Tom Cruise eats a staggering number of eggs each morning as part of 'massive' breakfast

Tom Cruise is ostensibly reprising his role as Ethan Hunt for the final time In the new Mission Impossible - Final Reckoning.

Having first played the near-superhuman spook in 1996, Cruise has upped the ante with every sequel, and the latest instalment isn’t short of death-defying stunts that belie the fact he’s 62 years old.

Keeping fit enough to not only be a credible action star but also to perform so many insane stunts for real is no mean feat, let alone when you’re past your physical prime.

Cruise at a premiere for the latest Mission: Impossible film (Jamie McCarthy / Staff/Getty Images)

He’s also looking remarkably spritely for a man in his sixties – for a point of reference, Alec Guinness was 63 when the original Star Wars premiered in 1977. In terms of youthful vigour, the comparison doesn't do the Jedi Master any favours.

So, how has Cruise managed to age not only with grace but with such enduring physical stamina? How many other dudes in their 50s and 60s are jumping off the world’s tallest building or clinging on to the wing of an airborne plane?

Along with an extremely committed workout regimen, it’s worth taking a look at the megastar’s diet.

Speaking with People Magazine, he lifted the lid on his breakfast habits. It’s fair to say he’s getting his protein in early.

“I actually eat a massive breakfast,” he said. “The amount of energy it takes – I train so hard for that wing-walking. I'll eat, like, sausage and almost a dozen eggs and bacon and toast and coffee and fluids.

“Oh, I'm eating! Picture: it's cold up there. We're at high altitude. My body is burning a lot.'

Speaking of the plane-clinging scene that’s teased in the latest film’s trailer, he added: “'I remember seeing old footage of wing-walking.

“Those aircraft were only traveling at, I don't know, 40, 50 miles an hour. This aircraft is up to over 120 miles an hour. Going out there, I was realising that it takes your breath away.”

For us mere mortals, no amount of eggs will be enough to see out a stunt like that.

Fuelled-up with a dozen eggs and more besides (Jeff Spicer / Stringer/Getty Images)

It’s a useful peek into what it takes to maintain such a youthful appearance and capable physicality, though. One egg contains about 6g of protein, so a dozen of them at breakfast would yield 72g of the stuff.

Considering he isn’t a bodybuilder, he probably falls short of the recommended daily intake for muscular hypertrophy at a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, but it nevertheless seems like he’s giving his body all the raw materials it needs to repair those tortured muscles.