A Jewish comedian, on his way to a Wall Street party, enters an elevator where, standing in the corner, there is a security guard named Mohammed. From their first encounter, it is clear that they do not like each other. Moments later, the elevator grinds to a halt, and the Jew, the Muslim and a handful of others are stranded 50 floors up. All harbor secret resentments. One of them, it turns out, has a bomb.
"Elevator," a feature-length suspense film now in production in Los Angeles, California, features an ensemble cast that includes Waleed Zuaiter, a Palestinian actor and Broadway veteran known for playing Middle Eastern and Muslim characters. Despite another such role in "Elevator," Zuaiter sees this movie as a break from stereotype.
"It was one of those scripts I could not stop reading, once I started," he said. "My character is not what you would expect. For a lot of the film, he is very quiet and mysterious. You really don't know what to expect from this guy."
Or from the other characters, it seems. Among those trapped with the security guard and the racist comedian are the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, a pregnant woman whose boyfriend dumped her, an ambitious TV reporter, a cheating ex-boyfriend, a morally compromised Wall Street executive and his young granddaughter. Among them stands Mohammed, the character played by Zuaiter.
"Waleed was our first choice for this role," said award-winning writer/producer Marc Rosenberg. "He brings the right balance of subtlety and intensity. There is a lot going on with him internally, and he knows how to reveal it in the right way, as the film progresses."
Zuaiter was born in Sacramento, California, but grew up in Kuwait. He returned to the U.S. to attend The George Washington University, where he received a degree in philosophy and theatre. He performed at several theaters in the Washington, D.C. area, including The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Washington Shakespeare Company, The Studio Theatre, The Source Theatre, and the Keegan Theatre Company.
After moving to New York, Zuaiter began receiving critical praise for roles in such productions as "Sixteen Wounded" by Eliam Kraiem, Guantanamo: Honor bound to Defend Freedom," "Mother Courage" (with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline) and "Stuff Happens," for which he was awarded a Drama Desk Award along with the rest of the cast for "2006 Outstanding Ensemble Performance." More recently, he received rave reviews for his sensitive portrayal of an Iraqi translator in "Betrayed" by George Packer. Zuaiter is also co-executive producer of the critically acclaimed New York Arab-American Comedy Festival (NYAACF).
His outstanding stage work eventually led Zuaiter to Hollywood. His screen credits include "The Men Who Stare at Goats," "Sex and the City" and "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" and the Emmy-winning HBO and BBC mini-series "House of Saddam." Now he finds himself working in "Elevator" with an ensemble cast that includes multi-award-winner Shirley Knight ("Kennedy's Children," "Sweet Bird of Youth," "Desperate Housewives") and John Getz ("The Social Network," "Blood Simple"), as a Wall Street executive who may have cost his clients their life savings.
Rounding out the cast are Joey Slotnick ("The Office," "Alias," "Boston Public"), Devin Ratray ("Law and Order," "Home Alone," "Dennis the Menace"), Christopher Backus ("Huge," "The O.C.," "Will & Grace"), Anita Briem ("The Tudors," "Journey to the Center of the Earth"), Tehmina Sunny ("Undercovers," "Children of Men"), Michael Mercurio ("Days of Our Lives," "Brainstorm") and twins Amanda and Rachel Pace ("Private Practice," "The Bold and the Beautiful").
More information about Waleed Zuaiter is available at www.waleedzuaiter.com.
