Daniel Zolghadri Replaces Charles Melton in 'My Darling California'

Daniel Zolghadri is stepping in to replace Charles Melton in Elijah Bynum's L.A. crime thriller "My Darling California," the filmmakers confirmed. Melton has dropped out of the project.

Zolghadri will play Kent, a young man caught in an escalating conflict that spirals beyond his control. The film will be shot entirely in California.

The cast includes Jessica Chastain, Chris Pine, Chris Evans, Mikey Madison and Don Cheadle. David Hinojosa, Alex Coco and Sébastien Raybaud produce, with Scott Budnick and Ameet Shukla of 1Community and Emily Blavatnik and Danny Cohen of Access Entertainment. Len Blavatnik and Zach Nutman of 2AM serve as executive producers.

The film was produced, backed and sold by Anton, which also handled international sales. Anton and CAA Media Finance co-represent U.S. and global rights.

Zolghadri's Rising Profile

Zolghadri held small roles in films like Bo Burnham's "Eighth Grade" and HBO's "Fahrenheit 451" before breaking out as the lead of Prime Video's sci-fi drama series "Tales from the Loop." He recently had supporting roles in "Y2K," "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" and "Lurker," and his most recent credit was for Alexandrea Pechman's drama "Magazine," which premiered earlier this month at the Toronto International Film Festival.

He will soon star in "The Temple" from directors Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas, and Annie Baker's "Ancient History" for A24. Bynum got his break writing and directing the A24 drama "Hot Summer Nights" with Timothée Chalamet, and followed up with "Magazine Dreams" in 2023 with Jonathan Majors.