Acclaimed Mexican actor Gael García Bernal takes on a dramatic role in the upcoming film Rosewater, conceived and directed by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart. García Bernal plays Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who was imprisoned in Iran for about two months following his appearance in Stewart's show in 2009 where he talked about the country's elections. The film was shown at the Venice Film Festival and is scheduled to be released in American theaters on November 7.
Stewart has been asked why he gave the role of an Iranian journalist to a Mexican actor. Stewart told The Hollywood Reporter that he was having trouble finding someone "who was able to have that distance, who, within the horror of what was happening to them, maintained a certain light. And when Gael came in to read, it was kind of immediate."
