The Mercury Effect: How Rami Malek's Latest Role Reflects a Bigger Cultural Shift Rami Malek's Oscar winning portrayal of Freddie Mercury in 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody was a cultural phenomenon that catapulted him to global stardom.
His latest film, "The Man I Love", sees him embody the spirit of a downtown New York performance artist during the late 1980s AIDS crisis.
The similarities between his two roles are striking – and reveal our cultural fixation on the charismatic outsider.