Tom Cruise Accepts Honorary Oscar with Emotional Speech: ‘Making Films Is Not What I Do, It Is Who I Am’

Tom Cruise was presented with an Academy Honorary Award during the Governors Awards on Sunday.

The award was presented by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who is directing Cruise in an untitled film set to be released in October 2026.

Upon accepting the award, the acclaimed actor gave an emotional speech paying tribute to all of the people who make films possible, as well as the unifying power of cinema.

“The cinema, it takes me around the world,” Cruise said. “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 matters, that is why it matters to me. So making films is not what I do, it is who I am.”

The blockbuster star also spoke about the genesis of his film fandom.

“My love for cinema began at a very early age, as early as I can remember,” he said. “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. Suddenly, the world was so much larger than the one that I knew. And entire cultures and lives and landscapes all unfolded in front of me, and it sparked something. It sparked a hunger for adventure, a hunger for knowledge, a hunger to understand humanity, to create characters, to tell a story, to see the world. It opened my eyes. It opened my imagination to the possibility that life could expand far beyond the boundaries that I then perceived in my own life. And that beam of light opened a desire to open the world, and I have been following it ever since.”

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.”

Earlier in the ceremony, Cynthia Erivo presented choreographer Debbie Allen with an honorary Oscar.

Production designer Wynn Thomas also received a statue celebrating his lifetime of work.

The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was presented to Dolly Parton, who wasn’t able to attend the show in person because of health concerns, so she sent a pre-taped speech.

The Governors Awards red carpet drew scores of actors eager to join the awards season race this year, including Jennifer Lawrence, Michael B. Jordan, Sydney Sweeney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dwayne Johnson, Emma Stone, and many more.