Honorary Award or Thalberg Award
More and more described as “the final film star,” Cruise is worthy of that moniker provided that he has been a constant field workplace draw longer than anybody else in historical past. Verify the numbers — he has even outlasted John Wayne.
Cruise’s reputation — constructed on the again of his all-American, boy-next-door smile and swagger, in addition to actual appearing chops and tireless boosterism of his personal tasks — has spanned 1983’s Dangerous Enterprise by means of 2025’s Mission: Not possible — The Remaining Reckoning, a interval of 42 years, with two chart-topping High Gun motion pictures, 36 years aside, inbetween, the latter of which, within the view of no much less an authority than Steven Spielberg, “saved Hollywood’s ass” within the wake of the worldwide pandemic.
Cruise spent the primary half of his profession working principally in filmmaker-driven tasks. He labored with Barry Levinson (1988’s Rain Man, which gained the very best image Oscar), Francis Ford Coppola (1983’s The Outsiders), Martin Scorsese (1986’s The Shade of Cash), Oliver Stone (1989’s Born on the Fourth of July, for which he obtained his first appearing Oscar nom), Rob Reiner (1992’s A Few Good Males), Sydney Pollack (1993’s The Agency), Cameron Crowe (1996’s Jerry Maguire, Oscar nom #2, and 2001’s Vanilla Sky), Stanley Kubrick (1999’s Eyes Vast Shut), Paul Thomas Anderson (1999’s Magnolia, Oscar nom #3), Spielberg (2002’s Minority Report) and Michael Mann (2004’s Collateral).
He has spent the second half working principally in action-oriented flicks of widely-varying high quality, however pretty unwavering reputation, by which he famously does a lot of his personal stunts. Amongst them: eight Mission: Not possible movies (1996, 2000, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2023 and 2025), the primary of which additionally marked his preliminary producing credit score (he has additionally produced each subsequent installment), plus The Final Samurai (2003), The Struggle of the Worlds (2005), Jack Reacher (2012, additionally producer), Jack Reacher: By no means Go Again (2016, additionally producer) and High Gun: Maverick (additionally producer).
With only a few exceptions, most notably 2008’s Tropic Thunder, Cruise has, over the past 20 years, constantly performed a model of Cruise, or not less than his well-established display persona, which audiences nonetheless love. Not like many different A-listers, you gained’t see him enjoying a superhero in a comic book ebook adaptation — he turned down Tony Stark — as a result of he, not the character he performs, is the star; and also you gained’t see him on a streaming service or on TV, bause he’s a film star, which is why he additionally ferociously defends the theatrical expertise.
Although Cruise is tremendously well-liked amongst these with whom he has collaborated, he definitely has some private beliefs that many discover objectionable, so don’t give him the Hersholt. However his huge skilled achievement and affect is inarguable, which is why it has already been acknowledged by the Critics Alternative Awards (2005), BAFTA-LA Britannia Awards (2005), CinemaCon (2018), Cannes Movie Pageant (2022) and Producers Guild (2023).
Department(es) It Would Most Please Actors, Producers and Manufacturing/Know-how
Precedents Honorary: Charlie Chaplin (1927/1928 and 1971), Douglas Fairbanks (1939), Gary Cooper (1960), Cary Grant (1969), Mary Pickford (1975), Paul Newman (1985), Robert Redford (2001), Jackie Chan (2016) and Samuel L. Jackson (2021); Thalberg: Clint Eastwood (1994) and Warren Beatty (1999)
Potential Tablemates Christopher McQuarrie, Steven Spielberg, Barry Levinson, Renée Zellweger, Cameron Crowe, Oliver Stone, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jerry Bruckheimer, Dakota Fanning and Glen Powell