American actor Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, better known as Tom Cruise, has received an honorary Oscar statuette in recognition of his 45-year career in cinema.
The action star, who had been nominated four times competitively without a win, received the honourary award during the 16th Governors Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on November 16, 2025, for his “incredible commitment to the filmmaking community, to the theatrical experience, and to the stunts community.”
Accepting the award with an emotional speech on stage, Tom Cruise revealed that his interest in movies began at a young age, sparking an untamed hunger to tell stories on the big screen.
“I was just a little kid in a darkened theater, and I remember that beam of light just cut across the room, and I remember looking up, and it seemed to be just exploded on the screen,” he recalled. “Suddenly, the world was so much larger than the one that I knew. It sparked a hunger for adventure, a hunger for knowledge, a hunger to understand humanity, to create characters, to tell a story,” he said.
Thanking directors, film crew, and stunt men, the 63-year-old actor stated that he would do everything in his capacity to protect the art of filmmaking and promote young talents.
“Making films is not what I do, it is who I am. 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.”
The actor was not the only one to receive an honourary award that night. The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences recognized the actor’s 45-year career, along with production designer Wynn Thomas, choreographer Debbie Allen, and singer Dolly Parton, for their outstanding contributions to their respective fields.
Tom Cruise started his acting career in the early 1980s and rose to fame with iconic roles in “Risky Business” (1983) and “Top Gun” (1986). His performances in “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989) and his death-defying stunts in the Mission Impossible films earned him critical acclaim.
Notably, Tom Cruise holds the Guinness World Record for most consecutive $100-million-grossing movies, achieved with seven films between 2011 and 2018. He was awarded the U.S. Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award in December 2024 for his contributions, particularly through his portrayal of military roles on screen.