When one of the world's sexiest bachelors turns up in a pub in Kingston, there will be a ruckus - even if the title was bestowed on Travis Fimmel by People magazine in the US in 2002.
These days he's more famous playing the lead character in all four seasons of the hit television series, Vikings.
So there the Viking warrior was in The Dock pub, dressed in a Brumbies jersey, being his down-to-earth Aussie self - and promoting a new beer from a brewery of which he is one of the founders.
The long line down the board walk seemed endless. The fans just kept coming and coming for selfies. When they reached the old Viking himself, they knew every twist of the adventures of the main character, Ragnar Lothbrok (who was a bit of a pillager in those ancient pillaging times).
"When we heard that Travis was here, we just had to come," Aron de Bear said.
"He's just a brilliant actor," said Katrina Marshall, who was there with her son Oliver.
"He's actually embracing everyone like you're the only person in the room."
Oliver added: "It was like he was trying to connect with us."
In truth, the real star of the event was Travis's eyes. They are a mesmerising blue, mesmerising enough to mesmerise the English before slaughtering them in the Vikings series.
"They are like the ocean," Katrina Marshall swooned.
"They're like a crystal ocean sea."
Fathers brought sons. "I'm a huge fan of the Vikings series," Simon Marshall said, with seven-year-old Hudson alongside, glowing at having met the star.
Vikings is more than one man. Fan Kerri Eckhardt said she liked its strong women. "The shield-maidens, they don't take any crap from anyone," she opined. She wasn't surprised Travis was deemed one of the world's sexiest men in 2002. "He's a good-looking bloke. All Vikings are good looking blokes," she said.
But is he still one of the world's sexiest men? There was a pause before: "He's no slob."
As Travis stood and signed autographs and took selfies in the bar of The Dock, it was easy to see how this true blue lad from country Australia was spotted by a talent agent and turned into one of the most successful models - and then into a star of screen, first in music videos and then in TV and then big screen - and then back to TV as it takes off with streaming.
There is a legend he was asked to promote tequila but turned it down because it wasn't Australian enough. He's a beer man.
He was certainly a beer man at The Dock, handing out cans of his new Travla beer, including to the crew of a dragon boat.
The owner of The Dock, Ben Alexander, thought only the Queen exceeded Travis for charisma. And as a former Wallaby, he has met some big names. "I've met some people in my life and, other than the Queen, I've never seen a buzz like this," he reckoned.
After the pub, the Viking headed off to do the Viking Clap with the Raiders, presumably after taking off the Brumbies shirt.
The star's verdict: "Canberra's a lovely city. I'm very proud to be here."
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