Underbelly's Firass Dirani - the day I met John Ibrahim, the King of the Cross

FIRASS Dirani was nervous. Sitting in a nightclub in Kings Cross, the rising acting star stared across at the man who he would portray in Underbelly.

Face to face ... Firass Dirani and John Ibrahim.

FIRASS Dirani was nervous. Very nervous. Sitting in a dark nightclub in the heart of Sydney's notorious Kings Cross, the rising acting star stared across at the man who had summoned him to this meeting - and to the burly henchman beside him.

The atmosphere was "moody" and "intimidating", not only because The Piano Room had been opened just for them, but because he was meeting the man he was portraying in the latest Underbelly thriller, The Golden Mile. That man was "King of the Cross" John Ibrahim.

Dirani told of how the pair met for the first - and only - time two days before Ibrahim's 39th birthday last August, a day before shooting began.

"(The Piano Room) was closed and it was dark and moody," the 25-year-old said.

"It was pretty intimidating having his henchman (at the meeting). He actually asked me for a beer and I said 'I'll just have a water thanks' because he doesn't drink."

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But as the pair chatted, Dirani discovered any fears he had were misplaced.

"He said he had seen a film of mine, (the Lebanese gang film) The Combination, and he gave me his blessing to play him in Underbelly," Dirani said.

Oozing charisma and with firecracker energy, it easy to see why Ibrahim thought Dirani perfect.

"I asked him some focal questions about his life," Dirani said.

"He was a really helpful man. He was like, 'If you need anything else let me know'. But I'd done the chat and I had enough insight into how he was, his aura. I haven't spoken to him since."

For more than a decade this Blacktown boy, raised by his Lebanese parents in the western Sydney suburb of Werrington, has been trying to crack into showbiz.

Now Dirani believes he's finally done it. The happy-go-lucky talent had packed his bags and was bound for Hollywood just days before being told Underbelly producers wanted to test him for the Ibrahim role.

"I was like 'You mean John Ibrahim? The John Ibrahim?' I couldn't believe it," Dirani said. "I knew who he was because of my Lebanese background.

"I went, 'This is mine, I don't care how many times they are going to drill me and try and test me I am going to nail this puppy'."

Another incentive was giving up his job at his family's convenience store. "I was checkout king and I reckon (the producers) thought he can be 'King Of The Cross'."