An Oscar for Tom Cruise

BarcelonaA new impossible mission carried out by Tom Cruise. The American actor, considered by many to be Hollywood's last great movie star, will receive an honorary Oscar during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards gala on Sunday, November 16. "Tom Cruise's incredible commitment to the filmmaking community, the theatrical experience, and the specialist community has inspired us," the Academy said in its statement. This will be Cruise's first Oscar, having been nominated four times in the past: as an actor for Born on July 4th (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996) and Magnolia (1999) and as a producer for Top Gun: Maverick (2022).

Tom Cruise's honorary Oscar comes after other recognitions such as the honorary Palme d'Or that the Cannes Film Festival unexpectedly awarded him during the presentation of Top Gun: Maverick, and in one of the peak moments of popularity in a career of more than four decades in which he has worked with directors such as Martin Scorsese (The color of money), Stanley Kubrick (Eyes wide shut) and Steven Spielberg (Minority report and The War of the Worlds). Spielberg himself was the one who, following the success of Top Gun: Maverick in theaters, claimed that Cruise had "saved Hollywood's ass" during the coronavirus pandemic.

The dedication of the actor, who often performs some of the most dangerous scenes in his films himself, has made him the driving force behind the action saga. Mission Impossible, one of the highest-grossing and most acclaimed films of recent decades. For the past twenty years, with a few notable exceptions – his comic cameos in Austin Powers either Tropic Thunder–, Cruise has always been the big star of his films, and has not starred in any other franchise; he has also never participated in any superhero films, and he turned down the role of Tony Stark that made Robert Downey Jr. the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.

Cruise will not be the only one honored by the Academy, which will also present honorary Oscars to actress and singer Dolly Parton, who had already been nominated twice, for her "dedication and charitable efforts"; to art director – and frequent Spike Lee collaborator – Wynn Thomas, "for his visionary eye and masterful technique", and to choreographer and actress Debbie Allen "for captivating generations and transcending genres". Known for her work in FameAllen also directed the choreography for seven Academy Awards. The honorary Oscars are presented annually in a private, black-tie ceremony separate from the official Oscars ceremony and not televised. The Oscars include Grant, Federico Fellini, Sidney Poitier, Gena Rowlands, and Quincy Jones.