Over 40 Years in the Making: Cinema Icon Tom Cruise Wins His First Oscar at 16th Governor Awards

Tom Cruise can finally call himself an Oscar winner.

More than four decades into his career, the cinema icon was finally awarded his first Academy award at the 16th Governor Awards on Sunday night, 16 November, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles, California.

Cruise received a lifetime achievement honorary Oscar for his 'unwavering commitment to our filmmaking community, his vital support of the theatrical experience, and his unmatched body of work,' as cited by filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu who presented him the award.

Cruise's Vow

In his acceptance speech, the Mission Impossible star vowed 'to protect what makes cinema powerful' and hopes to do it as physically healthy as possible.

'I want you to know that I will always do everything I can to help this art form,' he said. 'To support and champion new voices, to protect what makes cinema powerful. Hopefully without too many more broken bones.'

Cruise, now 63, is known for performing his own stunts in his action films and has suffered many injuries in doing so. One of them was a broken ankle in 2017 when tried to jump from one building to another filming Mission Impossible: Fallout.

His Previous Nominations

Cruise was nominated four times in the competitive edition of The Academy Awards before his honorary nod. His first was a Best Actor nomination for the 1990 film Born on the Fourth of July for his portrayal of Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic.

That year, it was Daniel Day Lewis who got the honour for his performance in My Left Foot.

He then got another crack at the Best Actor plum for his sports agent role in Jerry Maguire in 1997, but lost again, that time to Geoffrey Rush for Shine.

In 2000, he got nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Magnolia but came up short once again. It would take 23 years before he received another nomination for blockbuster hit Top Gun: Maverick in the Best Picture category.

Accepting his honorary award, Cruise recognised that it took an army to build his illustrious career.

'A single performance is built by communities who pass that knowledge, hand to hand, set to set, generation to generations. Extraordinary directors, extraordinary writers and actors and editors, cinematographers and designers and stunt teams film crews, all with their imagination,' he said.

His Longevity

Cruise made his film debut in 1981 as part of Endless Love. It wasn't until 1983's Risky Business that he got his first starring role and earned widespread recognition.

Many consider his work on the first Top Gun film to be his breakout performance, which was the highest grossing film of 1986. That project was followed by diverse roles in different genres which also saw him act for renowned filmmakers including Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Steven Spielberg.

Debuting in his 20s, Cruise has shown the world his range and his dedication to entertain and inspire moviegoers of all generations remains the same, maybe even stronger, in his 60s.

'I promise to do whatever I can to inspire that next kid who's working their a** off to buy that admission (ticket), or figuring out some other way to get into that theatre,' he said as he wrapped up his acceptance speech.