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Why Queen Dropped Sacha Baron Cohen From Playing Freddie

12/18/2013
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(Classic Rock) Sacha Baron Cohen's larger-than-life movie characters made him the wrong person to play Freddie Mercury in the upcoming Queen movie, says Brian May. But he and bandmate Roger Taylor didn't realise it was a problem at first.

Last week they confirmed that lesser-known actor Ben Whishaw – who played Q in James Bond movie Skyfall – will take on the role of Mercury, and the film will be produced by Dexter Fletcher.

Now May tells Rolling Stone: "There was a story put out that Sacha had walked out in disgust, but none of that was true. We parted amicably – we're still in touch and we're still good friends.

"We just came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to work with Sacha in the leading role. He's brilliant; but we felt having him in there would be distracting because he's such a powerful persona."

"The characters he makes tend to stand out in a way that wouldn't be suitable for the film. Freddie has to be completely believable – you have to not question for an instant that you're watching Freddie, and that couldn't have happened with Sacha." May goes on to explain when he came to that realization.

Classic Rock Magazine is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
Copyright Classic Rock Magazine- Excerpted here with permission.

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