Mere months after arriving in Los Angeles from Australia, actor Beejan Land has secured the role of a lifetime playing a suave, charismatic TV host in the comedy film Rock the Kasbah.
Land will join a star-studded ensemble alongside Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Zooey Deschanel, Kate Hudson, Danny McBride, and Scott Caan.
The role adds to the actor’s growing list of credits since arriving Stateside, including a recurring role on NCIS: Los Angeles, U.S. feature Damn Foreigners, U.S. Cult Indie Mega Shark Vs Mecha Shark, and Australian/French indie feature The Last Goodbye.
Rock the Kasbah centers on Richie Vance (Murray), a washed-up music producer who finds one last shot at redemption when he discovers a golden-voiced young girl in Afghanistan.
He manages her through the country’s version of American Idol, the wildly popular Afghan Star hosted by Daoud (Land).
Oscar-winner Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Diner, Sleepers, Toys) will direct the Mitch Glazer (Great Expectations) script with shooting set to begin this June in the U.S. and Morocco.
Before taking on Hollywood, Land spent four years in Paris honing his theatre roots at Ariane Mnouchkine’s Theatre du Soleil.
For two years he also followed in the footsteps of Geoffrey Rush, Steven Berkoff, Yazmina Reza and Mnouchkine herself, studying at the Jacques Lecoq School of Mime, Movement and Theatre.
Back home, he spent formative years at Australian Theatre for Young People (atyp). The NIDA trained Land also appeared on stage and screen with Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) and Sydney Theatre Company (STC) and in roles on All Saints, Life Support, and Very Small Business.
Land is the latest Australian actor making waves in Hollywood alongside the likes of Rebel Wilson, Xavier Samuel, Bojana Novakovic, and Alex Russell.
