If you've seen Bohemian Rhapsody, you'll know how astonishingly precise Rami Malek was in his portrayal of Freddie Mercury.
But, in all likelihood, you still have no idea of the startling lengths the actor went to in order to get everything exactly right - in particular, with regards to his physical transformation.
In a new interview with The Wrap, the 37-year-old star talked about his crash diet, as well as the effort he had to muster in order to find the energy for the Live Aid performance.
"I didn’t really want to bulk up, per se — I just wanted to get my body into a place where I could do a 22-minute concert over and over for five days and not be out of breath," he explained. "Well, it’s highly impossible to do that. There were days when I found myself laying on my back trying to just absorb as much air as possible."
He continued: "But at the same time, I was on a very specific diet. I bulked up for that first week and immediately had to drop muscle and weight and go into shooting young Freddie, who is very scrawny. I just had to be really cognizant of when to work out and when to crash diet. I don’t recommend it for anyone."
In addition, the Golden Globe-nominated actor also revealed how he felt wearing those fake teeth.
Freddie Mercury was born with four extra teeth in the back of his jaw, pushing his front teeth forward in a manner that gave him the nickname "Bucky". As a result, Malek was forced to wear fake teeth - but that isn't to say he liked it.
"They started out being pretty difficult to deal with," the actor said. "We tried out all different sizes and when they first went in I felt very insecure, but immediately I compensated."
Despite his initial reluctance, Malek continued to admit that, ultimately, the teeth made him feel more like Freddie.
"Physically, I started to sit with more posture and elegance and I thought, ‘Oh, he is so elegant!’ You see him covering up his lips and his teeth all the time, and I could never quite get the hang of it. But as soon as those teeth went in, it was done. It was little things like that that were very informative for me," he explained.
According to the interview in The Wrap, after production finished the 37-year-old had the fake teeth cast in gold, and is planning to auction them for charity, "in true 'ostentatious Freddie' fashion".
It's perhaps no big surprise that Malek needed a crazy specific diet and exercise routine in order to play the role of the legendary singer; it was recently revealed that he filmed the entire 1985 Live Aid six-song set for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on camera.
Someone just give this man an Oscar already please!
