis himself experienced.” Jimmy Fallon then asked the actor if he liked to challenge himself when he got a new role. “Yeah,” he said and continued, “I think that’s what it’s all kind of about is, like, exploring bits of yourself that you may not in real life.”

The actor lastly added, “And also, using fear as a compass. You know, I often say that. Because then it expands your comfort zone. And I was such a repressed kid. Like, I wouldn’t order food for myself at a restaurant. I wouldn’t- I was so shy. So, it’s all this kind of personal thing of getting to explore these bits of yourself that you never do otherwise.”

So, Rami Malek acted as Austin Butler’s mentor when the actor sought his advice. Portraying Elvis Presley and Freddie Mercury on screen is a great responsibility, and there’s no doubt this put both Rami and Austin under a similar type of pressure. However, Butler had a bit of luck since he knocked on the door of Malek before getting ready for his role, as the actor handled this well in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’

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