Emotional Tom Cruise thanks fans, technicians in moving speech as he accepts Honorary Oscar: ‘Making films is who I am’
Tom Cruise received an Honorary Oscar on November 16. On the occasion, he also delivered a speech that felt like a mission statement for his entire life. Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who is directing Cruise in an untitled film set for October 2026, handed him the award.
According to Variety, he thanked the thousands of people who make movies possible, the crews, the artists, the writers, and the team who work in shadows but carry the industry. Then he shifted into the reason he has stayed in this business for forty years.
Tom Cruise gets emotional
“The cinema takes me around the world,” he said. “It helps me to appreciate and respect differences. It also shows me our shared humanity, how alike we are in so, so many ways. And no matter where we come from, in that theatre, 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,” he explained.
Tom Cruise reveals how his childhood spark never dimmed
Cruise also dug into the moment he first fell in love with movies. “My love for cinema began at a very early age, as early as I can remember,” he said. Then came the memory he always returns to – being a kid in a dark theatre, watching a single beam of light carve through the air and explode into a world bigger than anything he knew.
He further talked about how that light “opened my imagination to the possibility that life could expand far beyond the boundaries that I then perceived in my own life.” And, as he put it, he has been chasing that beam ever since.
Cruise entered the night with four past Oscar nominations – for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, Magnolia, and Top Gun: Maverick as a producer – but the Honorary Oscar finally placed him among the legends he grew up watching.
The evening stretched beyond Cruise. Cynthia Erivo honoured Debbie Allen with her own statuette. Wynn Thomas received recognition for a lifetime of production design. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award went to Dolly Parton, who sent a prerecorded message due to health concerns.
Other special guests included Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sydney Sweeney, Dwayne Johnson, Emma Stone and dozens more turned the event into a warm-up lap for awards season.
FAQs
Who presented Tom Cruise with the Honorary Oscar?
Alejandro G. Iñárritu handed him the award.
What year did Cruise receive the honor?
He accepted it on Nov. 16 at the 2025 Governors Awards.
How many Oscar nominations does Cruise have?
He has four past nominations.
