HE might now be a world renowned famous actor, having firmly established himself in Hollywood, the destination for all American movies and television shows, but Zimbabwean actor Tongayi Chirisa remains close to his roots.

Last week Chirisa, who has starred in multiple American film productions took some time from his busy schedule to visit his alma mater, Lomagundi College where he spent some time with teachers, students and other members of staff at the private school in Chinhoyi.

After completing his education at Lomagundi College, Chirisa went on to study for a Bachelor of Arts in Live Performance before embarking on his acting career which started locally before he moved to South Africa and ultimately the USA.

Several years after leaving the school, Chirisa was back where his acting dream started and was pictured wearing the Lomagundi rugby team's rugby jersey.

He shared his experiences at the school with the current pupil and posed for pictures with students as well as current students and members of staff who include renowned Zimbabwean female rugby referee Precious Pazani, who is a physical education teacher at the institution.

In a statement Lomagundi College said they were honoured by Chirisa's visit.

"We were honoured to have past pupil Tongayi Arnold Chirisa a Hollywood based actor, singer and poet, visit us yesterday. He has done at least 40 productions to date and is known for playing Man Friday on NBC's Crusoe television series, Father Nicholas on The Jim Gaffigan Show, Hekule on Leon Schuster's Mr. Bones 2: Back from the Past and Cheetor in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," Lomagundi said.

"Tongayi is full of so much humour and energy, the whole campus felt his presence! He addressed the staff and students and encouraged all of us to never give up on our dreams. We are extremely thankful that he was able to take a few hours from his extremely busy schedule to come and inspire our students and staff. We wish him continued success in his career," the school said.

While Chirisa is now a world renowned actor, he was also a gifted athlete during his time at Lomagundi College, where his two records in triple jump (Under-15 Boys in 1997 and Open Boys in 2000) still stand to date.

He earned national colours in sport during his time at Lomagundi after earning selection into the Zimbabwe basketball team.