FILM · 2018 · USA

Bohemian Rhapsody

Directed by

Bryan Singer

Runtime

135 min

Studio

20th Century Fox, Regency Enterprises, GK Films

226 archived facts · 8 topics · 1 source · Last reviewed Sep 2026

Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.

Summary: TMDB

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Bohemian Rhapsody: 9 Facts About the Characters and Cast

1. #011

   For the role of Freddie Mercury, Rami Malek was fitted with special prosthetic teeth to recreate Freddie's distinctive overbite. After the film wrapped, Rami kept the teeth as a memento from the shoot and eventually had them plated in gold.

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2. #040

   For this role, Rami Malek's movement coach had him study Liza Minnelli in Cabaret (1972) as well as performances by Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Aretha Franklin. These were reportedly the main inspirations for Freddie Mercury's performance style.

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3. #055

   Joseph Mazzello learned to play the bass guitar from scratch for his role in Bohemian Rhapsody. He and his fellow actors Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee and Ben Hardy had only six weeks to prepare to play Queen's entire 21-minute Live Aid set from start to finish at the beginning of principal photography.

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4. #062

   According to 'Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words', compiled and edited by Greg Brooks and Simon Lipton (2011), Freddie Mercury said: "Also, I have dreams of one day having a film made of my life story, in which I'll play a major part. I may not be able to play myself in the lead role. Darlings, the things I've done in my life… it'll be totally X-rated, I tell you!" Bohemian Rhapsody was rated PG-13 by the MPAA and 12 by the BBFC.

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5. #109

   (At about 23 minutes) As Queen are about to perform on Top of the Pops, they state that they do not agree to lip-syncing instead of singing their songs. When Top of the Pops (1964) began in 1964, the show's producers decided that artists would lip-sync rather than sing their songs. The British Broadcasting Corporation stated this openly when promoting the show. The reason for the producers' decision was that, since the show promoted records, they considered lip-syncing more ethical and honest than the artists singing, and therefore viewers and listeners had the right to know exactly how the records sounded.

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6. #155

   The film rearranges the chronology of some events for dramatic purposes. For example, Brian May is shown bringing "We Will Rock You" to Queen in 1980, but the song premiered on the "News of the World" (1977) album. Conversely, the "Rock in Rio" festival headlined by Queen is depicted as taking place in the late 1970s, but it actually took place in January 1985 (only five months before Live Aid).

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7. #156
   Contains a major spoiler — show

   (About 8 minutes) In the film, Freddie (Rami Malek) meets Brian (Gwilym Lee) and Roger (Ben Hardy) after seeing them perform with Tim (Jack Roth) in Smile, before Tim leaves the group. Freddie approaches them and wants to join the band. In reality, Tim Staffell and Freddie Mercury attended Ealing Art College together in the late 1960s, when Tim introduced him to Brian May and Roger Taylor, who went to different schools. Freddie had actually been Brian and Roger's roommate while they played as Smile and had wanted to join the group, but could not because there was no open position. Instead he joined other groups while Smile worked on their first album, and he also occasionally sang backing vocals for Smile. In 1970 Tim left Smile and Freddie was between groups. Freddie took on the role of lead singer, and after three different bassists, John Deacon joined the group in 1971.

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8. #201

   At around the 32nd minute, the EMI executive Ray Foster, played by Mike Myers, objects to the title "A Night at the Opera," saying that nobody actually likes opera. Although it is not mentioned in this film, A Night at the Opera (1935) is also the title of a Marx Brothers film.

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9. #220

   At around the 17-minute mark, Mary's father says to her, "clever girl," a line well known from Jurassic Park (1993), in which Joseph Mazzello had a leading role.

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