Rami Malek turned down a role in the James Bond movie

It seems that Rami Malek does not choose his roles out of vain. The Oscar-winning American actor of Egyptian descent declared that he would not have accepted the role of the villain in the upcoming James Bond movie if this character had any specific “ideological or religious” affiliation.

Malik, who won an Oscar earlier this year for best lead actor for his portrayal of Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, said he took some time to accept his new role.

The British newspaper, the Mirror, quoted Malik, 38, as saying that he needed to get assurances from American director Carrie Fukunaga that his role would not be an Arabic-speaking terrorist.

"It's a great role and I'm very excited to play it, but that's something I've discussed with Carrie," he said, adding, "I told him we can't associate the character with any act of terrorism that reflects an ideology or a religion. It's something I don't like, so I said if you chose me for that then I quit."

"It seemed clear that this is not the director's vision, so the character I'm going to play is a different kind of villain."

Malek plays the main villain in the new Bond movie, in which Daniel Craig returns as 007.

Malek, who was born in Los Angeles in 1981 to Egyptian parents who immigrated to the United States, said he is very attached to his Egyptian heritage.

He explained to "GQ" magazine last year, "I am Egyptian. I grew up listening to Egyptian music (...) I am very attached to the culture and the people who live there.”

The new James Bond movie is scheduled to be shown in cinemas in the United States, Britain and France on April 8, 2020.

In addition, preparations continue in southern Italy for filming the next part of the James Bond series.

Matera was chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2019 and Gravina di Puglia in the Puglia region, to host the shooting of several scenes from the film, according to the websites of the two regions.

The dates and details of filming were not revealed, but the Gravina region indicated that it will witness the filming process during the months of "August and September."