Rami Malek explains how he dug deep to find Freddie Mercury

Rami Malek says he identified with the immigrant side of Freddie Mercury while tacking the role of the legendary Queen frontman.

The first-generation American spoke about his starring role at the New York premiere of "Bohemian Rhapsody" on Tuesday. The "Mr. Robot" star connected with Mercury's outsider passion for success.

"I set out to be an actor some, I don't know, over a decade ago. I think something was possibly burning inside the both of us. We had aspirations to live our dream. And I'm getting a chance to do that right now in this very moment," Malek said.

Actor Mike Myers, left, and musician Brian May attend the premiere of "Bohemian Rhapsody" at The Paris Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan AgostiniInvisionAP)

While many aspects defined Mercury, including being one of the best vocalists to front a rock band, his flamboyant presence and a penchant for taking chances, Malek felt like he had to dig deeper to find the beating heart of the Tanzania-born Mercury, who arrived in London at 18.

"In some way he became the Freddie Mercury superstar that overcame every obstacle imaginable to be the guy that we all know can command the stage, and hold us in the palm of his hand like no other," Malek said. "My family is from Egypt. I'm a first-generation American. And somehow I thought there were strings that I could tether together with him."

Malek's performance has more than impressed fans; it has impressed members of the band too. Current Queen lead singer Adam Lambert even feels the resemblance between the two is uncanny.

Musician Brian May, center, poses with actors Allen Leech, left, and Rami Malek at the premiere of "Bohemian Rhapsody" at The Paris Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan AgostiniInvisionAP)

"I love the heart that he brings to the role, the sensitivity. I love that the music of this band affects people in a way. And I know it firsthand, you know, being on tour with them for the past six years," Lambert said.

"You play one of these hit songs and just watching the audience light up and go through all their nostalgia and all of their memories that they've shared over this piece of music and they knew every word and they're laughing and they're crying and they're dancing. That's what you want, it really unites people. So I think the film is going to have that power as well," Lambert said.

And Malek has also captivated guitarist Brian May, who says the actor's performance, "suspends disbelief."

Actor Rami Malek poses with his sister Yasmine Malek at the premiere of "Bohemian Rhapsody" at The Paris Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan AgostiniInvisionAP)

"You believe he's Freddie," May said.

Mike Meyer, known for head-banging to "Bohemian Rhapsody" in his own film "Wayne's World," has an ironic cameo playing a record executive who tries to tell the band nobody will play the song on the radio.

"I spent so hard fighting to get 'Bohemian Rhapsody' into 'Wayne's World' that I thought there was unbelievable irony, and such a crazy honor," Meyers said.

Queen band members Brian May, left, and Roger Taylor attend the premiere of "Bohemian Rhapsody" at The Paris Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan AgostiniInvisionAP)

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NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics, expiring U.S. tax breaks for buyers and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row.

Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9% from a year earlier.

Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.

It's a stunning reversal for a car company whose rise once seemed unstoppable as it overtook traditional automakers with far more resources and helped make Musk the world's richest man. The sales drop came despite President Donald Trump's marketing effort early last year when he called a press conference to praise Musk as a “patriot” in front of Teslas lined up on the White House driveway, then announced he would be buying one, bucking presidential precedent to not endorse private company products.

For the fourth quarter, Tesla sales totaled 418,227, falling short of even the much reduced 440,000 target that analysts recently polled by FactSet had expected. Sales were hit hard by the expiration of a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September.

Tesla stock fell 2.6% to $438.07 on Friday.

Even with multiple issues buffeting the company, investors are betting that Tesla CEO Musk can deliver on his ambitions to make Tesla a leader in robotaxi services and get consumers to embrace humanoid robots that can perform basic tasks in homes and offices. Reflecting that optimism, the stock finished 2025 with a gain of approximately 11%.

The latest quarter was the first with sales of stripped-down versions of the Model Y and Model 3 that Musk unveiled in early October as part of an effort to revive sales. The new Model Y costs just under $40,000 while customers can buy the cheaper Model 3 for under $37,000. Those versions are expected to help Tesla compete with Chinese models in Europe and Asia.

For fourth-quarter earnings coming out in late January, analysts are expecting the company to post a 3% drop in sales and a nearly 40% drop in earnings per share, according to FactSet. Analysts expect the downward trend in sales and profits to eventually reverse itself as 2026 rolls along.

Musk said earlier last year that a “major rebound” in sales was underway, but investors were unruffled when that didn't pan out, choosing instead to focus on Musk's pivot to different parts of business. He has has been saying the future of the company lies with its driverless robotaxis service, its energy storage business and building robots for the home and factory — and much less with car sales.

Tesla started rolling out its robotaxi service in Austin in June, first with safety monitors in the cars to take over in case of trouble, then testing without them. The company hopes to roll out the service in several cities this year.

To do that successfully, it needs to take on rival Waymo, which has been operating autonomous taxis for years and has far more customers. It also will also have to contend with regulatory challenges. The company is under several federal safety investigations and other probes. In California, Tesla is at risk of temporarily losing its license to sell cars in the state after a judge there ruled it had misled customers about their safety.

“Regulatory is going to be a big issue,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a well-known bull on the stock. “We're dealing with people's lives.”

Still, Ives said he expects Tesla's autonomous offerings will soon overcome any setbacks.

Musk has said he hopes software updates to his cars will enable hundreds of thousands of Tesla vehicles to operate autonomously with zero human intervention by the end of this year. The company is also planning to begin production of its AI-powered Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals in 2026.

To keep Musk focused on the company, Tesla’s directors awarded Musk a potentially enormous new pay package that shareholders backed at the annual meeting in November.

Musk scored another huge windfall two weeks ago when the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a decision that deprived him of a $55 billion pay package that Tesla doled out in 2018.

This story has been corrected to show that BYD sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, not 2.26.

AP video journalist Mustakim Hasnath contributed to this report from London.

FILE - The Tesla logo is displayed at a Tesla dealership Thursday, Mar. 13, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)