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 honor with an acceptance speech about his love of cinema.
The Top Gun and Mission: Impossible actor paid tribute to filmmakers behind and in front of the lens, reflecting on those he has worked with throughout his 45-year career, as well as the power of movies.
Upon taking the stage, Cruise was met with a minutes-long standing ovation and thunderous applause from film luminaries present, 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 articulated in his speech. It helps me appreciate and respect differences. It shows me our shared humanity, how alike we are in so many ways. 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, he added.
Cruise made his film debut in 1981 and has been nominated for best actor for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, also earning nominations for best supporting actor in Magnolia and for producing Top Gun: Maverick.
The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences selected Cruise for his incredible commitment to our filmmaking community, to the theatrical experience, and to the stunts community, the organization stated.
In his touching speech, Cruise mentioned that cinema expanded his world beyond his childhood boundaries. It opened my eyes, it opened my imagination to the possibility that life could expand far beyond the boundaries that I then perceived. And that beam of light opened a desire to open the world, and I have been following it ever since, he said.
The actor, known for performing his own stunts, advocates for cinema amid the rising popularity of streaming and social media.
I want you to know that I will always do everything I can to help this art form, to support and champion new voices, to protect what makes cinema powerful - hopefully without too many more broken bones, he promised.
Earlier this year, reports indicated that Cruise was set to be recognized by U.S. President Donald Trump for the Kennedy Center honors, but he declined due to scheduling conflicts.
