Khalid Gonçalves

Khalid Gonçalves (Arabic: خالد Khālid, Portuguese: ɡõˈsaɫvɨʃ) (born Paul Pires Gonçalves; September 8, 1971 in New York City) is a Portuguese American Muslim actor and musician who is best known for his portrayal of British rock icon Freddie Mercury in the Off Broadway play Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God.

One of Gonçalves' earliest professional stage appearances was in December 1996, when he was a member of the Waterloo Bridge Theatre Company. He appeared in two plays in one evening: Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Anton Chekhov's The Bear. In Earnest, he played the roles of Merriman and Lane and in The Bear, he played the role of Luka. His versatility was noted by John Attanas of the Off-Off Broadway Review (OOBR), who remarked, "...the most versatile actor of the evening was Paul Goncalves, who played three different servants over the course of both shows, and played them in the most distinctly different ways imaginable."

A year later, in 1997, Gonçalves starred in the monodrama Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God, which was written and directed by childhood friend Charles Messina, and which debuted at the Sanford Meisner Theatre in New York City on 24 November, at 6:48 pm – the 6th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s death.

Mark Marone of Billboard magazine said of Gonçalves’ performance:

Gonçalves bears a striking resemblance to the legendary vocalist and presents a passionate performance of human frailty against the backdrop of a superstar who had it all. ... All the while, Gonçalves portrays Mercury's idiosyncratic stage moves and vocal nuances to great, campy effect.

In 1999, Gonçalves portrayed late actor James Hayden in the one act play Actor Found Dead, also written and directed by Messina, which was staged at the John Houseman Theatre in New York City.

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