Acclaimed British actor Ian McShane (Deadwood, John Wick: Chapter 4) will play the lead antagonist, Ezra Shipman, in the highly anticipated Australian original drama series, Last King of The Cross.
Renowned for his outstanding characterisations of anti-heroes and charming heavies, McShane will bring to life the fictional character of Ezra Shipman – the reigning King of The Cross.
Wily and much-celebrated, Ezra has a gift for all things business, be that the stock market or overseeing the illegal gambling, prostitution, and strip joints that Kings Cross has been famous for since the Vietnam War.
For three generations Ezra has been the most powerful and most feared man in Sydney, but now he is confronting his looming mortality. For all his power and material success, and all he has had to do to maintain it, there is no one to continue his legacy.
Enter John Ibrahim, (Lincoln Younes) an adolescent facsimile of Ezra: young, brash, ambitious, and intelligent. Seeing the opportunity to extend his reign, Ezra takes the young John into his inner circle as his acolyte. But who is exploiting who?
Filming is set to begin in May with the series due to screen on Paramount+
Daniel Monaghan, Senior Vice President, Content and Programming, Paramount Australia and New Zealand, said: “We are incredibly thrilled to have an actor of Ian McShane’s calibre and body of work, join our very own rising star Lincoln Younes, to tell this unique and captivating Australian story set amongst one of our country’s most iconic and notorious backdrops.”
Producer and HELIUM Founder, Mark Fennessy, said: “From Winston to Blackbeard, Al Swearengen to Mr Wednesday, Ian McShane’s on-screen characterisations are the epitome of compelling masterpieces, and we cannot wait for the world to meet Ezra Shipman.”
