Irfan Zaini is a renowned local actor, model and TV host who has appeared in many serials and shows.

But do you know that appearing alongside Thalapathy Vijay in 2008's "Kuruvi" is what inspired him to become an actor in the first place?

Astro Ulagam caught up with the 26-year-old, who recalled his experience of working with the superstar, when he was just 12. Irfan played the heroine, Trisha Krishnan's brother's role in the movie.

"I had followed my father to see the movie's shooting in KL, and I noticed many boys around my age at the spot. They were walking in and out of the casting room there.

"Then my father met the director Dharani, whom he already knew, and they both started chatting up. That's when the director asked if I was willing to give it a shot," he said.

According to Irfan, his father was at first hesitant to agree to the proposal as his son had no prior cinema exposure, but agreed when the director said that Irfan would be coached by an assistant.

Since Irfan could not read Tamil, the script was translated into English and Trisha also put him at ease by chatting him up.

"The shoot lasted for five days. The only minus point was I had to wear the same clothes for the five days," he quipped.

Irfan's scene lasted for about five minutes in the final cut of the movie, but that was more than enough for the young boy, who was smitten by Vijay back then.

He recalled the experience in an Instagram story yesterday, in conjunction with Vijay's 47th birthday.

"Posting this for the 100,000th time. Will cherish that moment of sharing same screen on my first movie with thalapathy, for the rest of my life," he had captioned a photo of him with the famous actor.

In fact, it was that experience of being in the limelight that charted his path into movies, he recalled.

"I initially wanted to become a pilot, but after I fell in love with being in front of the camera, my life path changed."

Irfan has had a chance of bumping into Vijay at the Master audio launch, but could not really communicate with the actor, due to tight security, more so during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Nevertheless, the actor will forever cherish the memory of working alongside his boyhood idol, he added.