After 44 years on the big screen, Tom Cruise finally has an Oscar. The box office superstar was awarded an honorary Academy Award at the 2025 Governors Awards. He was recognized alongside other honorary Oscar winners Debbie Allen and Wynn Thomas. Dolly Parton was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, but was unable to attend in person.
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Cruise is a four-time nominee. He was nominated for Best Actor in 1990 for Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July” and in 1997 for Cameron Crowe’s “Jerry Maguire.” He was also recognized in the Best Supporting Actor category in 2000 for Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia” and in 2023 as a producer of Best Picture nominee “Top Gun: Maverick,” directed by Joseph Kosinski.
During his acceptance speech, Cruise noted, “Making films isn’t what I do, it’s what I am. I remember being a little kid working every job I could to earn the price of admission. You know, when I didn’t have enough, you know, I just figured out a damn other way to get into that theater. Because cinema it takes me around the world. And it helps me to appreciate and respect differences. It shows me also our shared humanity. How alike we are in so, so many ways. And no matter where we come from, in that theater, we laugh. We feel together. We hope together. We dream again. And that is the power of this art form. And that is why it matters. That is why it matters to me. So, making films is not what I do. It’s who I am.”
He added, “I want you to know that I will do everything I can for this art form, to support and champion new voices, to protect what makes cinema powerful. Hopefully without too many more broken bones.”
Cruise was inducted by five-time Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu, who has directed his upcoming “Untitled Film” for Warner Bros., which is currently set for release on Oct. 2, 2026. Other Cruise collaborators such as Steven Spielberg (“Minority Report”), Ben Stiller (“Tropic Thunder”), Christopher McQuarrie (“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”), and the aforementioned Kosinksi (“Oblivion”) were also on hand.
Some of Cruise’s other legendary performances include roles in Paul Brickman’s “Risky Business,” Ridley Scott’s “Legend,” Tony Scott’s “Top Gun,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Color of Money,” Rob Reiner’s “A Few Good Men,” Neil Jordan’s “Interview with the Vampire,” Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut,” Edward Zwick’s “The Last Samurai,” Michael Mann’s “Collateral,” Doug Liman’s “Edge of Tomorrow,” and the long-running “Mission: Impossible” franchise.
Earlier in the ceremony, Octavia Spencer inducted Thomas, while Cynthia Erivo inducted Allen. Will Arnett opened the ceremony while Andra Day performed “Jolene” in honor of Parton.
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