DUBAI: US-Palestinian actor Waleed Zuaiter has been nominated for a 2021 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award, it was announced on Wednesday.
Zuaiter, who was born in the US and raised in Kuwait, was nominated in the best leading actor category for his role in the thriller series “Baghdad Central,” which premiered in 2020.
Set in 2003, when Baghdad was occupied by US-led coalition forces for six months, the thriller follows Iraqi ex-policeman Muhsin Al-Khafaji, who finds himself embarking on a wider quest for justice in a society that has become lawless.
Al-Khafaji, who was fired after the US invasion, worked under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime. The show, which was shot in Morocco, revolves around Al-Khafaji and his two daughters after he loses his wife and son.
Zuaiter had previously told Arab News that when he first read the script, he was in “deep depression.”
He said: “I wasn’t in the right place. My father had passed away and so I had a very negative filter on everything.
“I had also been skeptical about any writing coming from the West about the Middle East, because my experience had been that it’s rare that they get it right, and a lot of times it is very stereotypical. So my first thought was ‘oh, it’s another stereotype’ or ‘another accented Middle Eastern character’,” he added.
However, his wife pushed him to reconsider the role. “The second time I read it, I was like ‘wow I really connect with this character’ and then I took another read and I was like ‘wow this is everything I’ve ever wanted to play and I was very proud of it,” Zuaiter said.
Read Arab News’ full interview with Waleed Zuaiter here.
The actor is competing against fellow nominees John Boyega for “Small Axe,” Josh O’Connor for “The Crown,” Paapa Essiedu for “I May Destroy You,” Paul Mescal for “Normal People” and Shaun Parkes for “Small Axe.”
