Paramount+ has just signed on Ian McShane to star in the streamer's upcoming Australian drama series Last King of the Cross. Per Deadline, the actor has taken a major role in the series which will see him starring opposite Lincoln Younes. The series is set to start filming this May in Sydney. Mark Fennessy and Karl Zwicky are producing the series, which is a Helium Pictures production. Kieran Darcy-Smith is writing and directing.
Last King of the Cross is based on John Ibrahim's autobiography of the same name. It tells the "operatic story of two brothers, Sam and John Ibrahim who organize the street but lose each other in their ascent to power. The 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."
McShane will serve as the antagonist of the series with his role as Ezra Shipman, the reigning King of the Cross. The wily villain 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."
Younes, meanwhile, will co-star as John Ibrahim. Ezra takes in John, who reminds Ezra of a younger version of himself, under his wing, hoping to extend his reign as the King of the Cross. But perhaps Ezra doesn't realize John may have a cunning plan of his own.
Ian McShane Will Return as Winston in John Wick: Chapter 4
McShane is well-known for his role as Winston in the John Wick movies. Alongside Keanu Reeves, he will appear in the upcoming sequel John Wick: Chapter 4. After several release date delays, fans will see the actor back in the part once again when the sequel is released on March 24, 2023.
"I couldn't be happier than to welcome Ian McShane back to John Wick: Chapter 4. He is not only an amazing actor but is an indispensable collaborator who has helped define the world of John Wick," director Chad Stahelski said in a statement in 2021 when McShane officially signed on for the project.
McShane is also acclaimed for his role in the popular HBO Western series Deadwood, a role he reprised for Deadwood: The Movie. The actor, who also starred in Prime Video's American Gods, has also appeared in other films like Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Hellboy, Grimsby, and more. On the small screen, he is also known for Lovejoy, Dallas, American Horror Story: Asylum, Ray Donovan, and Game of Thrones.