Tom Cruise has transitioned from piloting his own stunts to piloting blockbuster motion pictures (and also still doing his own stunts). During the 34th annual Producers Guild Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, Cruise accepted the David O. Selznick Achievement Award for his work producing films since 1996, including the Oscar-nominated film Top Gun: Maverick. Introduced by Paramount legend Sherry Lansing, who was an intricate collaborator in Cruise’s career, she green-lit one of his most recognizable franchises, Mission Impossible, starting off Cruise’s career as a multi-hyphenate.
During his speech, Cruise thanked Lansing for their work together and remembered his beginning in Hollywood, starring in 1981’s Taps, the film that inspired him to become a producer. “I was absolutely amazed by the craftsmanship and also the tremendous efforts that it took to make a film,†said Cruise. “I was overwhelmed by what I didn’t know.†He went on to thank those closest to him in his career, including filmmakers Christopher McQuarrie and Brian De Palma and his first agent, Paula Wagner. Lastly, Cruise thanked the producers in the room for his decades-long career in Hollywood: “You’ve all enabled me the adventurous life that I wanted.â€