Filming for new drama series Last King of the Cross - inspired by John Ibrahim - is 'interrupted by gangland funeral'

Filming is underway on nightclub identity John Ibrahim’s much anticipated TV drama, Last King of the Cross.

However according to the Sydney Morning Herald’s Emerald City on Sunday, filming at Western Sydney University this week was ‘interrupted by a police helicopter’ that ‘hovered over Rookwood cemetery’ for gangster Rami Iskander’s funeral.

Iskander, 23, was gunned down last Saturday outside his home in Belmore in the city’s southwest in front of his pregnant wife and two-year-old child, just 17 days after his uncle Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad was killed in Greenacre in a similar attack.

Disruption: Filming for new drama series Last King of the Cross – inspired by John Ibrahim – was ‘interrupted by a gangland funeral’ this week, according to the Sydney Morning Herald’s Emerald City. Ibrahim is pictured in Sydney on March 23

Their deaths are among a series of deadly attacks across the last few weeks in Sydney’s west, with a bikie boss and his younger brother also shot while at a gym in Auburn.

Meanwhile, drama mini-series Last King of the Cross will explore Ibrahim’s rise from immigrant to well-known nightclub identity.

Ibrahim was born in Tripoli, Lebanon and emigrated to Australia in the early 70s before making his way in Sydney’s nightlife scene – a rise which will form the backdrop of the upcoming series.

Actor Lincoln Younes takes on the role of Ibrahim, while the young John is played by Australian actor Mason Mansour, 10.

Reports: Filming at Western Sydney University this week was ‘interrupted by a police helicopter’ that ‘hovered over Rookwood cemetery’ for gangster Rami Iskander’s funeral. Pictured: Rami Iskander

The teenage Ibrahim is also played by UK actor, singer and songwriter Malek Alkoni.

Younes said it was an honour to play the character.

‘This is a larger than life story and I’m proud to be part of it,’ he said in a statement, after being hand-picked to play the role by Ibrahim himself.

‘Kings Cross was Sydney’s most iconic melting pot of entertainment and I can’t wait for it to be brought to life on TV.

Inspiration: Drama mini-series Last King of the Cross will explore Ibrahim’s rise from immigrant to well-known nightclub identity

Familiar face: Ibrahim was born in Tripoli, Lebanon and emigrated to Australia in the early 70s before making his way in Sydney’s nightlife scene – a rise which will form the backdrop of the upcoming series

‘Spanning decades, Last King Of The Cross is intergenerational, and I am so looking forward to bringing the character of John Ibrahim to screen alongside both Mason and Malek.’

Both local and international actors have been cast in the upcoming Paramount+ drama.

They include Outlaw King’s Callan Mulvey, Under­belly’s Damian Walshe-Howling, Alien: Covenant’s Tess Haubrich, Arrow’s Matt Nable and John Wick’s Ian McShane.

Multi-award winning writer-director Kieran Darcy-Smith will direct the crime-drama.

Leading role: Aussie actor Lincoln Younes (pictured) plays Ibrahim after an exhaustive search spanning almost two years. It’s understood Younes – who has Lebanese heritage – beat out a number of other actors