Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury in Queen film
Sacha Baron Cohen is to play Freddie Mercury in a film about the Queen frontman, it has been announced.
By Matthew Moore
Published: 12:10PM BST 17 Sep 2010
Sacha Baron Cohen is to play Freddie Mercury Photo: REX
The comedian behind Ali G and Borat will star as the flamboyant musician in a film tracking the build up to band’s memorable performance at Live Aid in 1985. The project has the backing of Mercury’s surviving band mates – guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor are both on board as musical consultants.
In an interview with the BBC, May disclosed that Baron Cohen had first expressed interest in the part two years ago. He said: “"We have Sacha Baron Cohen, which will probably be a shock to a lot of people, but he's been talking with us for a long time." The role marks a break for Baron Cohen, who has built a career playing outrageously offensive characters of his own creation in spoof documentaries.
The Cambridge-educated performer found international fame with his 2003 film Ali G Indahouse, in which he played the oafish, rap-obsessed caricature of urban youth Ali G His subsequent films Borat, about a witless Kazakh visitor to the US, and Bruno, in which he pretended to be gay Austrian fashion presenter – were huge Box Office successes on both sides of the Atlantic. But both films attracted controversy, amid claims that they stereotyped minorities and humiliated members of public.
The Queen film has yet to be given a title but production is due to commence next year. The screenplay is being written by Peter Morgan, who has previously worked on Frost/Nixon. A spokesman for GK Films, which is co-producing the movie, said: "Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer so with Sacha in the starring role, coupled with Peter's screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success."
