Nick Wilkes, 25, wrote to the star of Ben Hur and Planet of the Apes asking for his help, and was amazed when his mother picked up the phone to be greeted by the 75-year-old film star on the other end.

Mr Heston has agreed to help Mr Wilkes meet his £2,450-a-term fees at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School by appearing in a one night only show, at Tewkesbury's Roses Theatre on Tuesday.

"An Audience With Charlton Heston" will feature Mr Wilkes interviewing his hero and then chairing a question and answer session with the audience.

The evening will be completed by a screening of one of Mr Heston's recent films, Alaska.

'My hero'

"It's so very generous of him to give up his time for me like this," said Mr Wilkes, who lives in the village of Bushley, near Tewkesbury.

"I get no grant and many students write off for sponsorship to businesses.

"Charlton Heston is a big hero of mine and I thought I would just write and suggest this idea to him while he is in London.

"I could not believe it when he just rang up out of the blue."

Charlton Heston is currently appearing in Love Letters with his wife Lydia Clark Heston at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, in London.

Gun advocate

Mr Heston, who is president of the National Rifle Association in the United States, yesterday defended the right of US citizens to carry guns.

He was commenting after the massacre in Atlanta, in which stock trader Mark Barton battered to death his wife and two children, then shot nine other people before killing himself as police closed in.

But Mr Wilkes said his Tewkesbury discussion would concentrate on acting and movies rather than politics.