Manish Dayal, who stars opposite Helen Mirren in the critically-acclaimed Hundred Foot Journey, made his big break in Hollywood this year, which saw him quickly become Hollywood’s first Indian heartthrob.

Manish Dayal On ‘Hundred-Foot’ Journey

Dayal was not expecting to wind up meeting with the likes of Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey when he passed through the doors of DreamWorks studios awhile back to read for an animated part. But, the charismatic South Asian actor – following taped scene readings and countless meetings with studio executives – did just that, as he soon became the frontrunner to take the lead in The Hundred-Foot Journey.

“All those tapes went to Steven Spielberg and I got a call about five days later saying Steven Spielberg had watched those tapes and he was really excited about it,” Dayal revealed. “I just couldn’t believe it when I heard that. Those tapes were circulated to other producers like Oprah Winfrey and Julia Blake. In June of that year, so like 4 or 5 months later, I met Lasse Hallstrom in New York City and then the next day got I get a phone call saying that Steven Spielberg wanted to hire me.”

Dayal, who conversed with Oprah extensively about the movie and her own life and perspectives, calls her a “visionary.” As for his costar Mirren, Dayal gushed about the British actress’ vibrant sense of humor, as well as her incontestable skill as an actor that he was happy to see in action and learn from.

“I got to observe [Helen’s] process and see how she was building her character and the things that were easy for her. It was just cool to observe her,” Dayal said. “I think I learned a lot by doing that. She’s a legend as an actor, and as a young actor it was super valuable for me to watch her.”

With The Hundred-Foot Journey under his belt, Dayal has garnered a lot of attention for his acting – but also for his good looks. Since the film came out, he’s been featured on a number of young heartthrob lists, making the 31-year-old actor potentially the first Indian heartthrob to hit Hollywood. It’s a feat that hasn’t gone unnoticed to Dayal.

“I’ll tell you: It’s pretty awesome that people are putting me in this position where I get to be the first of anything,” Dayal admitted. “I am super grateful and thankful for that. I guess to be put on all these lists, it’s cool and it’s fun. But most importantly, what it shows me, what it tells me is that we’re moving forward to a place that allows South Asians, and I think minorities, can be put on this mainstream level.”

The Hundred-Foot Journey was released on DVD and BlueRay Dec. 2.