Rami Malek won an Oscar for his portrayal of legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, despite not actually singing or playing any instruments in the movie. Whether you think that should have disqualified him or not from winning the top acting prize though, there was at least one thing he got absolutely right – Freddie Mercury’s speaking voice. Malek’s ability to talk just like the late singer is one of 17 performances based on real people dialect coach Erik Singer breaks down in his latest video. This continues to be one of the best recurring series on the internet.

In his latest video for Wired, Singer evaluates more performances where actors played real people. Malek’s Freddie Mercury was pitch perfect when it came to dialogue, and Singer illustrates why. He also explains why sometimes not going for an exact impression is the right choice for an actor. Like Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II on The Crown, for example. Or why capturing a person’s persona can be even more powerful than doing a spot-on recreation. Cameron Britton’s unsettling portrayal as Ed Kemper on Mindhunter is a standout there.

While Singer has analyzed broader accents – both good and bad – before, this is his second time focusing exclusively on idiolects, “one individual person’s way of speaking”. He could make a hundred more of these and we’d watch them all. It’s fascinating to see an expert critique these performances in a way few can. Not only that, but these videos are incredibly informative. We might all be able to recognize certain regional accents, but these videos explain the actual physical movements responsible for them.

We didn’t need an expert to tell us Natalie Portman was amazing as former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in Jackie. But we still appreciate getting confirmation from someone who can help explain why. Plus, I for one think Malek deserved his Oscar win. Now we have a dialect coach’s support, and it’s music to my ears. Even if he’s just talking about speaking.

Featured Image: Wired

The post Dialect Coach Evaluates 17 Actors Performances of Real People appeared first on Nerdist.

That’s right, you do not have to wait ’til December’s release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to hear from Kelly Marie Tran, because she stars in Passenger List, a new mystery thriller podcast arriving today from Radiotopia! Our favorite Space Asian actor voices the lead character Kaitlin Le in this fictional narrative involving […]

Universal Pictures releases its second trailer for the Bonnie & Clyde thriller starring Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith, Queen & Slim.

The unflinching new drama tells the story about Queen and Slim, a couple pulled over in their vehicle and the situation escalates when Slim is forced to kill the police officer in self-defense. In a complicated situation predicated on a history of state-sanctioned violence and criminal injustice against African-Americans, the two fear for their lives and is forced to go on the run.

The feature-film directorial debut from Melina Matsoukas (executive producer/director of HBO’s Insecure) stars Academy Award® nominee Daniel Kaluuya as “Slim” and rising star Jodie Turner-Smith, as “Queen.” Waithe wrote the screenplay from a story by herself and bestselling author James Frey.

The film is produced by Frey, Waithe, Matsoukas, Michelle Knudsen, Andrew Coles, Brad Weston and Pamela Abdy. The executive producers are Pamela Hirsch, Kaluuya, Aaron L. Gilbert and Jason Cloth.

The post ‘Queen & Slim’ Releases Another New Trailer! appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

One year after Crazy Rich Asians was released to the world, Keith and Dominic look back at the film’s legacy on this week’s Hard NOC Life. http://traffic.libsyn.com/thenerdsofcolor/HNL158.mp3 Before that, though, they recap the latest casting news around the latest Mortal Kombat adaptation — which features a majority Asian cast of actors not associated with Crazy Rich Asians. Then they go […]