Hollywood celebrated one of its biggest stars on Sunday as Tom Cruise was presented with an honorary Oscar, a fitting tribute to his incredible 45-year career in cinema.
A "Mission Impossible" to Summarize
Director Alejandro Inarritu, who is set to work with Cruise on an untitled film releasing next October, humorously kicked off the ceremony. He declared that summarizing Cruise's long career in a brief speech was a "mission impossible." Inarritu went beyond praising the actor's famous death-defying stunts, highlighting his precise artistic choices. "It is not how far he runs or how high he jumps," Inarritu noted, "It's how precisely he decides to move, those tiny calibrations."
A Champion for the Big Screen
The 63-year-old Cruise, a four-time Oscar nominee who has never won the competitive award, was chosen for this honor for his work in iconic films. His filmography spans from 'Risky Business' to the two 'Top Gun' movies and the massive 'Mission: Impossible' franchise. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' Board of Governors selected him and three others for the statuettes.
Beyond his acting, Cruise has become a prominent champion for the traditional movie theater experience, especially as the industry faces stiff competition from streaming services and social media. In his acceptance speech, he reminisced about the magic of watching films in a theatre as a child. "Suddenly the world was so much larger than the one that I knew," he told the audience, which included luminaries like Steven Spielberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ariana Grande.
More Than a Job: A Lifelong Passion
Cruise shared that he worked various jobs just to afford movie tickets, a passion that has defined his life. "I will always do everything I can to support this art form and to champion new voices, to protect what makes cinema powerful, hopefully without too many more broken bones," he said, generating laughter from the crowd. This was a reference to the time he broke his ankle while filming a stunt in 2017. He powerfully concluded, "Making films is not what I do. It's who I am."
The gala was also a moment to celebrate other greats. Music legend Dolly Parton received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her charitable work, which includes founding a library that has gifted over 300 million books to children. She accepted her award via video. The other honorees of the night were actor and choreographer Debbie Allen and production designer Wynn Thomas.
