Tom Cruise has amply proven his impressive levels of endurance in the “Mission: Impossible” movies, hanging onto planes, skyscrapers and submarines in stunts that require death-defying commitment. But at the Governors Awards on Sunday night, when the honorary Oscars were given out, I watched Cruise demonstrated that stamina in a much different context: the meet-and-greet marathon.
Even before receiving his own award, Cruise entertained a steady stream of well-wishers at the show, which was held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. But an hour after the ceremony wrapped, as the stage was dismantled and the starry crowd had dwindled from at least 1,000 guests to two dozen stragglers, Cruise was still shaking hands, posing for photos and chatting with anyone who approached.
With the house lights up, I watched one guest departing the ballroom turn back in disbelief.
“He’s still here?” she exclaimed.
You can’t blame the actor for milking his moment. At 63, Cruise is something of an outlier for this type of honorary award, which typically goes to older recipients nearing the end of their careers who may have few remaining opportunities for recognition. Cruise has been nominated for an Academy Award four times and could be in contention again next year for his starring role in a film directed by the Oscar favorite Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
Introducing clips of Cruise, Iñárritu delivered an emphatic tribute. “Tom Cruise doesn’t just make movies,” said Iñárritu. “He is movies.”
Though these honorary awards were originally presented during the Oscar telecast, they were trimmed from the lengthy show in 2009 and moved to their own untelevised ceremony, which has become an important, star-studded stop on the awards-season calendar. After dinner was served, a formidable array of A-listers mingled, including Leonardo DiCaprio (a star of “One Battle After Another”), Jennifer Lawrence (“Die My Love”), Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”), and Ariana Grande (“Wicked: For Good”).
The night’s first honoree was Dolly Parton, who received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her charitable work fighting poverty and promoting childhood literacy. The 79-year-old singer and actress has recently faced health challenges and did not attend the ceremony, but sent in a recorded message in which she appeared as vibrant and glammed-up as ever.
“It makes me want to dream up new ways to help lift people up,” Parton said of her new Oscar. “And isn’t that what we’re supposed to be here for?”
Wynn Thomas was recognized for his trailblazing work as a production designer whose credits include “A Beautiful Mind” and “Hidden Figures,” as well as several collaborations with the director Spike Lee. Onstage, Thomas reflected on his childhood in a poor Philadelphia neighborhood and how books and his imagination provided an escape.
“The local gangs looked down on me and called me ’sissy,’” Thomas said. “But that sissy grew up to work with some great filmmakers.”
Debbie Allen, another honoree, has never won a competitive Oscar though she is a familiar presence at the ceremony, having choreographed dance numbers for the Oscar telecast seven times. Also well-known as a director, producer and actress, Allen cradled her honorary Oscar statuette with affection.
“I’m definitely taking him to work with me,” she said.
Saved for last, Cruise took the stage and praised his fellow honorees, recalling that he saw “She’s Gotta Have It” — the first collaboration between Thomas and Lee — on its opening day in 1986. For much of his speech, Cruise extolled the virtues of seeing a movie in theaters.
“In that theater, we laugh together, we feel together, we hope together,” Cruise said. (Any resemblance to his ex-wife Nicole Kidman’s well-known AMC Theaters intro was surely unintentional.)
Cruise continued to speak enthusiastically — if somewhat mayorally — about his crusade to energize the film industry, which has struggled to bounce back after the pandemic. “Making films is not what I do, it is who I am,” he said. “I want you to know that I will always do everything I can for this art form, to support and champion new voices, to protect what makes cinema powerful.”
Smiling, he added, “Hopefully without too many more broken bones.”
Kyle Buchanan is a pop culture reporter and also serves as The Projectionist, the awards season columnist for The Times.
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