‘American Idol’ Alum Adam Lambert Reveals Cameo in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert has been performing with Queen for much of the past decade, so it was only fair for him to have a cameo in Bohemian Rhapsody. In the film, Lambert is almost unrecognizable as a truck driver.

Lambert, 36, shared a photo of the truck driver seen briefly during a scene in the movie on Jan. 11, confirming it was him under that baseball cap with long hair and a beard.

“Who is he!?” Lambert wrote. “#BohemianRhapsodyMovie is available for digital download on 1/22!”

The scene comes during Queen’s first tour of the U.S. During a tour stop, Rami Malek’s Freddie Mercury is seen exchanging glances with Lambert’s truck driver while he is on the phone with his girlfriend, Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton). Mercury watches as the driver goes into the men’s restroom, hinting at Mercury’s attraction to men.

Lambert revealed he filmed a cameo for the film during an October 2018 interview with Bohemian Rhapsody. After the film hit theaters on Nov. 2, fans quickly realized Lambert played the truck driver, notes Billboard.

Lambert joined Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor in 2011, after Taylor and May’s successful collaboration with Paul Rodgers ended in 2009. The trio went on world tours in 2014-2015 and 2017-2018.

In an interview with NPR in December, Lambert said one of the reasons why he has worked so well with Taylor and May is that he understood from the beginning that they never wanted a Mercury impersonator.

“In talking to Brian May and Roger Taylor, it became very obvious to me very quickly, ‘We’re not looking for an imitator, we do not want an impersonation of Freddie.’ That would be tacky,” he explained.

The trio has now developed such chemistry that they can communicate without saying a word to each other on stage, Lambert explained.

“We can look at each other now on stage and have like shorthand just with a look,” he said. “Now it feels like it’s in my body, which is so cool, to be able to get on stage and still have that freedom.”

Lambert told PEOPLE in September that Mercury is “irreplaceable,” adding, “There’s no way to compare to him. It was always my hope that audiences would understand that I’m up there just excited to sing great music that everyone knows.”

Since its November release, Bohemian Rhapsody has become the highest-grossing musical biopic, earning $779.8 million worldwide. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Drama and Best Actor – Drama for Malek’s performance.

Meanwhile, Queen + Adam Lambert start another North American tour on July 10 in Vancouver.

Photo credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images