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Barkhad Abdi, who is a 2014 Oscar nominee for "Best Supporting Actor" for his role in Captain Phillips," recently told the story of his journey as a cab driver to a Hollywood star.






The 28-year-old who was previously a cab and limousine driver in Minneapolis, Minnesota, said his life changed in 2011 when he went to an open casting call.






“I answered a casting call that was on a local TV channel. So I go there to give it a shot, there were a lot of people there the first time,” Abdi said on the “Today Show." “They asked me simple questions like ‘what’s your name?’ and ‘where were you born?’”






After a few more auditions, Abdi was finally casting for "Captian Philips" as Muse, the Somalian pirates' leader in the movie that hit theaters last October.






Unlike Abdi, a newbie in Tinsel Town, previous Oscar winner Tom Hanks didn't receive a "Best Actor" nomination for his starring role as Captain Phillips in the movie.






The film, directed by Paul Greengrass, is based on the true story about Somali pirates who committed a 2009 hijacking of the U.S. cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama, and held its captain hostage.






Abdi shared with "Today Show" host Matt Lauer how he became on with his role as Muse.






“I became the character. I tried to be that guy in that moment,” he said. “I had to come out with all I got. I used a lot of imagination. I talked to a lot of people who came back from Somalia and I read a lot of pirate stories.”






Abdi, who moved to the U.S. from Somalia at the age of 14, mentioned that he didn't meet Hanks until the first scene they had to do together.






“Tom helped me a lot to get the part out and would motivate me in a lot of ways," he said.






The novice actor is now back in Minnesota helping his brother run a store. However, he still wants to continue acting.






“At the end of it, I’m a Somali person,” said Abdi. “But I love acting and I just wanted to show what I could do.”






Abdi joins Bradley Cooper, Michael Fassbender, Jonah Hill, and Jard Leto in the "Best Supporting Actor" category for the Oscars.