Tom Cruise was presented with an honorary Academy Award during tonight’s Governors Awards in Los Angeles.
The lifetime achievement award marks the first official Oscar that the long-running actor/producer has received in his lengthy career.
He has been nominated for three acting nods in the past – “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Magnolia” as well as a Best Picture nom for “Top Gun: Maverick” which he produced.
The award was presented to him by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, with whom Cruise most recently worked in a film coming out next Fall.
Upon accepting the award, Cruise gave an emotional speech paying tribute to cinema and those who work in it and love it:
“The cinema, it takes me around the world. 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 together, we feel together, we hope together, and that is the power of this art form. And that is why it that matters, that is why it matters to me. So making films is not what I do, it is who I am.”
Cruise has been nominated for four Oscars in the past: Best Actor for “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Jerry Maguire,” Best Supporting Actor for “Magnolia”, and Best Picture for his role as a producer on “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Also scoring honorary Oscars were choreographer Debbie Allen and production designer Wynn Thomas, while the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award went to Dolly Parton.
Cruise and Allen were also spotted dancing it up on Saturday night, and Cruise took nearly a full minute out of his acceptance speech to praise Allen and her work.
A standing ovation for Tom Cruise as he receives his honorary Oscar at the #GovernorsAwards pic.twitter.com/TCXSGb05RA
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) November 17, 2025
