Rami Malek Wins Best Actor Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody

Defeating Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper, Rami Malek has won the Oscar for best role at the 91st Academy Awards making him the very first Arab American to earn the award.

The Egyptian-American’s role as Freddie Mercury has also landed him several awards, including a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for best actor.

Accepting the award, Malek made a speech in which he paid tribute to his mother and deceased father, stating that ”he would be looking down on me[Rami] right now”.

He also thanked his partner and co-star Lucy Boynton, who portrayed Mary Austin in the biographical Queen film, stating ”You are the heart of this film and you captured my heart.”

Malek also highlighted encouragement to those still trying to find their voice ”We made a film about a gay man, an immigrant – we’re longing for stories like this. I’m a first generation American, my story is being written right now.”

The highest-grossing musical biographical film of all time, with over $406 million worldwide, also received other nominations including sound mixing, sound editing, film editing and best picture.

Bohemian Rhapsody is a biopic of British rock band Queen; it focuses on lead singer Freddie Mercury’s life and rise to stardom all while tackling Aids-related topics.

Although Malek’s role has been highly praised and described as ‘electric’; the actor admitted that working with previous director Bryan Singer as difficult and that his ‘situation ‘ with him was ”not pleasant.”

Malek rose to the spotlight for his role as Elliot Anderson in the television series ‘Mr. Robot’. The Egyptian-American won a Critics’ Choice Award and the Prime time Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in ‘Mr. Robot’.