Sneak peek at new drama Last King Of The Cross
You might think you know the story of Sydney nightclub identity John Ibrahim, but this new drama will put a fresh spin on his famous tale.
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You might think you have seen the story of King’s Cross nightclub identity John Ibrahim before but the new series Last King Of The Cross will be something very different.
With a fictional baddie for John to face and a slew of supporting characters, the series will put its own entertaining spin on the famous Ibrahim tale.
Jessica McSweeney breaks down all the players ahead of the release of Last King Of The Cross on February 17.
John Ibrahim
The John of this series is opportunistic, ruthless, fearless and a quick learner, opening his first nightclub at just 17.
Muscling his way to the top of the Cross, he is stabbed, shot and beaten.
Lincoln Younes’s version of John is harbouring a fear of failure, spurred on by the horror he experienced as a child in war-torn Lebanon.
This character has unbeatable drive, work ethic and street smarts.
Sam Ibrahim
John’s older brother gets a tragic backstory as the family’s breadwinner and a complicated tale of immigrant turned enforcer.
Claude Jabbour’s Sam Ibrahim who is haunted by war and struggling under the pressure of being the older brother.
In this series, Sam is the chief enforcer for underworld figure Nasa Kalouri, who uses him as a walking weapon to keep the Kings Cross players in line.
The real Sam Ibrahim was deported back to Lebanon after rising through the ranks of the Nomads bikie gang.
Ezra Shipman
A fictional nemesis for a young John Ibrahim, Hollywood legend Tim Roth plays reigning Kings Cross king Ezra Shipman.
Overseeing illegal gambling, prostitution and strip clubs, Ezra owns this version of Darlinghurst Rd.
He pockets a percentage of all trade on the strip and bends the ears of corrupt cops to get what he wants.
Ezra is a powerful figure for a young John Ibrahim to go to war with.
Big Tony Stone
Ezra Shipman’s personal hit man, Big Tony is quick to pull the trigger and not shy of a bloody fight.
He obeys the commands of Ezra but has a sick type of respect for his victims and kills with dignity. He never mourns a kill but doesn’t celebrate them either.
He elicits terror and respect from the most hardened of criminals on the strip.
Big Tony is played by veteran Aussie actor Matt Nable, who ironically played hero cop Gary Jubelin in Underbelly: Badness.
Nasa Kalouri
A boss of the strip’s underworld players, Nasa Kalouri sets the rules and maintains order on the street.
He brings the drug dealers and club owners in line and makes sure no-one gains the upper hand.
He sets the door price on all the clubs, collects protection money and controls the flow of cash on Darlinghurst Rd.
He flicks half the cash to big boss Ezra, pockets some for himself and uses the rest to pay off crooked cops and enforcers, including Sam Ibrahim.
Played by theatre and TV actor Wadih Dona.
Bryan Crellan
In the memoir of which this series takes inspiration, John talks about alleged corrupt police who would let organised crime thrive in the cross.
In the series, these crooked officers are represented by Detective Bryan Crellan, a ruthless officer not afraid to fire his service weapon.
He skirts around the law to make sure petty crims are put in their place and the big criminal bosses get their fair cut.
In this version of the cross Detective Crellan, played by Callan Mulvey, rules the police force but fears the impending Royal Commission into Police Corruption.
Elizabeth Doyle
The polar opposite of corrupt cops like Detective Crellan, AFP officer Elizabeth Doyle is determined to investigate police corruption in Kings Cross.
Played by Tess Haubrich of Spiderhead fame, Detective Doyle is ready to rid the strip of the police officers who let crime go unchecked.
Detective Doyle’s is a story of breaking glass ceilings.
Her passion for fighting corruption comes after investigating child trafficking in Jakarta.
Tran Cat Tien
Starting as a low level croupier in a high stakes gambling club, Tran Cat Tien works her way up to become the ruthless matriarch of the Vietnamese Bui Doi gang.
After losing everything during the Vietnam War, Tien arrived as a refugee in Cabramatta.
Played by actor and filmmaker Maria Tran, Tien wants to break out of the cycle of refugee poverty by taking the strip’s drug game all for herself.
Joey Romano
A charlatan, black sheep of his Calabrian mafia family and perhaps the richest man in Kings Cross.
Joey Romano, played by Underbelly star Damien Walsh-Howling, starts as a lowly weed slinger, often behind on his protection payments.
His luck changes when he buys an arcade. But it’s not really an arcade, in true Cross style it’s a front for a cocaine dispensary – just stick money in a hole in the wall and out comes a balloon of cocaine.
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