Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

At the Los Angeles Awards ceremony, 63-year-old American actor Tom Cruise was honored with an honorary Oscar for his outstanding contribution to cinema. Alongside him, three other artists received the award in recognition of their transformative impact on the film industry across generations, Azernews reports.

This marks Tom Cruise's first Oscar statuette. It was presented to him by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu. Cruise had been nominated four times previously but finally achieved this milestone in 2025.

“I don’t make movies, I live by them,” Cruise said in his acceptance speech. Explaining his deep connection to cinema, he added, “When we’re in the cinema, we laugh, empathize, hope together, and that’s the power of this art form,” as quoted by Variety magazine.

Over a 40-year career, Tom Cruise has starred in dozens of films, with his breakout role coming in Risky Business (1983). Many of his performances have earned him Golden Globe Awards, and in June, Cruise was entered into the Guinness World Records for frequently performing complex stunts himself in action films.

In addition to Cruise, the honorary Oscars celebrated production designer Wynn Thomas, actress and choreographer Debbie Allen, and 79-year-old country singer and actress Dolly Parton for their lasting contributions to the film industry. According to the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts, Parton has topped the Billboard country charts 25 times, written over 5,000 songs, and performed in more than 1,000 shows during her illustrious career.

Notably, this year’s honorary awards highlighted a wide spectrum of cinematic talent, from acting and choreography to production design and music, emphasizing the collaborative nature of filmmaking and the enduring cultural impact of artists like Cruise and Parton.