After accepting an unexpected mission to attend the 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' in South Korea, Simon Barnett finally got to chat with his childhood hero - Tom Cruise.
With his co-host and travel companion Lana Searle in tow, Simon hit the red carpet in his finest tux to meet the man who has inspired him since he was 20 years old.
"I love New Zealand," was the first thing Tom told Simon when the More FM host introduced himself and where he was from.
"Any plans to come back?" asked Simon.
"Yeah, I'd love to. I'd like to film there again and just visit my friends - I got a lot of friends there," Tom replied.
You know, go have some adventures in New Zealand. Go do some speed flying over there if I can.
Then it was time for Simon to take a deep breath and confess how much this moment meant to him.
"You know I have to say this to you - I'm 58, but it's a genuine privilege to meet you because I just respect your work so much. For 30 years. Honestly, you bring to the world and Hollywood," he told Tom.
I'm not being obsequious. It's just you've brought so much. So I just wanted to say thank you.
Tom was clearly touched by the outpouring of admiration, telling Simon: "You know, that means a lot to me. Thank you very much."
Elsewhere during the interview, Tom and Simon discussed being "comfortable with being afraid", and where the movie star's love of stunts first developed - way back when he was just a toddler.
Afterwards, an "ecstatic" Simon took a moment to try and process what had just happened.
I'm just such a happy man," he told Lana. "I'm knackered, but I'm on cloud nine.
"It actually is a significant joy in my life. People won't understand it, I can't really understand it, but it just is," he continued.
"To actually meet that guy, and to have a good chat with him. He was engaged, wasn't he? And I love that."
'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' hits New Zealand cinemas this weekend on May 17th.
