He's been in Vancouver more than a week, except for a weekend jaunt back to the U.S., and yet Mission Impossible 4 superstar Tom Cruise has managed to avoid the paparazzi camera lenses -- until now.

Local photographers PUNKD Images snapped the first shots of the actor Wednesday night as he left the Burnaby production studio where the blockbuster action flick is filming.

Much of the recording has been taking place at Canada Motion Picture Park, where scenes for Twilight, Fantastic Four and X-Men were previously filmed.

PUNKD snapped photos of MI4 co-stars Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) and Mikael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) arriving at YVR last week.

However, the Top Gun star has been lying low amid tight security.

Also keep an eye out for Lost hunk Josh Holloway, who has not yet surfaced in Hollywood North.

Secret agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) will be performing his death-defying stunts at various downtown Vancouver locations, plus at at least one confirmed location in Richmond. According to the Richmond News, the City of Richmond has signed confidentiality agreements with Paramount Pictures and cannot release any information on the selected sites.

Click here to view the first photos of Tom Cruise in Vancouver, on gossip site LainyGossip.com.

Click here to follow Katya Holloway's Hollywood North updates on Twitter

kholloway@vancouversun.com