Dileep Rao (bearded) on the sets of Inception as Leonardo DiCaprio looks on

July 20: Dileep Rao is not sure how much he will be of use in Bollywood but Sam Spider-Man Raimi, James Avatar Cameron and Christopher Inception Nolan did find him useful enough to cast him.

Dileep who?

He’s the Indian-origin actor who can be spotted with Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception, the sci-fi thriller that has earned $62.8 million in its opening weekend at the US box office.

If you have already watched Inception, you will know Dileep, in his mid-thirties, as Yusuf, the chemist in Leo’s team who cooks strong sedatives to make people dream deeper.

A few months ago, you had seen him in 3-D, as Dr Max Patel in the biggest blockbuster of all time, Avatar. Dileep had debuted in May last year in Raimi’s horror movie Drag Me To Hell.

“Raimi, Cameron, Nolan… working with any of them is like winning a lottery,” Dileep told The Telegraph on the phone from Los Angeles. “If anybody studied probability in mathematics, he would know that the odds of getting all the three roles are incredibly unlikely. I just happen to be the most fortunate person in the world. I just feel incredibly blessed, honoured and humbled.”

Dileep’s father is from Karnataka but of Maharashtrian origin while his mother is from Bellary, an aside noteworthy at a time of the border brawl between the states.

The parents had emigrated to the US, Dileep being born and raised in America. “I have a lot of family still in India and I speak Kannada all the time,” he said. “I also eat Indian food. So, culturally I am split. I have a strong connection to my heritage. It’s with me every day. I am very proud to be an Indian American,” Dileep said.

A postgraduate from the American Conservatory Theater, Dileep is quick to put his stardom in perspective. “I auditioned like anybody else (for all three roles). I am not a giant movie star… yet! I remember, when I got the call for Inception saying: ‘You have the job!’, I calmed down for a second, thought about it and once I took it all in, I freaked out.”

Working with Nolan and DiCaprio has been a dream for Dileep. “Nolan is very gifted as a writer. It’s one of his great talents. His scripts are dense but very intelligent. It’s so original… you are turning the pages very quickly but you also have to be very careful you are not missing anything.”

As for Leo, “he is the greatest actor around”, according to Dileep. “It was an honour to work with him. He makes your job easier; he makes your life easier. For someone who is that good, he makes you a better actor and makes the film deeper and stronger.”

Doesn’t Bollywood interest the Indian American at all? “It’s a different platform, really,” Dileep said. “I don’t know how much use I would be in a Bollywood movie. I have a lot of respect for that industry. It’s a bit removed from me now, but if it becomes a reality, you will see me on screen singing and dancing somewhere.”

What does he who helps others dream better on screen dream about? “To be honest, I am living my dream now,” Dileep said.

Come September and Dileep will go back to his first love — theatre. He will make his debut on the New York stage with the dark comedy The Awesome Dance. “I have been in theatre for most of my life. It is the most immediate medium and I am very, very excited to go back to it.”