‘It Is Who I Am’: Tom Cruise Delivers Stirring Speech While Receiving Honorary Oscar

Tom Cruise received one of the Academy’s highest honours at the Governors Awards on November 16, marking a significant moment in his four-decade career. The actor accepted the Academy Honorary Award and

used the occasion to reflect on the influence of cinema on his life and the communities it reaches.

The award was handed to him by filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who is currently directing Cruise in an upcoming, untitled project scheduled for release in October 2026. Their collaboration added an additional layer of significance to the presentation.

During his acceptance, Cruise delivered a heartfelt address celebrating the global connection that films foster and acknowledging the many people involved in bringing stories to the screen. “The cinema, it takes me around the world,” he 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.”

Tom Cruise finally recieves his first OSCAR — Honorary Oscar for his extraordinary contribution to the film industry. pic.twitter.com/OEjTTocaz2

— LetsCinema (@letscinema) November 17, 2025

Cruise also revisited the origins of his passion for movies, recalling early memories that shaped his ambition. “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.”

The evening also acknowledged Cruise’s longstanding presence at the Oscars. He has earned four nominations, including best actor nods for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, a supporting actor nomination for Magnolia, and a best picture nomination as a producer of Top Gun: Maverick.

Other honorees were celebrated earlier in the event. Cynthia Erivo presented an honorary Oscar to Debbie Allen for her contributions to choreography and entertainment. Production designer Wynn Thomas also received recognition for his extensive body of work. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award went to Dolly Parton, who appeared via a pre-recorded message due to health-related absences.

As expected, the Governors Awards drew a strong turnout from the industry, with actors including Jennifer Lawrence, Michael B. Jordan, Sydney Sweeney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dwayne Johnson and Emma Stone among those walking the red carpet as awards season gains momentum.