Tom Cruise recalled his first steps in cinema and stated that making movies is not just what he does, but who he is. That was his speech!
Tom Cruiseone of the most influential and persistent names in hollywoodfinally held in his hands a Oscar.
After more than four decades building a filmography that mixes discipline, physical risk and an almost surgical intuition to connect with the public, The Academy presented him with an honorary Oscar during the Governors Awards.
It was not a competitive statuette, but it was a recognition that many consider a reckoning with history. The ceremony took place in the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeleswhere Cruise received an ovation that lasted several minutes.
The atmosphere had something special, because this recognition was not only for a successful actor, but for a figure who has defended cinema on the big screen even in times where platforms seemed to rewrite the rules.
The person in charge of presenting him with the award was the Mexican directoror Alejandro González Iñárritu, with whom Cruise is currently working on a project. Iñárritu highlighted the actor’s energy and dedication, and finished with a phrase that sparked smiles: “This may be his first Oscar… but it won’t be his last.”
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This was Tom Cruise’s speech after receiving the award
When he took the microphone, Cruise opened his speech with a phrase that completely defines him: “Cinema takes me around the world, it helps me appreciate and respect differences (…). Making movies is not what I do, it’s who I am.”
Then he remembered a moment from his childhood: the first time he entered a movie theater and saw how a beam of light crossed the darkness to create a new world before his eyes. That moment, he said, marked his life and became the first step in a career that today exceeds four decades.
“I carry them in every frame of every film I have made and those I will still make,” he stated. His words especially resonated with those who have seen him hang from airplanes, climb skyscrapers and defy physical logic in sequences that, according to himself, make “for the love of cinema, even if sometimes it costs me a couple of bones.”
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Throughout his career, Cruise has been nominated for an Oscar four times: three as an actor, for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire and Magnolia, and once as a producer for Top Gun: Maverick.
However, He had never won a competitive statuette. That absence was for years a constant topic in the cinephile conversation. Therefore, this Honorary Oscar did not feel like a consolation, but as a recognition of the real impact of their work, beyond campaigns or votes.
At 63 years old, Cruise is still as active as ever. With new deliveries underway, collaborations with important directors and projects that promise more adrenaline, the award comes at a time where its influence remains intact. For him, the Oscar doesn’t seem like closure, but rather a reminder that he still has missions to accomplish. And, if he has shown anything, it is that few stars know how to stay relevant with the strength with which he does.
