Tom Cruise, who is currently filming “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two” in Europe, was awarded the Knight of the Legion of Honor by France‘s Culture Minister Rachida Dati in Paris on July 26.
Hours before the start of the opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Cruise received one of France’s most prestigious decorations.
Cruise followed the footsteps of renown artists, actors and filmmakers such as Robert Redford, Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood who are also part of the Legion of Honor.
Dati, appointed culture minister in January by France’s President Emmanuel Macron, posted a picture of herself posing with Cruise proudly sporting his medal.
Cruise was praised for his “passionate defense of cinemas” that “inspires all the lovers of the big screen.”
Dati added that his shoot of “Mission Impossible” in Paris in 2017 “wonderfully highlighted (Paris).”
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The intimate ceremony was kept secret and Cruise has yet to make some comment on it. While France is hosting the Olympics this summer, the country is currently going through some political turmoil in the aftermath of the snap parliamentary elections.
Although Cruise was not officially pictured at the opening ceremony, he attended alongside dozens of stars, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Shaun White and Nina Dobrev, Lindsey Vonn, Serena Williams, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Snoop Dogg, Chrissy Teigan and John Legend, Tyla, Queen Latifah, and Rebel Wilson.
Céline Dion was the highlight of the opening ceremony by making her comeback on stage with a powerful rendition of Edith Piaf’s “Hymne A L’Amour” on the base of the Eiffel Tower.
Lady Gaga kicked off the ceremony’s entertainment with a tribute to French icon Zizi Jeanmaire and sang “Mon Truc en Plumes.”
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