James Franco - Franco Frenzy At Inside The Actors Studio Filming

The actor has been lauded by critics for his performance in 127 Hours, about a rock climber forced to amputate his own arm with a penknife after becoming trapped under a boulder, and recently filmed an in-depth interview about his career with Inside The Actors Studio host James Lipton.

And Franco caused such a frenzy with industry insiders, show organisers were forced to refuse 250 free tickets to the show, while fans snapped up all tickets that had been made placed on sale for the public.

According to TMZ.com, Franco repaid fans for their interest by staying over the allotted time to chat to devotees - the only person to do so since late legend Paul Newman, when he appeared on the series' debut in 1994.

An insider tells the publication, "James stayed another hour-and-a-half after the taping and talked to every single student and fan who wanted to talk.

"No one has done that since Paul Newman... the very first guest that ever appeared on the show."

And Lipton admits Franco caused quite the commotion with his female fans in the audience: "Seventeen years filming this show and I've never heard a sound like that before."