Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek has said he told the director of the new James Bond adventure that he would not play the villain if the character was identified "with any act of terrorism reflecting an ideology or a religion".

Malek, who is of Egyptian descent and was raised in the Coptic Orthodox faith, told The Mirror he asked about his character's background before signing up for the film, which is directed by True Detective's Cary Joji Fukunaga. 

"It's a great character and I'm very excited," Malek said. "But that was one thing that I discussed with Cary.

"I said, 'We cannot identify him with any act of terrorism reflecting an ideology or a religion. That's not something I would entertain, so if that is why I am your choice then you can count me out'.

"But that was clearly not his vision. So he's a very different kind of terrorist.

"It's another extremely clever script from the people who have figured out exactly what people want in those movies."

Malek, who won an Oscar earlier this year for his performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, will star opposite Daniel Craig in the 25th James Bond film, which is due for release on April 3, 2020.

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