- After 45 years as a working actor, Tom Cruise is finally receiving an Oscar (albeit honorary).
- Modern cinema’s ambassador has been nominated for an Academy Award on four occasions to date, but failed to take home the W each time.
- Beyond those four nods, however, is an entire filmography of non-honorary, Oscar-worthy performances.
It beggars belief that an actor as talented as Tom Cruise, and with almostp half a century practically defining mainstream cinema, has yet to earn an Academy Award. But come November 16th, this will be rectified. Sort of.
The “last true movie star” is set to receive an honorary Oscar alongside choreographer/actress Debbie Allen and production designer Wynn Thomas at the 16th annual Governors Awards; which is being hosted at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood. Music icon Dolly Parton is also receiving her own golden statuette with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
“This year’s Governors Awards will celebrate four legendary individuals whose extraordinary careers and commitment to our filmmaking community continue to leave a lasting impact,” said Janet Yang, Academy President.
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“Tom Cruise’s incredible commitment to our filmmaking community, to the theatrical experience, and to the stunts community has inspired us all.”
The delayed recognition has, of course, been a result of Cruise’s career-long decision to prioritise entertainment for the masses as opposed to placating critics. Though that isn’t to say the man hasn’t offered his fair share of Academy Award-calibre performances.
In fact, at the time of this publishing, the star of Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, and Risky Business fame has been nominated on a quartet of occasions (and lost out to stiff competition/found himself victim to industry politics).
Here are the seven most notable instances where Tom Cruise deserved an Oscar for his dedication to film.
Born On The Fourth Of July (1989)
As real-life Vietnam War veteran and anti-war activist, Ron Kovic, Tom Cruise turned in an unforgettable performance for the Oliver Stone biopic.
But to say this was a tough year in the Best Actor category would be the understatement of the century: Cruise was nominated and pitted against Kenneth Branagh for Henry V, Morgan Freeman for Driving Miss Daisy, Robin Williams for Dead Poets Society, as well as Daniel Day-Lewis for the legendary Oscar-bait flick, My Left Foot (the latter of whom won for his vaunted portrayal of Christy Brown).
If you had to lose, though, at least it was at the hands (or more appropriately, left foot) of DDL.
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Tom Cruise’s signature charisma was on full display for the touching Cameron Crowe classic.
Unfortunately, this was another tough year in the Best Actor category: Cruise’s fellow nominees included Ralph Fiennes for The English Patient, Woody Harrelson for The People vs Larry Flynt, Billy Bob Thornton for Sling Blade, as well as Australia’s own Geoffrey Rush for Shine (the latter of whom won).
Can’t win ’em all, I suppose. Or any, in this case.
Magnolia (1999)
Any criticisms about Tom Cruise simply being a “movie star” and not a fully-fledged thespian can be silenced by his role as Andrew Tate-style motivational speaker slash pickup artist: Frank Mackey.
What could’ve easily been a two-dimensional and cartoonish supporting character in the sprawling Paul Thomas Anderson masterpiece shaped up to be an achingly vulnerable portrait of a broken man in desperate need of his own father figure.
Plus, the man legitimately moved one of history’s finest actors in the late Philip Seymour Hoffman to tears during a scene they shared together. What more proof do you need? Give the man his gilded statuette.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
If not for his dramatic efforts in the conspiracy theory-laden erotic psychological thriller, then for surviving legendary director Stanley Kubrick at his reported worst.
The Last Samurai (2003)
Cards on the table: we have a well-documented soft spot for Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai. In fact, we believe it’s the best movie Tom Cruise has accomplished to date.
In a rare instance where he hasn’t been cast as a flawless quasi-superhero who’s suffered some sort of lazily tacked-on personal loss or simply deemed “reckless and arrogant” by his fellow players as a substitute for actual character development, the historical drama perfectly captures Cruise in a different lens. One that’s coloured by a genuine complexity glimpsed in Magnolia, and a raw earnestness that makes him far more relatable than ever before. Far more human, even.
Haunted by his actions during the American Indian War massacres, something which elevates him to the “war hero” status he so despises, Cruise’s Nathan Algren finds a shot at redemption in the Land of the Rising Sun. And it’s pure f**king poetry.
Collateral (2004)
Between the surgically precise direction of Michael Mann and the near-psychotic levels of preparation Tom Cruise logged for this one – aside from training to use a firearm with retired SAS operatives until he achieved textbook perfection, the latter (successfully) worked undercover as a courier so he could learn how to blend in like a contract killer – Collateral had all the makings of a winner.
Then there was the matter of the emotional nuance Cruise managed to convey in a role that would’ve probably sufficed without it.
Apparently, the Academy thought otherwise: Jamie Foxx and the production’s editors, Jim Miller and Paul Rubell, received the sole nods that year.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
At this stage, we’re all quite familiar with how the man put his body on the line to not only dazzle us with authentic fighter jet action, but essentially “save” cinema post-COVID with a must-see blockbuster that effectively turned the tide on an industry already crippled by the spectre of streaming.
Yes, the script was whatever. Yes, the acting played second fiddle to the technical filmmaking. But as the de facto champion of movies, Tom Cruise certainly deserved an Oscar for his return as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
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Honourable Mentions
- The Colour of Money
- Rain Man
- A Few Good Men
- Topic Thunder
- Mission: Impossible (either the first or Fallout, either works)
