Mario Cimarro is preparing to set sail on a new project…

The 52-year-old Cuban actor has joined the cast of historical scripted drama series Coolie, produced by Meileen Choo’s Singapore-based Cathay Film Company.

Inspired by the little-known history of enslaved Chinese “coolies” in Cuba in the 1860s, the English and Chinese-language series features a multinational ensemble cast from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cuba and Colombia.

In addition to Cimarro, Hong Kong actress Nina Paw Hee-Ching has also joined the cast.

Set during the mid-1800s, when the African slave trade was outlawed throughout the Americas, the series follows indentured servants from China, known as “coolies”, working on plantations in Cuba where they were initially treated as slaves. They eventually integrated into Cuban society and fought for independence from Spain side by side with Cubans.

Cimarro will play Captain Salvador Santiago, a multilingual sailor, whose ship transports coolies to Cuba. Paw will play Chulin’s grandmother, a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, who arranges for her granddaughter to marry an indentured Chinese worker in Cuba, to pay off a family debt.

Series creator Meileen Choo said: “We’re beyond excited to have Mario and Nina join the cast of ‘Coolie’ and fully embrace the on-screen diversity and authenticity we’ve architected with purpose to tell this story.”

Previously announced cast members include Hong Kong rising star Louise Wong; Taiwanese actor Joseph Chang; Colombian actor and TV personality Mauricio Henao and Cuban actors Camila Arteche and Sian Chiong.

Cimarro is known for his roles in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and Colombian series Pasión de gavilanes.

The eight-episode series will be directed by Taiwanese-American filmmaker Arvin Chen.

The series will shoot in the Dominican Republic and Panama with principal photography scheduled to start in December 2023.