'There's a lot of familiar faces out there,' he added. 'Fans I recognise from last time – but now they are two years older!'

He had flown into the Island for the Manx premiere of his predominantly Manx-shot film Me and Orson Welles.

'It's exciting to be back,' said the 22-year-old Hollywood actor. 'We have so many memories here and there's something different about this trip.'

He was joined by his co-stars Claire Danes and Lancashire-born newcomer Christian McKay, who all spent several weeks filming in the Douglas theatre last year.

>> Watch the official film trailer of Me and Orson Welles (.wmv file)

Built at around the same time, the magnificently preserved Gaiety doubled as New York's Mercury Theatre, where actor and director Orson Welles began his career.

Zac plays a 17-year-old budding actor who stumbles on a bit-part in the production of Julius Caesar directed by a temperamental Welles in 1937.

'Filming in the Gaiety Theatre was great,' said Zac, who leapt to fame in the Disney franchise High School Musical. 'We never left it. We were there all the time and that was our home. It's a pretty magical theatre.'

After being shuffled from the Sefton Hotel to the back of the Villa Marina Arcade for press interviews, he made his way outside to face a crowd of teen hysteria.

Before even making it outside the hunk faced frenzied die-hard fans of all ages who paid £75 for a VIP ticket allowing them into the arcade for a champagne drinks reception.

In fact he had to escape to the toilets with a bodyguard to take a breather before heading outdoors to be mobbed by yet more screaming girls.

Once settled in the theatre for the screening, Zac told the audience: 'I'd like to point out how incredibly surreal this is standing here in front of you guys. We spent so many hours on this stage and the seats out there were empty. This is amazing.

'It was one of the most fun experiences of my life. It is an honour and a privilege to be here with you.'

He added: 'I love you all and can't wait to come back.'

As well as Zac fans, the theatre was filled with a lot Manx extras who couldn't wait to get a glimpse of themselves sat in the audience of the Mercury Theatre.

Although the Manx evening had been slotted in between the London Leicester Square premier and the New York premiere of the film, director Richard Linklater (School of Rock, Dazed and Confused) said: 'We have been talking about this screening since we were here shooting. It's just amazing that we are going to watch the film here in this theatre.'

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