Egyptian American Rami Malek shines at Golden Globe Awards

Egyptian American actor Rami Malek has won the Golden Globe Award for best actor in a drama for his portrayal of rock group Queen’s frontman Freddie Mercury in the biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody.

Accepting the award, the 37-year-old said he was “beyond moved” before thanking Mercury’s Queen bandmates, Brian May and Roger Taylor.

“Thank you to Freddie Mercury for giving me the joy of a lifetime. I love you, you beautiful man. This is for and because of you,” said Malek. 

The movie, which was directed by Bryan Singer, picked up the gong for Best Drama, beating Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther and Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born.

Other winners on the night included Glenn Close, who won Best Actress for her performance in The Wife and Alfonso Cuaron, who won Best Director for his film, Roma. 

Critics have praised Cuaron’s Spanish-language film about a housekeeper to a middle-class family in Mexico, which received the award for Best Foreign Language film and is considered a contender for this year’s Oscars.

Adored by fans, but largely panned by critics, Bohemian Rhapsody pulled off a surprise upset Sunday night, overcoming favourite A Star is Born to win the nod, while the race-relations comedy Green Book netted the prize for Best Motion Picture -Comedy or Musical.

While Hollywood uncharacteristically stayed away from politics, Christian Bale made several barbs at former US Vice President Dick Cheney after winning the best actor award in a musical or comedy for his portrayal of the Haliburton CEO, who became what many regard as the White House’s most powerful number two. 

“Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration on how to play this role,” Bale said after winning for his performance in the political satire film Vice. 

A euphoric @ItsRamiMalek was kind enough to make his first stop after winning to talk with the HFPA about his #GoldenGlobes win! pic.twitter.com/910ZiiaVYx

— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 7, 2019