Tom Cruise Receives an Honorary Oscar Award ｜ The 16th Governors Awards Presented By @ROLEX

It's my honor to present you with this Governor Award. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Alejandro. Thank you so much. It means a great deal to me that you're here, my friend. We all saw Amoris Perils 25 years ago. I've seen every one of your films since then. I mean, you are extraordinary. Your work is beautiful. It's truthful. It's so very human. You always strive for excellence. And to have been able to make that film with you has just been one of the great privileges of my career. And thank you. Thank you so much. Can't wait for you all to see the film next year and see what you did. I really want to take a moment. I want to acknowledge my fellow honorees. You know, Wynn, Thomas. Sir, you began your career in New York theater and carried that eye for truth into cinema. Now, I didn't tell you this. I watched She's Gotta Have It, the first film you made with Spike Lee, in New York City at the Bleecker Street Theater, August 8th, 1986. I was at the very first showing of that film. And it marked an exceptional chapter in cinema. And what a career, sir. You are a landmark production designer whose work defined the look, the feeling of films that have shaped American culture and elevated the craft for all of us. And you're an inspiration. Dolly Parton. I mean, an American, original, legendary singer, songwriter, actress, storyteller, humanitarian. Your performances, your songs, your work, your soul. I mean, you're a part of the very fabric of all of our lives. And you show that compassion and creativity are not separate, that they are the same burning light. Thank you. Debbie Allen. Queen. You're a queen. And your impact on our industry and this world is, it's profound, what you've done. And you are more than a dancer, you are more than an actor, a choreographer, a director, a producer. You are a once-in-a-lifetime force of kindness and artistic expression. And you open the door for countless young artists to find their voice, their discipline, and fulfill their dreams. And you have lifted generations through your example, your excellence, and your heart. You are the very personification of the words your extraordinary mother Vivian Ayers wrote to be brave, be beautiful, and be free. I love you. We all love you. It is a privilege to share this evening with all of you. And everyone in this room, I mean, you should see what you all look like from here. What a room. I mean, my God, it's just incredible. The studios, the agencies, the artists, the storytellers. I thank you. Look, I see all of you all's work. Believe me, you inspire me, you challenge me. And you expand, in my mind, what I think is possible. And you are all my friends. And it's an honor to be here with you all tonight. So thank you. And I want to thank the Academy Board of Governors for inviting me this evening for this honor. You know, I am truly grateful to have this moment, so it allows me to acknowledge all the people who have helped me, all the people that I have been fortunate enough to create these films with. Because every step of the way, this whole journey has been shared. And my love for cinema began when I was a very early age. I mean, as early as I can remember. I was just, when I was this little kid in this darkened theater, and I remember that beam of light, it just cut across the room. And I remember looking up, and it seemed to me that it just exploded on the screen. And suddenly, the world was so much larger than the one that I knew. You know, entire cultures and lives and landscapes and all of it was just unfolding in front of me. And it sparked something in me. It sparked a hunger, a hunger for adventure, a hunger for knowledge, a hunger to understand humanity, to create characters, to tell a story, to see the world. And it opened my eyes. It opened my imagination to the possibility that life could expand far beyond the boundaries that I then perceived in my own life. And that beam of light opened a desire in me. It opened the world to me. And I have been following it ever since. I remember being a little kid. I worked every job I could to earn the price of admission. And when I didn't have enough, I just figured out a damn other way to get in that theater. So cinema, it takes me around the world. And it helps me to appreciate and respect differences. It shows me also our shared humanity, how alike we are in so many ways. And no matter where we come from, in that theater, we laugh together, we feel together, we hope together, we dream together. And that is the power of this art form. That is why it matters. That is why it matters to me. So making films is not what I do. It is who I am. And I also appreciate and I respect and understand that cinema is not built by one person, not a single performance, not a single voice. It is built by communities, by craftsmen, by artists, and who pass that knowledge hand-to-hand, set-to-set, generation-to-generation. And I have learned from extraordinary directors. And I have learned from extraordinary writers and actors and cinematographers and editors and designers and stunt teams, film crews, all of you who have built worlds from your imagination. And I've learned from the talent agencies. I thank you. And I've learned from the theater owners and exhibitors. And all of you, everyone here, make it possible for audiences to gather in the dark and experience something together. And I've learned from the audiences themselves because without you, none of this has meaning for me. So this evening, I cannot name all of those names who shared and shaped my life, my work, who have given me this opportunity to have this amazing adventure, who have opened doors and allowed me to understand more about this art form, who have allowed me to understand more about life. And I would never attempt to because, look, I'd surely leave someone out. But to all of those legends, known and unknown, who inspired and paved the way before me, and to all of those legends, known and unknown, that I have had the privilege to work with, that I have stood together with in the studios and the writers' rooms and all those sets and all those editing rooms and mixing stages and red carpets and every theater around the world. And I ask that if you worked with me, would you mind standing up right now? Do me a favor. Would you all stand up for a second, please? Kevin. Houvain, get up, guys. Come on. All of you. The studios. Everybody, please. All of you. Please. I want to see you. Thank you. Because I want you to know, and please know, that I carry with me each of you, and you are part of every frame of every film I have ever made or ever will make. And I want you to know that I will always do everything I can to help this art form, to support and champion new voices, to protect what makes cinema powerful, and hopefully without too many more broken bones, that would be nice. And I promise to do what I can, I don't know, to maybe inspire that next kid who might be working their ass off right now to buy that admission or figure out some other damn way to get in that theater. So thank you all very much for this honor. I'm deeply grateful. Good night. Thank you.