Evan Peters On ‘Dabka,’ Filming In Somalia & Working With Al Pacino [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Dabka, directed by Bryan Buckley, is based on the true story of Jay Bahadur (Evan Peters), a rookie journalist who goes to Somalia to live among, and write about, the pirates getting international infamy in 2008. The film also stars Al Pacino as Seymour Tolbin, a fictitious Vietnam War correspondent, and Barkhad Abdi (Captain Philips) as Jay’s Somali guide.

Peters, star of Dabka, recently sat down with uInterview to discuss his experience filming the movie, working with Abdi, Somali refugees, and Al Pacino.

Peters was initially intrigued by the project because of its authenticity and its honesty towards Somalia and its people.

“It was sort of an insane thing to do and Somalia is incredibly dangerous,” Peter’s told uInterview in an exclusive video interview. “Bryan [Buckley] really sold me on that when we first met and he told me about the beauty of the Somali culture, how sarcastic they are and how funny they are, and how they are portrayed very negatively in Hollywood and in the media.”

Beyond just portraying Somalians in a more realistic and more well-rounded light, Buckley cast several Somali refugees, bringing a deeper authenticity to the film.

Said Peters, “Working with [the Somali refugees] was a blast. They were so real and so natural. I didn’t know what they were saying half of the time because they were speaking Somali but Barkhad was helping me translate in real life as well as in the movie.”

And while working with Somali refugees was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Peters, so was working with his other co-star, the legendary Al Pacino.

Because they only worked together for two days, Pacino first asked if Peters would like to meet up, so they could get to know each other a little better. Peters happily agreed.

“I go to meet him at the bar and I’m right on time and I’m waiting fifteen minutes and I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s Al Pacino maybe he is a little late, you know,'” Peters recalled. “So I’m waiting at the bar and finally I go over to the maitre d’ and I was like, ‘I’m meeting Al Pacino?’ You know, that’s just weird to say and I didn’t really want to say that because I didn’t think he would believe me, number one, and number two, it just felt weird coming out of my mouth.”

In the end, he told the waiter and was pointed in the direction of Pacino, who had been waiting for Peters in the corner the whole time. Still, the legendary actor didn’t hold anything against Peters and told him some of the many stories he has collected over his career.

“It was awesome to work with him, it was so fun, I can’t even really describe it.”