The hit FX drama Snowfall has kicked off Season Five and fans are thrown back into the dark and gritty world of Franklin Saint, 80s South Central crack kingpin. The show has made a star of Damson Idris, who plays Franklin, and the London-born actor talked to The Breakfast Club recently about his celebrity interactions.

“It’s funny, like I’m about to be nervous but they know so much about my work that I’m almost not allowed to be nervous anymore,” he explained. “I remember when I first when I went to the Gold Party at Oscar night and Puff [Daddy] introduced me to Hov – that’s how I met Hov, through Puff. And Puff was like, ‘Yeah, Hov, this is Damson Idris, he’s like the new Denzel [Washington].’ And I was like, ‘Nice to meet you.’ And Hov walked away and Puff was like, ‘You see how you’re acting right now? Like ain’t nothing a big deal? Yeah, keep that… keep that.'”

He continued, “So ever since then, if I meet anyone – and it isn’t like some hater stuff, like I love them, but keep it in. At the end of the day, like I said, if ever meet Denzel, it’s just ‘thank you.’ I’m not asking for a picture, I’m not asking for advice or anything. Just ‘thank you.’ You’ve already given me everything through existing.”