Overview
- The statuette was handed to him by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who is directing Cruise in an untitled film slated for October 2026.
- In a tearful address, Cruise said “making films is not what I do, it is who I am,” describing cinema as a force that unites audiences.
- He thanked “the thousands of people who make movies possible,” highlighting crews, writers and technicians who often work out of view.
- He traced his passion to a childhood moment watching a beam of light in a dark theater that opened his imagination.
- The Governors Awards also honored Debbie Allen and Wynn Thomas with honorary Oscars and presented Dolly Parton with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the star-studded, non-televised event.