At 63, Tom Cruise achieves what seemed like his 'impossible mission': an Oscar!

Actor Tom Cruise received a standing ovation from the cream of the Hollywood crop who gathered Sunday night to award him with a Honorary Oscar, the first golden statuette of his career.

"Writing a four-minute speech to celebrate Tom Cruise's 45-year career is what is known, in this town, as a mission impossible," joked Mexican Alejandro González Iñárritu, who addressed Cruise in the upcoming 'Judy.'

To the beat of the unmistakable soundtrack of Mission Impossible the saga that has marked the actor's career, Cruise, 63, took the stage at Hollywood's Dolby Ballroom to the effusive recognition of peers such as Colin Farrell and Emilio Estevez, with whom he shared the screen, as well as the legendary Steven Spielberg, who directed him in Minority Report and War of the Worlds.

With repeated thanks, a moved Cruise took the microphone.

"My affection for cinema started when I was very young", said the star who described the big screen as the space that awakened in him a "hunger for adventure, a hunger for knowledge, a hunger to understand humanity, to create characters, to tell a story, to see the world."

Cruise, one of entertainment's biggest blockbusters, with more than 50 films on his resume and known for performing his fearsome action scenes without stuntmen, has been nominated four times for Oscars, but has never won the statuette.

The honorary Oscars, also handed out annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, recognize industry legends for their careers as well as their contributions to cinema.

Cruise not only returned the accolades to Iñárritu and his peers, but also dedicated special mentions to the night's other honorees, including Dolly Parton, who received the Jean Hersholt Award for her humanitarian work.

Parton, 79, had anticipated that for health reasons she would not attend the event, thanked the academy in a video message.

Looking ahead to the Oscars

Under a heavy rain in Los Angeles, the stars marked their presence at the 16th edition of the gala that also offers an opportunity for studio executives and actors to begin their campaign for the Oscars, which will be handed out in March 2026.

In the run-up to the gala, Ryan Coogler, who directed the horror film Sinners, one of the season's favorites, received an effusive salute from Jacob Elordi, who played Guillermo del Toro's Frankestein.