Roger Federer impressed us with his acting, he is "valued very much" by Robert de Niro: Creative heads at Switzerland Tourism

Roger Federer recently starred in an advertisement for Switzerland Tourism along with legendary Hollywood star Robert de Niro. The commercial, meant to accelerate tourism growth in Switzerland, has grabbed a fair few eyeballs already.

Now, the creative heads behind the film - Andre Hefti and Livio Dainese - have revealed some interesting anecdotes about Roger Federer and Robert de Niro from the shoot.

Hefti claimed that Robert de Niro was attracted to the video's premise and was particularly keen to work with Roger Federer because of his admiration towards the Swiss legend.

"Robert de Niro is a reserved person but has a lot of humor," Andre Hefti said. "And can laugh at himself. The idea obviously suited him. He also values Roger Federer very much and just wanted to do this with him."

Livio Dainese, meanwhile, shed some light on Federer and De Niro's personalities as well as their performances in the commercial. According to Dainese, Federer exceeded expectations with his performance, while the American was his usual vintage self.

"Roger Federer is exactly the down-to-earth guy you would expect," Livio Dainese said. "Simply a nice person who is also incredibly talented and successful. I was impressed by Roger's acting and his desire to try things out. And on the other hand Robert De Niro, who was already very good on the first take, but then improved again from take to take. Impressive."

Andre Hefti further highlighted the fact that securing Roger Federer was the biggest golden ticket for Switzerland Tourism. According to Hefti, getting Federer on-board helped them attract another global icon in the form of De Niro - who they expect will play a similar role in their growth.

"Our new partnership with Roger Federer opens one or the other door," Hefti said. "I guess an email from Roger Federer is always happy to be answered - also from De Niro."

Roger Federer likes emotions and strong stories: Andre Hefti

Roger Federer could soon share screen with Tom Hanks

The central theme of the commercial, which focuses on Swiss tourism, sees Roger Federer requesting De Niro to be a part of the final advertisement. De Niro, however, denies Federer's request, saying that he finds the plot too mundane.

While the entire conversation is, of course, scripted, it does set up another advertisement - one that will feature a full-on film showcasing the tourist attractions of Switzerland. And going by the conversation between Roger Federer and Robert de Niro, it is likely that another legendary Hollywood star - Tom Hanks - will also feature in it.

When probed about the addition of the Forrest Gump star, Andre Hefti didn't issue any denial. Interestingly, Hefti also mentioned that Roger Federer is a fan of quality creative work on screen, which strongly hints that we could soon see the 20-time Major champion sharing screen with Tom Hanks.

"Big names always sound exciting," Hefti said. "So we could just write a script. Experience shows that nothing is impossible. And Roger likes emotions and strong stories. Let's see where that can lead."