HAMPSHIRE’S key role in the latest Mission Impossible blockbuster has helped it rake in worldwide box office takings of almost £90.5 million.

Part of the big budget spy caper was filmed at Fawley Power Station, one of several British locations used to shoot the high-octane action sequences and death-defying stunts.

Hollywood megastar Tom Cruise reprises his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt, head of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF).

Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation sees Hunt battling to defeat a sinister organisation known as The Syndicate as well as dealing with a CIA attempt to disband his squad.

So far the film has grossed an eye-watering £90.5 million after earning rave reviews and pulling in huge audiences.

Daily Echo: Tom Cruise.

As reported by Daily Echo online, the cast and crew descended on Fawley last October.

The huge complex proved to be an ideal location for a gritty thriller. It includes a turbine hall big enough to house two ships the size of the QE2 and a circular control room that resembles a flying saucer.

Moviemakers were based at the power station for almost a month, most of which was taken up with painstaking preparation.

Following six days of actual filming the power station appears in the movie for about eight minutes.

Daily Echo: Fawley Power Station. 

One of the scenes features 53-year-old Cruise leaping off a crane and diving into a whirlpool – courtesy of groundbreaking special effects.

Fawley resident Mike Cooper said: “I haven’t been to see the film yet but I probably will.

“I was watching TV the other day and saw a clip from the movie. It showed what looked like the power station, although you wouldn’t know it unless you’d been inside the building.

“After filming finished Tom Cruise apparently went over to the extras and thanked them for helping him make the movie.”

The possibility of glimpsing the Hollywood star caused a buzz of excitement in Fawley, especially among his female fans.

But residents say he never ventured into the village, although some of the crew are rumoured to have visited the Jolly Sailor pub.

The film is the fifth in a series of movies inspired by the 1960s TV series starring Peter Graves and Leonard Nimoy, fresh from his role as Star Trek’s Mr Spock.

Cruise performed most of the stunts himself, including a breathtaking sequence at the start.

After tracking down an aircraft carrying deadly nerve gas he clings to the side of the plane as it soars into the sky.