Tom Cruise Secures Oscar Win at 2025 Governors Awards | Vanity Fair

Even in a room full of movie stars, no one shines brighter than Tom Cruise.

The four-time nominee finally got his Oscar on November 16 at the annual Governors Awards—where, in front of a star-studded crowd, he accepted his golden statue while emphasizing his lifelong dedication to the art form. “Making films is not what I do,” Cruise said. “It’s who I am.”

Along with Cruise, director/choreographer/actor Debbie Allen and production designer Wynn Thomas were given Academy Honorary Awards, while Dolly Parton was honored with the Dean Hersholt Humanitarian Award—an opportunity for the Academy to highlight industry titans who may or may not have received competitive Oscars.

The annual event at Hollywood’s Ray Dolby ballroom is packed with stars, many of whom are currently on the campaign trail for next year’s Oscars. It’s the sort of event where you’ll walk into a crowded elevator with Guillermo del Toro, Joseph Kosinski, and Jafar Panahi—and the Frankenstein director will tell the Top Gun Maverick filmmaker, “You clean up nice.” Dwayne Johnson makes his way through the crowded ballroom room hand-in-hand with his Smashing Machine costar Emily Blunt; Austin Butler wanders by to talk to Joe Alwyn and Josh O’Connor; One Battle After Another stars Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor are huddled in a corner with Michael B. Jordan and Jacob Elordi. Adam Sandler yells “It’s the boys!” when he sees his Uncut Gems directors, Benny and Josh Safdie across the room, and rushes to give them a warm embrace. Leonardo DiCaprio is there too, though he doesn’t wander around the room—instead spending most of his time at his table with his One Battle After Another costar and fellow Oscar-winner Benicio del Toro.

But when it was time to honor Cruise, the stars quieted down, and all the focus turned to a man who had built his whole career around movies. After an introduction by director Alejandro Iñárritu—Cruise is starring in his next movie—and a montage of clips from his greatest films, Cruise took the stage to accept his award. He spoke very little about himself, instead shining a spotlight on the other honorees, followed by all the agents, execs, actors, and directors who helped him along the way. Cruise spoke passionately about the unifying quality of watching a movie in theaters. “No matter where we come from in that theater, we laugh, we feel together, we hope together. That is why it matters to me,” he said. “Making films is not what I do—it’s who I am.”

Cruise, who was previously nominated as an actor for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia, and as a producer on Top Gun: Maverick, promised that this lifetime achievement Oscar didn’t mean his moviemaking career was coming to an end. “I want you to know that I will always do everything I can to support and champion new voices, to protect what makes cinema powerful—and hopefully to do it without too many more broken bones,” said Cruise.

Among Cruise’s guests was Steven Spielberg, who also has a connection to Allen, another of the night’s honorees. Allen—a multi-hyphenate known for the TV series Fame, for her prolific work as a director for film and TV, and as the longtime choreographer of the Oscars—gave another stirring speech. “My accomplishments and everything that I’ve done and continue to do, I have not done alone,” Allen said from the stage. “I’ve had masters and mentors that have trained me, encouraged me, criticized me, given me the opportunity, uplifted me, and helped me become the Debbie Allen that we’re celebrating tonight. And I want to say thank you to those masters.”

Thomas, the barrier-breaking production designer behind many of Spike Lee’s movies as well as A Beautiful Mind and Hidden Figures, dedicated his award to his mother and grandmother, who supported his ambitions from his early days: “These two women who had no idea who Chekhov or Fellini were, but these two women that were willing to let me go so that I could make the journey that would take me around the world and very much you do this evening,” he said.

Parton couldn’t attend the awards event, but she did send a video message in which she stood next to her new Oscar. The music icon has had a fruitful film and TV career—including starring in the classics 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias—but she was being honored for philanthropic work, including Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which has provided over 300 million books to children. “We didn’t have too much to share, but my mama and daddy showed me that the more you give, the more blessings come your way,” said Parton. “And I have been blessed more than I ever dreamed possible—like with this award tonight.”

While the main point of the event is to bestow honorary statuettes, the Academy event also lands smack in the middle of Oscar campaigning season—which means that the room is full of conversations about which movies may be strong contenders this year. Other Oscar hopefuls packed into the ballroom Sunday included Jennifer Lawrence, Jessie Buckley, Tessa Thompson, Ethan Hawke, Oscar Isaac, Sydney Sweeney, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Emma Stone, Jeremy Allen White, and Joel Edgerton. The general consensus around the room was that it’s a very good and very competitive year for movies—which may be part of the reason so many contenders made it out to the Academy event this year. But despite those potentially ulterior motives, it was still a room of movie lovers, gathering to celebrate the icons who have come before them. Colin Farrell probably summed it up best, exclaiming to Vanity Fair, “God I love movies!”

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