Tom Cruise finally won an Oscar. And he turned that moment into a poignant, heartfelt love letter to cinema. The 62-year-old star accepted an honorary Academy Award at the 16th Annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles on November 16, 2025, and used his first statuette to thank his collaborators, salute the audience, and talk about why that ray of light in a dark theater still motivates him.
Cruise’s first Oscar – and a tribute to Iñárritu
The Academy’s 16th Governors Awards presented honorary Oscars to Debbie Allen, Tom Cruise, and Wynne Thomas, and Dolly Parton received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. After decades of blockbusters and three previous nominations, it was the night the Academy finally awarded Cruise an Oscar.
His award was presented by Birdman and The Revenant filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, who is directing Cruise in an untitled dark comedy set for release in October 2026. At the beginning, Cruise turned straight to the director and said, “I mean, you’re extraordinary. Your work is beautiful. It’s true. It’s so human. You always strive for excellence. And to be able to make that movie with you was just one of the great ones. It’s a privilege of my career, thank you so much. I can’t wait for you to see this movie next year and find out what he’s accomplished. ”
He then widened his eyes to the room and said, “I’m honored to share this evening with all of you and all of you in this room. I mean, look at what you all look like from here. What a room. I mean, it’s just incredible.”
“That Ray” – Find out why the movie matters
Cruise used the honor as an opportunity to talk about why he fell in love with movies and has never looked back. “My love of movies started when I was very young. I mean, as early as I can remember. I remember being in this dark theater when I was very young, and I remember seeing that beam of light, and it just went across the room, and I looked up, and it seemed like it exploded on the screen, and suddenly the world was so much bigger than I knew,” he said.
“You know, the culture, the life, the landscape, and all of that was unfolding before my eyes. And it triggered something in me. It triggered a hunger. A thirst for adventure, a thirst for knowledge, a hunger to understand humanity, to create characters, to tell stories, to see the world.”
He recalled that he did everything he could to get into the movie theater, saying, “I remember when I was a kid, I worked whatever job I could to earn the admission fee. When I was short on money, I figured out another way to get into the movie theater.”
For Cruise, the power of movies lies in the effect they have on audiences: “So movies take me around the world and help me recognize and respect differences. They also remind me of our common humanity, how similar we are in so many ways. And no matter where we come from, in that theater we laugh together, we hope together, we dream together. That’s the power of this art form. That’s what’s important to me.”
As he says, “Making movies is not my job. It’s who I am.”
A shared art form – and a sharp stab at his dangerous side
Cruz emphasized that the Oscars represent the entire community, not just one star. He thanked the Academy Board “for this honor,” and said the moment allowed him to “thank everyone who helped me and everyone I was lucky enough to make this film with, because every step of this entire journey has been shared.”
“I also appreciate, respect and understand that cinema is not built by one person, one performance, one voice. It is built by communities, by craftsmen, by artists, passing that knowledge from hand to hand, set to set, generation to generation,” he said, later adding.
At one point, he asked those who were present and worked with him to stand up. “I want you to know, and I want you to know, that I’m taking you with me, and that each and every one of you is part of every frame of every movie I’ve ever made or ever will make. And I always “I want you to know that I’m going to do everything I can to help this art form, to support and champion new voices, and to protect what makes cinema powerful,” he says, before dropping a tongue-in-cheek aside that pokes fun at his love of high risk. Stunt work: “Also, I hope I don’t end up with any more broken bones. That’s great.”
“And I pledge to do everything in my power to, I don’t know, maybe, just maybe, encourage the next kid who might be working hard right now to buy that admission or figure out another way to get into that theater. So, thank you, everyone, for this honor. I deeply appreciate it. Good night. Thank you.”
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