Bollywood actors who turned Hollywood roles into global stardom

In ‘City of Joy’, Om Puri quietly steals scenes from right beside Patrick Swayze. Playing rickshaw puller Hazari, he brings dignity and resilience to a man fighting for his family in Kolkata’s slums. The performance earned him international acclaim and reminded Western audiences that he was already a titan from films like ‘Ardh Satya’, equally at ease in intimate drama and sweeping foreign productions.

Standing beside Vin Diesel in ‘xXx Return of Xander Cage’, Deepika Padukone slips into Hollywood like she has always belonged there. As sharpshooter Serena, she performed most of her own stunts and kept her Indian accent, which fans loved. The film’s global success introduced millions to her charisma and proved a leading lady from Mumbai could match a full blown action star beat for beat.

As billionaire park owner Simon Masrani in ‘Jurassic World’, Irrfan Khan does not just babysit dinosaurs, he anchors the spectacle with warmth and gravitas. Hollywood viewers who discovered him here quickly traced his work back to ‘The Namesake’ and ‘Life of Pi’. For Indian fans, seeing that familiar thoughtful gaze framed by a massive franchise felt like a shared win across continents.

Anil Kapoor’s turn as flamboyant playboy Brij Nath in ‘Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol’ is brief, but utterly unforgettable. Dressed in sharp tuxedos and tossing around Hinglish quips, he brought a burst of Bollywood mischief into Tom Cruise’s sleek spy universe. The cameo opened more doors internationally, yet he kept happily shuttling between Mumbai sets and Western projects, proof that reinvention can happen at any age.

As FBI recruit Alex Parrish in ‘Quantico’, Priyanka Chopra became the first South Asian woman to headline an American network drama. Week after week, viewers across the world watched her fight conspiracies while juggling complicated relationships and killer blow dries. The show led to ‘Baywatch’, a production company and a home in Los Angeles, turning a former Miss World into a full fledged global powerhouse.