by Dov Kornits
Land of Bad follows a US special ops mission in the South Philippines gone wrong, with an inexperienced Air Force operative (Liam Hemsworth) thrust into battle, and his and the whole operation’s only hope lying with a Drone operator pilot named Reaper (Russell Crowe).
Robert Rabiah plays the head of the Abu Sayyaf rebels, who are the villains of the piece, though the actor sees them as freedom fighters. “I don’t believe this character and the way he views the world is too dissimilar to what some factions of the IRA may have been fighting against and what they saw as an oppressive regime,” says the Australian actor. “Generally, I think the term ‘freedom fighter’ and ‘terrorist’ continue to be interchangeably used in describing armed struggles. Ultimately, we are storytellers and this is a story that is both a big action thrill-ride and a compelling character piece.”
Australian born, Beverly Hills Playhouse trained Rabiah takes on the role straight from key roles in upcoming series Last King of the Cross and Bay of Fires. He also features in upcoming series Irreverent, plus features Tennessine (alongside his Ali’s Wedding writer/co-star Osamah Sami) and Double Or Nothing.
Land of Bad, however, is the first offshore production that he will feature in. “I firmly believe we are experiencing an unparalleled period of growth with overseas productions discovering what we already knew here, which is that Australia offers world-class facilities, with world-class cast and crew, inspiring locations and production incentives which make for cost-effective production,” said Rabiah.
The action thriller is shooting on the Gold Coast and South East Queensland.
