Tom Cruise has learnt how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness.

Asked by Guinness master Fergal Murray whether he had done anything like it before, the 50-year-old actor, who was in Dublin with his French co-star Olga Kurylenkoe for the premiere of their new thriller, replied: "Well... I played a bartender, but I never poured Guinness!"

After taking a drink from his pint, Tom raised his glass and shouted: "To Ireland, thank you so much. Cheers."

Tom, who split from his third wife Katie Holmes last summer after six years of marriage, took advantage of his time in Ireland to trace his family's roots.

He said: "To learn about the history of my family - it was incredible.

"I knew I was Irish but I had no idea where it went and the depth of it. It goes all the way back to the 12th century.

"It's a great honour for me and for my whole family - I can't wait to bring it back to them and enlighten them on their history.

"I'm very proud to be Irish. There's a pride in America of being Irish. I can't wait to come back and I want to visit the land of my ancestors and the castle that they had."

The country's minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore presented Tom with a framed certificate of his Irishness.