Tom Hanks dear friend, outstanding human being: Irrfan

New Delhi: Teaming up with Hollywood star Tom Hanks in "Inferno" was a great experience for actor Irrfan as he found the "Forrest Gump" star welcoming and friendly.

Irrfan will be seen in the role of Harry Sims 'The Provost' in the Ron Howard-directed adaptation of Dan Brown's mystery novel, where Hanks returns to reprise his character of Harvard symbiologist Robert Langdon for the third time.

"Tom is a dear friend, a very warm person and an outstanding human being. I enjoyed every moment of working with him. Whenever two actor are familiar with each other's work and you admire somebody, shooting becomes an engaging affair," Irrfan told PTI in an interview.

"Inferno" revolves around Langdon's attempt to prevent a deadly plague unleashed by a mad scientist.

Irrfan, 49, revealed that he was initially offered a different role in the Florence-set drama but he wanted to portray Sims.

"I was offered some other character but I asked Ron whether I could play this character. He asked me why I wanted to play Sims and when I told him how I looked at the role, he liked it and agreed."

The movie, which boasts an international star cast with Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Sidse Babett, Knudsen Ana Ularu and Ida Darvish, will arrive in theatres here on October 14.