Tom Cruise received long-awaited recognition at the Governors Awards, where he was presented with an Honorary Oscar for his decades of influence and box-office power. The tribute marked a major milestone for one of Hollywood’s last true global superstars.
Often nominated but never awarded, American actor Tom Cruise received an Honorary Oscar on Sunday night—the first golden statuette of his long and decorated career—before a hall full of Hollywood’s biggest names at the Governors Awards.
To the sound of the iconic Mission Impossible score, a defining element of the 63-year-old actor’s career, Cruise walked onto the stage of Hollywood’s Dolby Theater to a warm ovation from peers including Colin Farrell and Emilio Estévez, with whom he has shared the screen, as well as legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who directed him in Minority Report and War of the Worlds.
Despite four previous Oscar nominations—as an actor for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia, and as a producer for Top Gun: Maverick—he had never won until now.
Clearly moved, the actor took the microphone to express his gratitude. “My love for cinema started very young,” he said, describing the movie theater as the place that “gave me a hunger for adventure, for knowledge, for understanding humanity, for creating characters, for storytelling, for discovering the world.”
“It opened my eyes,” he added.
Cruise is widely regarded as one of the last true movie stars—one of the few capable of filling theaters on name alone.
After the pandemic, the stunt-devoted actor was even hailed as Hollywood’s savior thanks to the success of Top Gun: Maverick, in which he once again donned his fighter-pilot suit.
The Honorary Oscars, awarded each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, celebrate cinematic legends for their careers and contributions to the film industry.
During the evening, the Academy also presented Honorary Oscars to actress Debbie Allen (Fame), production designer Wynn Thomas, and country music icon Dolly Parton, recognized for her humanitarian work.
The 79-year-old country legend, absent due to health reasons, thanked the Academy in a video message. “We didn’t have much to give growing up, but my parents taught me that the more you give, the more blessings you receive,” said the star, who supports education and other social causes through her foundation, Dollywood.
Parton recently canceled six concerts scheduled in December in Las Vegas for health reasons, postponing them to September 2026.
By Paula RAMON / AFP
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