Top things to know
- Tom Cruise has been selected to receive the 52nd AFI Life Achievement Award.
- The gala tribute will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 24, 2027.
- Kathleen Kennedy, chair of AFI's board of trustees, called Cruise a 'global icon' and praised his belief in movies' ability to bring people together.
- Cruise, 64, has a career spanning more than four decades and has received three Academy Award nominations for acting.
- He received an honorary Oscar last year and his films have earned nearly $13 billion worldwide, according to Variety.
- Proceeds from the tribute gala support AFI's education and arts initiatives.
Tom Cruise has been selected to receive the 52nd AFI Life Achievement Award, the American Film Institute's board of trustees announced. The honour will be presented at a gala tribute at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 24, 2027.
The AFI Life Achievement Award is widely regarded as the highest honour for a career in film. It is given to a single honoree each year and recognises talent that has furthered the cinematic arts, demonstrated longevity, and been acknowledged by scholars, critics, peers and audiences. The recipient is chosen by the AFI Board of Trustees.
Kathleen Kennedy, chair of AFI's board of trustees, said in a statement: "Tom Cruise is a global icon. As an actor and producer, he brings an extraordinary commitment to everything he does. What I especially admire is his deep belief in movies and their ability to bring people together." She added: "That passion has made him an extraordinary ambassador for American film around the world. It is AFI's honor to present him with the 52nd AFI Life Achievement Award."
Cruise, 64, has worked in film for more than four decades. His credits include Risky Business, Top Gun, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, Minority Report, Interview With the Vampire, The Firm, Magnolia, Rain Man, The Color of Money, Born on the Fourth of July and multiple installments of the Mission: Impossible and Top Gun series. According to Variety, his films have earned nearly $13 billion in worldwide box office.
He has received three Academy Award nominations for acting: best actor for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, and supporting actor for Magnolia. As a producer, he was nominated when Top Gun: Maverick received a best picture nomination. Last year, he received an honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards.
Cruise is currently starring in Digger, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. He is set to star alongside Anne Hathaway in the next chapter of Days of Thunder, which is scheduled for release in 2028.
The AFI Life Achievement Award was established in 1973. Cruise joins a roster of past recipients that includes John Ford, Bette Davis, Sidney Poitier, Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Nicole Kidman and Eddie Murphy, who received the honour earlier this year. Previous winners from the past decade include Francis Ford Coppola, Steve Martin, John Williams, Diane Keaton, George Clooney, Julie Andrews and Nicole Kidman.
The gala celebration will feature clips of Cruise's work, tributes from friends and collaborators, and an acceptance speech by Cruise himself. Proceeds from the tribute gala support AFI's education and arts initiatives. AFI is a nonprofit organisation with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form.
Cruise has previously received career-recognition honours from the Cannes Film Festival and the Producers Guild of America, as well as France's Knight of the Legion of Honor, the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Humanitarian Award and the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation's Pioneer Award.