“Making films is not what I do, it is who I am”: Tom Cruise receives honorary Oscar

Tom Cruise collected an honorary Oscar at the 16th Governors Awards on Sunday (November 16) and stated: “Making films is not what I do, it is who I am.”

Cruise has never won an Academy Award – he has been nominated three times as an actor and most recently in 2023 as a producer of the global smash Top Gun: Maverick – although that did not stop Alejandro González Iñárritu from making a prediction as he welcomed Cruise to the stage at Ovation Hollywood.

“This may be his first Oscar, but from what I have seen and experienced, it will not be his last,” Iñárritu said. The Mexican filmmaker and Cruise are currently in post-production on an action adventure for Warner Bros and Legendary Entertainment that is scheduled to open in 2026.

Cruise received a long standing ovation when he took to the Ray Dolby Ballroom stage. “Cinema takes me around the world and it helps me to appreciate and respect differences,” he said. ”It shows me also our shared humanity, how alike we are in so many ways. No matter where we come from, in that theatre we laugh together, we feel together, we hope together, we dream together. That is the power of this artform and that is why it matters to me.”

The A-lister added: ”I will always do everything I can to help this artform […] hopefully without too many more broken bones.”

Cruise paid tribute to the evening’s other honorees: production designer Wynn Thomas, choreographer, actor and producer Debbie Allen, and Dolly Parton, the 2025 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient who was unable to attend due to health issues.

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