DUBAI: French Algerian actress Sofia Boutella has started filming Season 3 of Second World War drama “SAS Rogue Heroes.”
Created by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”), the season rejoins British troops in spring 1943 during the Second World War.
Knight’s hit drama for the BBC is being joined by new cast members in Season 3, including Nick Hargrove (“Devotion”), Lorne MacFadyen (“Vigil,” “Starstruck”), Andrew Dawson and Jake Jarratt.
Returning in the role of their leader is Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell) who stars alongside Sofia Boutella as French-Algerian intelligence operative Eve Mansour and Dominic West as British Army officer Dudley Clarke.
The show is based on Ben Macintyre’s book of the same name.
“SAS Rogue Heroes” dramatizes the story of the Special Forces unit, picking up where Season 2 left off after its members parachuted deep behind enemy lines to disrupt the German army. Season 3 is now filming in the UK and France.
In a statement, Knight said: “Series 3 picks up as the war enters a critical phase with the allies mobilizing to liberate France. Way ahead of the advancing front line the SAS are doing what they do best, creating chaos and carnage among the defending Axis troops. Never has the war been so bloody and never have the stakes been so high. The Rogue Heroes dare to win, but at what cost to themselves and their souls?”
Stephen Woolfenden returns as the director for Season 3, with Stephen Smallwood (“The Serpent,” “Patrick Melrose”) taking on the role of producer.
Boutella most recently starred in “The Killer’s Game,” which hit cinemas in September, and Netflix’s “Rebel Moon — Part 2: The Scargiver.”
The actress, who at the age of 10 fled to Paris with her family during the Algerian civil war, is also known for her breakout performance in the Oscar-nominated film “Star Trek Beyond,” in which she portrayed the fierce alien warrior, Jaylah.
She is also a professional dancer and starred in a music video for rock band the Foo Fighters in 2020.
The 43-year-old has decades of dance experience under her belt and has been honing her skills since she was a child.
Born in Bab El-Oued, a bustling neighborhood of Algiers, Boutella started studying ballet aged 5. The family fled the Algerian Civil War in 1992 when she was 10 years old and moved to Paris. There, she gravitated toward rhythmic gymnastics, joining the French national team at the age of 18.
She blended her classical ballet training with the physicality of gymnastics and even spent time break-dancing with a dance group called the Vagabond Crew.
