Overview
- The 63-year-old delivered an emotional speech on cinema’s unifying power, saying “making films is not what I do, it is who I am.”
- He thanked “the thousands of people who make movies possible,” highlighting crews, writers and technicians who work out of sight.
- The Los Angeles ceremony at the Ray Dolby Ballroom is a non-televised Academy event that anchors awards-season networking.
- Cruise has four prior competitive Oscar nominations but has not won a competitive Academy Award.
- Debbie Allen and Wynn Thomas also received honorary Oscars, and Dolly Parton accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award via prerecorded message due to health-related reasons.