Charlie Hunnam convinced Rami Malek for 'Papillon'

Los Angeles : Actor Charlie Hunnam reached out to Rami Malik and convinced him to join survival drama "Papillon".

Based on autobiographical novel "Papillon", published in France in 1969, the film tells the story of two prisoners trying to escape a penal colony in Guiana. The mystery drama is directed by Michael Noer.

The film follows the epic story of Henri "Papillon" Charriare (Hunnam), a safecracker from the Parisian underworld framed for murder. Malik will be seen as his friend and accomplice in prison. While the team was casting for the film, they faced availability issues for Malik. Then Hunnam stepped in to convince Malik.

"At one point, it looked like it might not work out. So I called him and said, 'Brother, stay the course! I know this is going to happen! We'll make it happen if we have to!' The funny thing is, he and I didn't really know each other very well at that point, so it was sort of a heavy burden to lay on him," Hunnam said in a statement to IANS.

"But thankfully he folded under my pressure," he added.

Being brought to India by MVP Entertainment, the film is slated to release in India on August 31.