Jun 18, 2025 05:04 PM IST
After four decades of jaw-dropping stunts, Tom Cruise is finally getting an Oscar. Just… not for any role he played
After four nominations, decades of death-defying stunts, and box office domination, Tom Cruise is finally getting an Oscar — just not the one fans have been waiting for. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Cruise will receive an honorary Oscar at the upcoming Governors Awards in November. The actor is finally being honoured — not for a specific role, but for his lifetime contribution to films.
“Tom Cruise’s incredible commitment to our filmmaking community, to the theatrical experience, and to the stunts community has inspired us all,” said the Academy. The Honorary Award, now in its 16th year, is designed to recognize “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement,” and will be presented alongside tributes to production designer Wynn Thomas, actor and choreographer Debbie Allen, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for Dolly Parton.
Cruise, now 62, has somehow never won an Oscar despite being nominated four times — for Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), Magnolia (1999), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022).
So is this his consolation prize?
Fans argue that the honorary Oscar is overdue recognition. “He has earned one a million times over. It is so insulting when they give these honorary Oscars out to people who been deserved them,” one fan said online. Another commented, “An honorary Oscar is insane, they’re literally giving bro a participation prize 😭.” One more particularly sharp comment addressed the new rule for the 2026 Academy Awards that requires all voting members to watch all nominated films in a category before casting their final ballots saying, “Tom Cruise performance in Magnolia is one of his best and should have won an Oscar for it but we know Oscar voters don’t even watch the movies.”
The Governors Awards will be held on November 16 at Ovation Hollywood, several months ahead of the main Oscars ceremony. And while the event isn’t televised, the headlines will surely roll in.
