Rami Malek inspired by Freddie Mercury for Bond role

Rami Malek's Bond villain has been inspired by Freddie Mercury.

The 38-year-old actor will play Safin, the main antagonist in the upcoming James Bond flick 'No Time to Die', and admits that the late Queen frontman has inspired his performance.

Rami, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie in 'Bohemian Rhapsody', told Empire: "If I went in there and tried to make a carbon copy of someone, what joy or fun would that be for anybody? I guess that may be a lesson I learned from Mr. Mercury. If it's not original, then why bother?"

The star also revealed that he has tried to blend his own traits with those of classic Bond villains.

He said: "I've pocketed some things from some of my favourites. But I tried to everyday imbue this character with something I thought made sense for the character, but might also at the same time be shocking and unnerving."

Rami even reunited with his dialogue coach from 'Bohemian Rhapsody', William Conacher, to give his villain a distinct voice.

He explained: "I wanted to create something that we couldn't quite peg from any particular part of the world."

Rami will come up against James Bond in the film, which marks Daniel Craig's final appearance as the iconic spy.

'No Time to Die' - which is due to be released in April 2020 - also stars Lashana Lynch, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw.

007 producer Barbara Broccoli has previously suggested that Rami's character will be a "nasty piece of work".

She said: "We've thrown the book at him on this one. He is really the supervillain. He's the one who really gets under Bond's skin. He's a nasty piece of work."