Nov. 17 (UPI) — Tom Cruise, Debbie Allen and Wynn Thomas received honorary Oscars during the 16th Governors Awards dinner gala on Sunday.
Recipients are chosen by the Academy’s Board of Governors for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement in cinema and exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences,” according to an official description.
Cruise acknowledged his love of the film industry as he accepted his award from filmmaker Alejandro Inarittu.
“When I was this little kid in this darkened theater and I remember that beam of light. It just cut across the room and I remember looking up and it seemed to me that it just exploded on the screen, and suddenly the world was so much larger than the one that I knew,” he said. “You know, entire cultures and lives and landscapes and all of it was just unfolding in front of me.”
“And it sparked something in me,” he continued. “It sparked a hunger. A hunger for adventure, a hunger for knowledge, a hunger to understand humanity, to create characters, to tell a story, to see the world…. And I have been following it ever since.”
Actress and dancer Debbie Allen attends the Kennedy Center Honors Red Carpet in December. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI
Cynthia Erivo presented Allen’s honor, while Octavia Spencer introduced Thomas’ accolade.
Allen, like Cruise, recalled her love of cinema sparking as a young child.
Dolly Parton performs at the Red Kettle Kickoff during halftime of the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders game in 2023. File Photo by Ian Halperin/UPI
“I’ve had a relationship since yes I was four years old, wanting to yes replace Shirley Temple,” she said during her acceptance speech. “Wishing I could have a Harry Belafonte blow my toe nail polish dry like he did with Dorothy Dandridge. Movies was a way in for me… We used to watch all the movies and our imaginations could go and wonder and we could see ourselves.”
In addition, Lily Thomas presented singer and actress Dolly Parton with this year’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Parton, who has been struggling with health issues, accepted her accolade via a pre-recorded video.
