Paramount+ and Mark Fennessy’s Helium begin filming Last King of the Cross

As filming gets underway on the anticipated Australian original drama series Last King of The Cross, Paramount+ and Helium have revealed the ensemble cast.

Joining the previously announced Lincoln Younes (as John Ibrahim) and Ian McShane (as Ezra Shipman) are Callan Mulvey (300: Rise Of An Empire, Outlaw King), Tess Haubrich (Spiderhead, Alien: Covenant), Claude Jabbour (Eden, Stateless), Maria Tran (truy Sat, Echo 8), Matt Nable (Riddick, Bikie Wars: Brothers In Arms) and Damian Walshe-Howling (Underbelly, Janet King).

Last King of The Cross castmembers Callan Mulvey, Tess Haubrich, Claude Jabbour, Maria Tran, Matt Nable, Damian Walshe-Howling

Last King of The Cross cast also includes Wadih Dona, Setareh Naghoni, Wesley Patten, Jake Ryan, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Simon Elrahi, Robert Rabiah, Justin Rosniak and rising stars Allegra Monk and Malek Alkoni, who plays the teen John Ibrahim.

Inspired by John Ibrahim’s best-selling autobiography of the same name, Last King of The Cross is a story of two brothers, Sam and John Ibrahim who organise the street but lose each other in their ascent to power.

Helium is making a 10-episode drama series on John Ibrahim's autobiography

The 10-part serialised drama tracks John Ibrahim’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.

Filming in and around Sydney, Last King of The Cross is a Helium Pictures production for Paramount+ Australia with Cineflix Rights as the exclusive international distribution partner.

Helium was founded by former Endemol Southern Star CEO Mark Fennessy and the new company comprises Helium Studios, Helium Pictures and Helium Records and is promising to specialise in the creation of innovative, authentic and compelling content, aiming to redefine the boundaries between music and pictures.

Helium founder Mark Fennessy

“At this stage I am funding the business myself,” Fennessy told Mediaweek late last year.

“There are no partners at the moment. The very first person I had to hire was for IT. I have a very young, vibrant team that is full of energy and ideas. There will be appointments and announcements to come. There are no other stakeholders now. I wouldn’t discount that happening in the future.” Fennessy said he was also expecting to expand internationally.

Top photo: Lincoln Younes in Grand Hotel