Justin Timberlake's 8-year-old co-star in new film had no clue who he was

Justin Timberlake may be one of the biggest stars in the world, but he was brought back down to Earth by his young co-star in their upcoming movie, “Palmer.”

Timberlake and Ryder Allen, 8, appear in the Apple+ movie and while many actors would kill for the chance to be in a Timberlake project, Allen says he was in the dark about him.

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“Actually, at first, I had no idea who Justin Timberlake was,” he said Wednesday on TODAY, drawing laughs.

“You’re aging me,” Timberlake joked while cutting off his younger co-star.

While Allen may not have known Timberlake is a star, he quickly grew close to him.

“It was amazing working with Justin, I think, obviously,” he said. “One of the best parts about working with Justin is the experience that I got with him. All the notes, all the jokes, all the, just experience, including, I think which is a day-to-day friendship between us. So, really great time filming with him, still great time, even seeing him, so he’s my best friend, best movie friend.

“Hello,” he then added, while waving. “And really just great working with him.”

In "Palmer," Timberlake, who revealed he will perform at the upcoming inauguration for President-elect Joe Biden, plays a former high school football star who finds himself caring for a young boy after being released from prison.

Timberlake said he quickly realized that Allen had that special something that was needed in the film.

“Ryder and I, we tested a big group of actors and I remember from the first moment that Fisher Stevens, director, and myself, we, within about two minutes of Ryder, there was just so much soul and something that just came out of this young boy that, we knew that he was really, really special and he really brings it home in the movie and working every day, we really, you know Ryder and I have a lot of inside jokes and we created a real bond and it was a really special experience for everyone,” he said.

“All the actors were fantastic and I feel like Ryder is my, that’s my little buddy right there.”