It takes balls to tell soccer hard man Vinnie Jones where to go.

Gazza should know: his tingled for a while following his famous scrape with the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels star after Jones put the squeeze on the then Newcastle player.

"I just said to him 'I don't think you're supposed to be here, are you?'" teen actor Gary Tushaw ventured. "He said 'I thought so' and just went off."

That's the kind of upfront attitude that's put the 17-year-old Billericay student in the position he is today.

Having beat off competition from 2,000 other hopefuls, Gary has spent the past year touring with the world-famous National Youth Music Theatre.

Next month he takes its production of the Kissing Dance to the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith.

The writers of the show are Howard Goodal, who wrote the score for Blackadder, and Charles Hart, lyricist for Phantom of the Opera.

It is just the latest is a series of giddy achievements that has culminated in the Mayflower County High School student winning a place at the prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama in London - and an impromptu meeting with Vinnie in a curtain call at Prince Charles' birthday anniversary celebrations at the Lyceum Theatre.

Gary, who is studying for his A-levels, said: "It's been brilliant, it's just kind of come up on me.

"I've always wanted to be an actor since I was knee-high, I just love being able to change people's emotions.

"When I was young I used to write scripts for He-Man for my friends."

As well as touring the Kissing Dance, Gary has made an appearance on Blue Peter with the NYMT and performed in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday celebrations at the Albert Hall.

However, a season at the Edinburgh Festival was one of his most memorable experiences: "The atmosphere was terrific. Everyone was doing street theatre and would talk to you, not like going on the Tube in London."

Gary is nervously awaiting a second audition for RADA, even though his future is secure with a college place in London.

He said: "They auditioned 100 people for the college and took just four. I was so happy I was just laughing and crying.

"But I'm trying to keep my options open at the moment. I like musical theatre but I also like Shakespeare.

"The most important thingat the moment is my A-levels."

Upfront - Actor Gary Tushaw though nothing about teling hard man Vinnie Jones where to go

Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.