Picture shown is for illustrative purposes only.

This intruder was no Ben Stiller from the movie ‘Night at the Museum’ playing the role of a security guard. Instead, he took a casual stroll of the museum, indulged his narcissistic fantasies by posing for selfies with its showpieces, before disappearing with a cowboy hat and a photograph.

Police in Australia are looking for a man who took a late-night tour of a shuttered Sydney museum.

The intruder climbed up a scaffolding into The Australian Museum at around 1am last Sunday and went on a leisurely walk through the empty building, local police said.

"He was in there for about 40 minutes... he certainly enjoyed his night at the museum," New South Wales Police Detective Chief Inspector Sean Heaney said on Friday.

Security cameras caught the man taking photos with displays, posing with his head inside the jaws of a Tyrannosaurus skull and searching cupboards.

The man eventually left the museum with the hat and a picture from a wall, officers said.

The Australian Museum has been closed since last year for renovations and police believe the refurbishment work made his entry easier.

Other museums and galleries around Australia are also closed as part of coronavirus shutdowns.

"It's very serious, we shouldn't make light of this," Heaney said, as he appealed for witnesses to help catch the man.

"We're lucky he hasn't damaged any historical artifacts or anything that is expensive in there."

One wonders what would have happened to the thief if like in the movie, the showpieces or creatures at the museum – including the dinosaur – had come to life. With a tyrannical smile, the Tyrannosaurus would probably be happily clicking selfies with the frightened intruder.