Tom Cruise presented with Academy Honorary Award at Governors Awards
Nov 17, 2025
Washington DC [US], November 17 : Actor Tom Cruise was presented with an Academy Honorary Award at the Governors Awards on November 16, reported Variety.
The award was presented by Alejandro G. Inarritu, who is directing Cruise in an upcoming, as-yet-untitled film set to be released in October 2026.
Upon accepting the award, Cruise gave an emotional speech paying tribute to all of the people who make films possible, as well as the unifying power of cinema, reported Variety.
"The cinema, it takes me around the world. 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," said Cruise in his acceptance speech as quoted by Variety.
The actor also recalled his journey in cinema while giving the acceptance speech at the ceremony.
"My love for cinema began at a very early age, as early as I can remember. I was just a little kid in a darkened theatre, 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," said Tom Cruise.
"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," added Tom Cruise.
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.'
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, reported Variety.
