US film superstar Tom Cruise has received his first-ever Oscar statuette
Cruise, 63, accepted an honorary Oscar at the annual Governors Awards in Hollywood alongside singer-philanthropist Dolly Parton, choreographer Debbie Allen and production designer Wynn Thomas.
“Making films is not what I do, it is who I am,” the four-fold Oscar nominee said on Sunday, accompanying his long-awaited Academy Awards honour with an acceptance speech about his love of cinema.
The Top Gun and Mission: Impossible actor paid tribute to filmmakers in front of and behind the lens, those he has worked with during his 45-year career, as well as the power of the movies.
Upon taking the stage, Cruise received a minutes-long standing ovation and raucous round of applause from film luminaries in the audience, including Steven Spielberg, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jerry Bruckheimer.
Filmmaker Alejandro G Iñárritu, who is directing an upcoming Cruise film, presented the actor with the Governors Award.
“The cinema, it takes me around the world,” Cruise said in his speech. “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 theatre, we laugh together, we feel together, we hope together, we dream 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.”
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