“Making films is not what I do, it is who I am,” Cruise said while accepting an honorary Oscar at a ceremony at which Dolly Parton, Wynn Thomas and Debbie Allen were also feted.
“Making films is not what I do, it is who I am,” said Tom Cruise, the veteran actor-producer and consummate movie star, as he accepted an honorary Oscar, in recognition of his body of work, during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences‘ 16th Governors Awards on Sunday night. Cruise was one of four film artists feted at this year’s ceremony, the seventh produced by Jennifer Fox, which took place in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood.
Production designer Wynn Thomas and actress/producer/choreographer Debbie Allen also received honorary Oscars, while actress/singer/songwriter Dolly Parton collected in absentia the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in recognition of her philanthropic work.
As always, the Governors Awards took place in front of dozens of current Oscar hopefuls. In addition to supporting the ceremony’s honorees, they turn out to see and be seen by the many Academy members in the room and following along on social media. Among those in attendance this year: Die My Love’s Jennifer Lawrence, One Battle After Another’s Leonardo DiCaprio, Wicked: For Good’s Ariana Grande, Frankenstein’s Jacob Elordi, Christy’s Sydney Sweeney, The Secret Agent’s Wagner Moura, Hamnet’s Jessie Buckley, Jay Kelly’s Adam Sandler, Hedda’s Tessa Thompson, Sentimental Value’s Stellan Skarsgard and Weapons’ Amy Madigan.
Though the black-tie affair is a long event at the end of a grueling weekend in Hollywood, most attendees this year stayed to the bitter end, since Cruise’s Oscar was saved for last. Alejandro González Iñárritu, the Mexican filmmaker who directed Cruise in a not-yet-titled 2026 film, delivered a powerful tribute in which he declared, “Tom Cruise doesn’t just make movies, he is movies,” and added, “This may be his first Oscar, but from what I have seen and experienced, it will not be his last.” Then, following a lengthy montage of Cruise’s work over the past 45 years, the 63-year-old, who has been Oscar-nominated three times for acting and once for producing, walked to the podium as the Mission: Impossible theme music blared, and was greeted with a lengthy standing ovation.
Cruise thanked “the studios, the agencies, the artists and the storytellers,” as well as stunt teams, theater owners and, above all, audiences, of whom he said, “Without you, none of this has meaning for me.” He asked that anyone in the room who has worked with him please stand up, and many did including his tablemates Steven Spielberg (Minority Report), Jerry Bruckheimer (the Top Gun movies), Christopher McQuarrie (the Mission: Impossible franchise) and CAA agent Kevin Huvane as he applauded them. “I want you to know, please know, that I carry you with me each of you and you are a part of every frame of every film that I have ever made or ever will make. And I want you to know that I will always do everything I can for this art form to support and champion new voices and to protect what makes cinema powerful, hopefully without too many more broken bones.”
The evening kicked off with a tribute to Parton, who previously said she would miss the event due to a scheduling conflict, and who also has recently battled health issues. It was led by one of her co-stars from the 1980 film 9 to 5, Lily Tomlin, who, after being greeted with a standing ovation, struggled to read the teleprompter, which made for a funny but awkward segment. Tomlin did emphasize, “She [Parton] is one of the few people who remains in this world who everyone respects.”
A subsequent video highlighted Parton’s work on screen and off, including her charitable work through The Dollywood Foundation and the Imagination Library, which provides books to children; her financial contributions that helped to fund the development of the COVID-19 vaccine; and her longtime support of the LGBTQ community.
Parton then appeared onscreen in a prerecorded video, with her Oscar beside her, and proclaimed: “I grew up in a house with 12 kids. Now that alone teaches you how important sharing is! Don’t get me wrong we didn’t have that much to share, but my mama and daddy showed me that the more you give, the more blessings come your way. And I’ve been blessed more than I’d ever dreamed possible. This award tonight, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award it makes me want to dream up new ways to help lift people up, and isn’t that what we’re supposed to be here for?”
Then, Andra Day performed Parton’s iconic song “Jolene,” as Hamnet director Chloé Zhao and Buckley danced in the audience.
Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer led the celebration of Thomas, a 40-year industry vet who, among many other projects, designed Hidden Figures, the 2016 film in which she starred, hailing him for “building words from scratch.” She also noted that Thomas was the first Black production designer ever to join the Art Directors Guild and to design films for major studios.
Among those who lauded Thomas in a video was Spike Lee, with whom he has collaborated for decades dating back to 1986’s She’s Gotta Have It. Subsequent team-ups have included 1989’s Do the Right Thing, 1992’s Malcolm X and through 2020’s Da 5 Bloods. Lee thanked the Academy for recognizing his friend and fellow artist.
Thomas then delivered a moving speech in which he thanked his late mother and late grandmother for supporting his dreams, even if they didn’t understand “this art thing” that he was pursuing, as well as “all of my art directors, my assistant art directors, my set designers, my set decorators and dressers, my scenic artists, my prop men and women, all the graphic designers I work with, my construction coordinators, my location managers and scouts.” Of them he said, “These are the people who make me look good, and these are the people who let me be the dreamer and who turn my dreams into reality.” He added, to laughter, “I’d like to thank some of my directors tonight not all, but some.”
Meanwhile, Wicked: For Good star Cynthia Erivo led the tribute to Allen, a mentor and “auntie” to her, professing, “Her impact on the world of film is extraordinary.” Allen, who acted in 1980’s Fame, produced 1997’s Amistad and choreographed a record seven Academy Awards telecasts, described receiving her Oscar as “a profound moment.”
She thanked her late parents, who, she said, “raised their children believing that they were citizens of the universe, that there were no boundaries, and that anything we could see we could be…. We were faced with brick walls and glass ceilings and ‘Whites Only’ signs everywhere, but we grew up believing in ourselves, we grew up understanding what fight and faith is.” She also acknowledged her siblings, including the actress Phylicia Rashad, who were seated at her table.
Many attendees looked at each other with perplexity when Allen also included, among those she thanked, Bill Cosby, with whom she and her sister, Rashad, worked on The Cosby Show, but who has since been disgraced by dozens of allegations of sexual assault.
