Queen’s Roger Taylor would like ‘Skyfall’ actor Ben Whishaw to play Freddie Mercury

It looks like Sacha Baron Cohen’s departure from the Freddie Mercury biopic that had been in the works for years may actually be a good thing, as it has revived interest in the project. Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor are back to talking about it and Taylor even has an actor in mind to play Mercury: Ben Whishaw.

Taylor was on BBC1’s The One Show on Friday and said that the actor they have in mind has the initials B.W. According to NME, the hosts pressed him further, asking if he meant Whishaw, who played Q in the latest James bond movie, Skyfall. “Well, we hope so,” he replied.

Cohen had been attached to the project since 2010, but in July, he left, since it turned out that Queen wasn’t interested in making a gritty, warts-and-all film of Mercury’s life. He had reportedly brought in directors David Fincher and Tom Hooper, but the band turned down his suggestions. Peter Morgan (The Queen) is still on to write the script.

As previously reported, May explained to Classic Rock magazine why Cohen didn’t work out.

“You have to really suspend that disbelief – the man who plays Freddie, you have to really believe is Freddie,” May said. "And we didn't [think] that could really happen with Sacha."

image: Wikimedia Commons

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