Vikram says his father wanted to be an actor but good looks worked against him, heroes said 'get that guy out'

Vikram recalled that his father Vinod Raj told him stories about being kicked out of studios because heroes felt threatened by him.

Vikram is among the most popular actors in Tamil cinema with a career spanning over three decades. However, his father Vinod Raj could not achieve this level of success after he ran away from home to achieve his dreams of becoming an actor.

Vikram has recalled his father Vinod Raj's struggle in his acting career.

John Victor, better known by his stage name Vinod Raj, appeared in minor supporting roles in films and in television serials. He also featured alongside his son in Susi Ganesan's Kanthaswamy. The actor died in 2017 at the age of 80. Now Vikram's son, Dhruv, is also an actor, marking the third generation of actors in their family.

In a recent conversation with Pinkvilla, Vikram talked about his father and son's career as he looked back upon his own struggles before he landed his breakthrough role in the 1999 film Sethu. Asked about facing struggles in the industry despite his father being an actor, Vikram said, "No my father did not have it easy, that is the problem, he never made it. He was like Sobhita (Dhulipala), he ran away from home because he wanted to act. He would come to studios, he would stand outside Ave Maria studio, but would not be able to get in."

Vikram added, "Sometimes when he got in...he was quite a smart-looking dude and looked a little like an English actor. So, he told me, when he would be standing in a crowd, he would have heroes suddenly singling him out and saying, 'get that guy out.' Maybe he is lying, whatever. But he had it that bad and then he struggled, and struggled, and struggled and he never did quite make it. So, I guess there is a genetic loading. I have been wanting to act, I felt that fire, and my son feels the same way. He never told me to be an actor, but I had that drive and maybe I wanted to succeed for him, but then it became a struggle for me to find my feet."

Vikram is currently busy with the promotions of his upcoming film Ponniyin Selvan: 1, which is scheduled to release on September 30. The Mani Ratnam directorial also stars Aishwarya Rai, Karthi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Jayam Ravi, and Trisha among others.