The Last King of the Cross star Lincoln Younes says he dreamed of playing Sydney nightlife figure John Ibrahim for years.
Lincoln Younes has opened up about his starring role in The Last King of the Cross, which is based on John Ibrahim’s 2017 award-winning book.
Younes, 30, plays the famous Sydney businessman in the 10-part miniseries, now airing on Paramount+.
In a shocking reveal, the heartthrob said he began thinking about playing Ibrahim after finishing the book on Sydney’s colorful character four years ago, long before the show was even announced.
The former Home and Away bit went behind the scenes of the epic drama, rumored to have cost $40 million, in an appearance on The Project on Friday.
Meanwhile, the fan favorite received further encouragement to pursue the role, when a friend said she thought the young star looked like Ibrahim.
Lincoln Younes has opened up about his starring role in The Last King of the Cross, which is based on John Ibrahim’s 2017 award-winning book. Younes appears in the series.
In a startling reveal, Younes said he began thinking about playing Ibrahim (pictured) after finishing Sydney’s colorful character book four years ago, long before the show was even announced.
“There was a photo that one of my friends took, while we were on Zoom,” he explained.
‘And for some reason, it seemed to him [Ibrahim] and a very close friend sent him over and said, “If they ever do a miniseries, you should think about playing him.”
Ibrahim was born in Tripoli, Lebanon and immigrated to Australia in the early ’70s before making his way into Sydney’s nightlife.
Younes admitted that he was once kicked out of one of Ibrahim’s clubs, ‘about ten years ago’.
He then explained that he ‘exchanged’ shirts with a friend and sneaked back into the place.
Sources close to the production say Ibrahim, who was “very particular” about the actor playing him, was impressed with Youne’s acting ability and equally dark complexion and light eyes.
Younes won the role after an exhaustive search that spanned nearly two years.
British actor Tim Roth, who earned an Oscar nomination for the 1995 film Rob Roy, plays fictional crime boss Ezra Shipman on the show.
The fan favorite says he got further encouragement to pursue the role when a friend said he thought the young star looked like Ibrahim.
He replaced Deadwood star Ian McShane, who was originally cast in the role but had to leave the production for health reasons.
The cast also includes Damian Walshe-Howling (Underbelly), Tess Haubrich (Alien: Covenant) and Matt Nable (Arrow).
The elaborate production involved building a full-scale reconstruction of the Kings Cross ‘nightclub’ strip in western Sydney.
Award-winning writer-director Kieran Darcy-Smith directed the crime drama.
During his interview on The Project, Younes admitted that he was once kicked out of one of Ibrahim’s clubs, “about ten years ago.”