Rami Malek Hesitated to Star in Ira Sachs’ Gay Drama ‘The Man I Love’ After Playing Freddie Mercury: ‘I Had to Address the Fear’

May 21, 2026 6:04am PT Rami Malek Hesitated to Star in Ira Sachs’ Gay Drama ‘The Man I Love’ After Playing Freddie Mercury: ‘I Had to Address the Fear’

By Angelique Jackson

Plus Icon

Angelique Jackson

angelique814

Latest

• Ron Howard on Capturing Photographer Richard Avedon’s ‘Artistic Endurance’ in Cannes Documentary: ‘You Can Be Commercial and Not a Sellout’ 23 hours ago
• Malala Joins Mariska Hargitay to Executive Produce the Tribeca-Bound Doc ‘The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony’ (EXCLUSIVE) 2 days ago
• Shirtless Charles Melton, Brutal Murders and Daddy Issues: Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Her Private Hell’ Slays Cannes Crowd With 7-Minute Ovation 3 days ago

See All

Rami Malek had been itching to work with Ira Sachs for some time — going as far as to ask his representatives to get him a meeting with the filmmaker. But when the script for Sachs’ next film, “The Man I Love” — about a New York theater performer navigating life, love and his devotion to his art after being diagnosed with AIDS — came his way, Malek hesitated before agreeing to sign on, because he was fresh from his Oscar-winning portrayal of Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Related Stories

'Survivor' on 'The White Lotus': Mike White Announces Which Season 50 Contestants Will Make Cameos