Australian veteran Roger Ward , best known for his role in Mad Max (1979), is set to make his Indian cinema debut with Disease X: The Zombie Experiment . Director Nirmal Baby Varghese shared that Roger was originally approached for Thariode, a feature film on the gold-mining history of Wayanad, but the project was delayed. “When I conceived Disease X , there was a mysterious character called Mr. X that felt perfect for Roger. Though it’s an extended cameo of about three minutes, the role is pivotal. His age, physicality, and the tough-guy roles he has done before made him an ideal fit,” says the director.

Roger has already completed filming his portions with the help of an overseas cameraman. Only the dubbing remains, which will be done remotely during post-production. Another reason behind his interest in Indian cinema is personal — his wife, Jay Pillai, is a Malayali who grew up in North India before moving to Australia.