Tom Cruise Calls Cinema His Identity as He Accepts Honorary Oscar

At the 2025 Governors Awards in Los Angeles, Tom Cruise received the prestigious Academy Honorary Award, honouring his decades-long career in film.

Presented by director Alejandro González Iñárritu, the award acknowledged Cruise’s contributions to storytelling, stunts and the theatrical experience.

In his acceptance speech, Cruise emphasised the unifying power of cinema: “In that theatre we laugh together, we feel together, we hope together … So making films is not what I do; it is who I am.”

He recalled how, as a child in a darkened theatre, a beam of light “cut across the room” and opened his imagination to the world beyond. 

Cruise, now 63, has been nominated for four competitive Oscars but had not previously won one. This honorary award marks a significant milestone in his career.

• Tom Cruise receives an Honorary Oscar at the 2025 Governors Awards, calling cinema his identity
• Cruise celebrates the power of theatrical storytelling in a heartfelt acceptance speech
• Iñárritu praises Cruise’s legacy, saying the actor “is movies” as Hollywood reflects on its future

Iñárritu, in introducing Cruise, remarked, “Tom Cruise doesn’t just make movies. He is movies.”

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The moment served not only as an acknowledgement of Cruise’s achievements but also as a reflection on the nature of filmmaking in an era of streaming and changing audience habits – topics Cruise addressed, emphasizing his commitment to championing new voices and protecting the theatrical experience