From gangland figure to CIA fixer, Underbelly star Vince Colosimo's latest role has landed him in the big league alongside Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Colosimo has a part in director Ridley Scott's big budget political thriller Body of Lies, in which he plays a Middle Eastern aide assisting CIA agent Roger Ferris, played by DiCaprio.
The 41-year-old actor said he was put up for the role by a casting agent who had him in mind for a few international films.
"She threw my name out to Ridley and he said, 'oh yeah, I know this guy, I've seen some of his work', and he had a chat to Russell about it and the rest is history," Colosimo said.
"The two big roles were sort of cast, I wasn't going to get much of a look in there," he laughed.
Body of Lies is based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius's 2007 novel about a CIA operative who uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader suspected of operating out of Jordan.
Colosimo said the script had so many twists and turns he would have to keep checking with Scott during filming about whose side he was supposed to be on.
"The film is so complex that when you're shooting it out of sequence there wasn't a day would go by and I'd say, 'Ridley, that guy there, that Arab, is he on our side? What happens there? Is he a bomber, do we want him? Is he working for us or against us?'" Colosimo said.
"I'd sit there with Leonardo in the car and have to ask Ridley if I was on his side, totally on his side, because by telling him everything I know maybe I wasn't.
"It's all about staying alive and holding your cards close to your chest and never playing them all, because it's hard to trust anyone."
The one person in the film who knows most about what's going on is CIA veteran strategist Ed Hoffman, played by Crowe, who manages a network of field agents from his laptop and mobile phone in Washington.
Colosimo said he had not worked with Crowe before and unfortunately didn't share any scenes with the Oscar-winner.
"We crossed paths now and then, but it was nice to be in a film that he's in because I respect highly, as I do Leo as well," he said.
"They are two highly amazing actors."
Colosimo said he loved the experience of working on an American blockbuster and learnt a lot, but was not about to abandon the Australian film and TV industry to pursue a career in Hollywood.
"It was an amazing eye-opener and an experience that I will cherish," he said.
"But at the end of day, they're spending $150 million, we're spending $1 million on a film - the director still has to say action and cut, and fundamentally we're doing the same thing.
"There was just a lot more people around you."
Body of Lies opens throughout Australia on Thursday.
