Hollywood superstar Will Smith made a surprise phone call to a Guinean man who cycled across Africa to get to university.
Last year, Mamadou Safayou Barry captured the headlines during his 4,000 km (2,500 mile) ride.
In a video call in Cairo, where Barry is studying, Smith told him he was “deeply moved” by his efforts and gave him a new bike and laptop.
He learned about the epic journey from a BBC Instagram post last September.
“I want the world to hear your story,” said the star of many blockbusters.
In a short film uploaded to Smith’s YouTube channel, the student appeared shocked talking to the Men in Black star. “That’s Will Smith!” said a smiling Mr. Barry. “Many of your movies I love.”
“I don’t know how to thank you Wallahi [I swear]! I don’t know how to thank you,” she said later when she learned about the gifts.
Last May, the 25-year-old left the West African country of Guinea for Egypt’s prestigious Al-Azhar University, hoping to be accepted.
The married father of one couldn’t afford the cost of a flight, so he got on his bike and took four months to fly to Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Niger and Chad.
He traveled through areas where jihadist fighters often carry out attacks, and which have seen several military coups.
He was arrested and detained three times for no good reason – twice in Burkina Faso and once in Togo.
However, Mr Barry’s fortunes turned when he arrived in Chad. A journalist interviewed Mr Barry and published his story online, prompting some good Samaritans to fund a flight to Egypt for him.
Once he arrived in Cairo, he was offered a place at university, first in Islamic studies and then in engineering, and a full scholarship.
Mr Barry told the BBC he was still shocked by Smith’s call.
“When I saw him, I was confused because I had seen him before,” said the student.
“Then I remember – it’s Will Smith! Wow… I was watching his movies. I didn’t know whether to run or cry. I was sitting in a chair in front of Will Smith!”
During the conversation, Smith told Barry “when you commit to a journey, the universe conspires to help you” – a reference to a quote by author Paulo Coelho.
In the video, someone can be seen riding a bicycle to give it to the student, as well as giving him the laptop.
Smith has also donated vouchers so he can buy flights either back to Guinea to visit his family or to be visited.