At the Golden Globe Awards last night (January 6), Rami Malek picked up Best Actor for his performance as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, in Bohemian Rhapsody.
The 37-year-old beat fellow nominees Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate), Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased), Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born), and John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman).
Thanking the remaining members of Queen – and in particular Mercury – during his acceptance speech, Malek said: ‘I love you, you beautiful man, this is for – and because of – you, gorgeous’. It was evident how much the award meant to the Mr. Robot star.
Check out Rami in action below:
Now though, a lot of fans are asking the same question – is Malek heading towards Oscars glory at the upcoming Academy Awards in February?
Despite nominations yet to be announced – they’ll be unveiled January 22 – many feel it’s very likely Malek will pick one up for Best Actor.
And now, according to the bookies who’ve been updating their odds since the awards last night, Malek seems the favourite.
On Paddy Power for example, at the time of writing (January 6), Malek currently has the shortest odds, compared to the others listed at 8/13.
Christian Bale is close behind at 9/4 for his performance as Dick Cheney in Vice, with Bradley Cooper at 3/1 for his role as Jack in A Star Is Born, which he also wrote and directed.
Here’s a full list for the actors’ odds currently on Paddy Power:
In my opinion Malek is a shoo-in for a nomination and always was, but now his Golden Globe win means he could indeed pick up the Academy Award.
The Golden Globes are usually indicative of what will happen at the Oscars, especially in the acting categories.
Every year since 2013 the actor who won the Golden Globe for ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama’ has gone on to win the Best Actor Oscar, so Malek has a very good chance.
There is also the fact the Oscars adore films about historical figures being fans of biopics, especially if the lead actor transforms themselves for the role.
Just look at last year for example as Gary Oldman took home the Best Actor award for his performance as Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour.
Or when Colin Firth won for his performance as King George VI in The King’s Speech, Eddie Redmayne for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, Sean Penn for playing gay rights activist Harvey Milk in Milk and Daniel Day-Lewis for his lead role in Lincoln.
As you can see from the above, there is a clear theme.
Malek is certainly ticking boxes then playing Mercury, who is regarded as one of the greatest singers in history, and transforming his appearance for the role having four extra teeth put into the back of his jaw.
He also lost weight and put it back on taking on an intense diet and exercise regime to play the frontman at different stages of his life.
So I would bet good money he will win the Oscar but he does have to face off some tough competition.
Christian Bale is likely to be nominated in the category for his unrecognisable performance as the 46th Vice President Dick Cheney in upcoming biopic Vice.
But while Bale does tick the same boxes as Malek he will probably lose out since his version of Cheney is depicted as a villain while Mercury is portrayed as a hero and the Academy normally favour the good guys.
Bradley Cooper will also presumably be nominated for his role in A Star Is Born but I predict the incredible film will be recognised in other ways at the awards, likely picking up the most nominations and winning for Best Original Song.
Malek winning Best Actor wouldn’t be a travesty in my eyes as he is the best thing in Bohemian Rhapsody which I thought was a three star film at best (sorry not sorry).
While his performance is very good, I feel it wasn’t as nuanced, soulful and certainly didn’t scream outstanding like Cooper did in A Star Is Born.
Although I would like Cooper to win and feel he deserves to, although admittedly I am yet to see Bale in Vice, it appears Malek will indeed be taking home the golden gong.
The nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards will be announced on January 22 with the televised ceremony taking place on February 24.
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