Daniel Radcliffe says he isn't playing Freddie Mercury and is "completely wrong for the part"

Daniel Radcliffe says he isn’t playing Freddie Mercury and is “completely wrong for the part”

September 25th 2013, 9:03am

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

On Monday a rumor started circulating that Daniel Radcliffe might be playing Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in an upcoming biopic, a part Sacha Baron Cohen was set to play for a long time before exiting the project in July. Even though Radcliffe has shown he can play someone else besides Harry Potter on the big screen, when the rumor was announced many people commented that the actor just isn't right for the part.

Apparently Daniel Radcliffe feels the same way and also shot down the rumor that he'll be playing Freddie Mercury while talking to Empire:

"There is no truth to it at all," Radcliffe told the Empire Podcast. "It's one of those very, very funny things: it came out of a story in the Daily Star and then you see newspapers like The Guardian using The Star as their source, and it grows and grows [until] it's 'Dan Radcliffe is playing Freddie Mercury!', which I was never going to do.

"Everyone on the internet who I presume is saying I'm totally wrong for that part is correct," he laughed. "I AM completely wrong for that part!"

Daniel Radcliffe goes on to give an example of a rumor he would be down with, and talks about another rumor that turned out to be untrue involving Emma Watson:

If I'd seen a rumour about me playing Iggy Pop, I'd think, 'Hey, I'd have a go at that – that'd be fun!', but Freddie Mercury? No. I don't even know who the director is. They seem to be saying it's Stephen Frears and Tom Hooper on the internet."

"This is the kind of thing that happens to me and it happens to Emma (Watson) with multiple 50 Shades Of Grey things. When somebody has column inches to fill, they just sub in one of our names."

Daniel Radcliffe as Freddie Mercury could have been interesting, but that doesn't mean he would have been a good choice for the part. Even though it sounds like he isn't up for the part at all, I'm glad to see he realizes this is one role he probably shouldn't pursue.