Paramedics were forced to check on Rami Malek, the best actor Oscar winner for his role in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” after he fell shortly after taking the award.

He was checked by medical staff and appeared uninjured when he came backstage to talk to reporters.

Malek, receiving the best actor trophy Sunday for his portrayal of the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, called it a "monumental moment." He thanked members of the band in attendance.

"I may not have been the obvious choice, but I guess it worked out," Malek said. "Thank you, Queen, thank you, guys, for allowing me to be the tiniest part of your phenomenal, extraordinary legacy. I am forever in your debt."

Malek speculated about what he would have made of the honor as a child.

"I think his curly-haired mind would have been blown," he said. "That kid was struggling with his identity, trying to figure himself out."

He lauded "Bohemian Rhapsody" for telling the story of a gay man and an immigrant who lived his life as "unapologetically himself." Mercury, who was born in Zanzibar to parents from India, moved to England with his family as a teenager.

Malek noted that he himself is the son of immigrants, from Egypt, and a first-generation American. He gave a shout-out to his mother -- "I love you, lady" -- and regretted that his father was not alive.

"My dad didn't get to see me do any of this, but I think he's looking down on me right now," Malek said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report