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My trauma at Saddam’s hands: Baghdad Central star Waleed Zuaiter on why Iraq war thriller is personal

© PA Photo/Channel 4/Sife ElamineWaleed Zuaiter as Muhsin al-Khafaji in Baghdad Central
Waleed Zuaiter as Muhsin al-Khafaji in Baghdad Central

As a former policeman in a new must-watch Iraq War drama, his life is plunged into chaos following the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime.

Yet Waleed Zuaiter’s own story is as emotive as anything viewers will see in the compelling new six-parter, Baghdad Central.

The London Has Fallen star Zuaiter grew up in Kuwait, where his family was forced to flee after Iraqi forces invaded nearly 30 years ago. Having seen his family uprooted, the role is incredibly personal for the 48-year-old, who said: “My family has struggled in war and poverty, been evicted unjustly and experienced Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

“I was born in Sacramento, lived in Kuwait from the ages of five to 19, went back to the US for college but returned to Kuwait for my brother’s engagement party – then Saddam invaded. Because they’d closed the border to Saudi Arabia, we – me, my parents and my 93-year-old grandmother – had to get to Jordan.

“It took us three days, but we made it. It was when my adulthood started, a loss of innocence.”

Waleed plays Muhsin al-Khafaji, a man who has lost his job, his house and his wife. In the first episode, al-Khafaji is recruited by ex-police officer Frank Temple, a Brit whose aim is to rebuild the Iraqi Police Force from the ground up, played by Dr Foster star Bertie Carvel. Homeland’s July Namir plays Mrouj, Khafaji’s daughter, while Clara Khoury (Body Of Lies) and Golden Globe-nominated House Of Cards star Corey Stoll also feature.

Waleed revealed that when he first auditioned, he wasn’t sure he wanted the role. He said: “I had not long lost my father so I was really down, but my agent had been tracking it for a couple of years and said, ‘It feels like it’s written for you’.

“I had a feeling this project and character were special. The writing is so rich and deep and character-driven.”

Meanwhile, Laurence Olivier Award winner Carvel found it exciting to be part of such a diverse cast.

“We are used to seeing stories set against the backdrop of conflict in the Middle East, but which centre on a British or American hero,” he said. “It feels important that this story is told from the perspective of an Iraqi family and told by such an incredible cast from all over the world.

“It was exciting, when we all met at the read-through, to hear so many different perspectives on the region and its politics: Jordanians, Iraqis, Palestinians, Brits – each of us with our own stories and angles.”


Baghdad Central, Channel 4, 10pm, Monday