Actor Lincoln Younes to play John Ibrahim in Last King Of The Cross TV series

The Australian actor set to take on the character of Kings Cross nightclub identity John Ibrahim in a new Sydney television series has been announced.

Celebrated Australian actor Lincoln Younes will bring the character of John Ibrahim to life on the small screen.

Fresh from shooting production for the ABC and Nine, Younes will soon begin shooting TV drama Last King Of The Cross, which is inspired by the life of the colourful Kings Cross nightclub identity.

“It is an honour to have the opportunity to play such a formidable character in a world where truth is often stranger than fiction,” Younes said. “I feel privileged to lead a diverse cast with a Lebanese character at its centre, and I’m excited to bring the world to Sydney’s Kings Cross once more.”

Actor Lincoln Younes will play John Ibrahim in a new television series. Picture: David Swift

Last King of the Cross has been written and will be directed by Kieran Darcy-Smith and is inspired by Ibrahim’s 2017 autobiography of the same name.

It is being produced by Mark Fennessy’s Helium Pictures, along with Karl Zwicky, and will screen locally on Paramount+ with international distribution set up by Cineflix Rights. The series will be shot in Sydney.

“Lincoln was always our front runner to play the character of John Ibrahim and so we are delighted to have him head up our cast,” Fennessy said.

The show synopsise describes the show as “an operatic story of two brothers, Sam and John Ibrahim, who organise the street but lose each other in their ascent to power”.

John Ibrahim at the Uliveto cafe in Kings Cross. Picture: John Grainger

Former Home And Away actor Lincoln Younes. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Specifically, the 10-part drama will track John’s “rise from a poverty-stricken immigrant with no education, no money, and no prospects, to Australia’s most infamous nightclub mogul in Sydney’s Kings Cross - a mini-Atlantic City, barely half a mile long with every form of criminality on offer.”

Younes is one of Australia’s most in-demand actors. He’s just finished shooting After The Verdict and Barons and is best known for starring roles in the likes of Love Child, Grand Hotel, Doctor Doctor, Tangle and City Homicide.

Lincoln Younes during lockdown.

The TV series is based on John Ibrahim’s 2017 autobiography.

The 30-year-old was cast as Benjamin in the television adaptation of The CW channel in the US series, The Lost Boys, with that production ceasing during the pandemic.

“He is a terrific young actor and he’ll be taking us all on a wild ride. John Ibrahim is - amongst so many things - an enigma wrapped in a mystery,” Darcy-Smith said. “He is a fascinating and compelling character. An individual. Therefore finding the right person to portray him accurately was paramount. Finding Lincoln was a blessing.”

It is not the first time Ibrahim’s life has been seen on the small screen. He was a key character in Underbelly: The Golden Mile, then played by Firass Dirani, who won a Logie Award for his performance.

Further casting will be announced ahead of cameras rolling mid year.