IT was the one lecture everyone wanted to attend.

Russell Crowe's seminar at Durham University was so popular that organisers required security to prevent gate-crashers.

The A-lister's visit caused a such a stir that students hung out of dorm windows to catch a glimpse of the Gladiator and Robin Hood star.

Durham Student Theatre (DST) president elect Sarah Peters, who took part in the workshop with the 47-year-old Hollywood actor, said: "It was a fantastic experience for all of us and amazing to learn from such an inspiring person.

"We acted out scripts in pairs and Russell gave us feedback and answered our questions on the acting business. It was great to hear from him and it showed that it's not just a pipe dream, it really can happen.

"From a DST point of view, it was excellent to have this opportunity and we feel very special."

The New Zealand-born actor, who grew up in Australia, also spoke at a special evening hosted by Durham University chancellor Bill Bryson last night.

He took a detour from Los Angeles, to his home in Australia, after filming, to stop off in the UK to fulfil a promise to the outgoing chancellor to host a drama workshop.

Invited members of the group revealed Mr Crowe asked them to perform for him and their peers.

Some ended up singing opera, trying out Australian and Chinese accents or making up a scene about an apple.

But the main message they received was to fall in love with acting, and face up to the fact that 99.9 per cent of actors will be unemployed at any given time.

Mr Crowe said Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins had inspired him as a young man.

He said: "The things that he said to me when I was 25 or 26 really drove me forward.

"Hopefully, some of the kids today got some adrenaline out of that.

"He said things that gave me confidence to keep pursuing what I was doing."

Mr Crowe said the most important lesson for the students was to learn that its not about dollars or fame or success but about pursuing the things that you love.

He also heaped praise on the historic city of Durham with its World Heritage status, cathedral and castle, describing it as 'gorgeous'.

Best-selling author Bill Bryson, who is standing down later this year, said: "It is incredible and I still cant believe he's here and has come to Durham.

"Its the most generous thing anyone has done for me. It is quite an honour for us at Durham and I'm so pleased people are receiving this with such enthusiasm and excitement.

"The guy is a superstar, but he's also an incredibly nice human being."

The American author said they first met five years ago in London because the actor liked his books, and they had dinner.

In the course of the evening he told him about his role as Chancellor and he asked whether the university did drama.

Mr Bryson said: "He said 'One day maybe I'll come up and do a workshop'.

"I didn't really expect it to go any further than that.

"I thought it was one of those idle offers people make but a few weeks ago, out of the blue, he got in touch and said he'd heard I was stepping down as chancellor and so we'd better get going."

Mr Bryson said the visit was a highlight of his period as chancellor.

He added: "My time at Durham has been the best period of my life.

"Its obviously the biggest privilege and honour that has been paid me and to be able to finish on such a high note is just fantastic."