LOS ANGELES — After performing daring stunts like clinging to the side of a plane, riding a motorcycle off a cliff, and climbing up skyscrapers, Tom Cruise reached a different kind of milestone with a few simple steps: he received an Academy Award.

On Sunday, the 63-year-old actor was presented with an honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Awards. “I want you to know that I will always do everything I can to help this art form,” Cruise said, adding, “Hopefully without too many more broken bones.”

The Governors Awards, chosen by the academy’s board based on an artist’s career, differ from the competitive Oscars, which are voted on by more than 10,000 academy members to recognize individual films. The event also serves as a gathering for Oscar contenders seeking to connect with voters, although it is not televised.

Before the ceremony, attendees mingled at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood. Ariana Grande greeted Cruise, who asked about her “Wicked: For Good” press tour. Gwyneth Paltrow caught up with her godfather, Steven Spielberg, who sat at Cruise’s table, while Alejandro Iñárritu, who would later present Cruise’s award, spoke with Guillermo del Toro. Other attendees included Leonardo DiCaprio, Sydney Sweeney, Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Coogler, Jennifer Lawrence, Cynthia Erivo, Emma Stone, Jeremy Allen White, Amanda Seyfried, Kristen Stewart, and Chloé Zhao.

The event took place amid challenges in Hollywood, including uncertainty over studio deals, the rise of artificial intelligence, and the ongoing recovery of the theatrical business after the pandemic. Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor mentioned the importance of protecting human authorship and artistic freedoms. Cruise’s efforts to help revive moviegoing after COVID-19 have earned him respect from many colleagues, with Spielberg telling him at a 2023 academy luncheon that he had “saved Hollywood’s a--.”

Iñárritu, who is directing Cruise in an upcoming black comedy for Warner Bros., said of the actor, “Tom Cruise doesn’t just make movies, he is movies.”

Cruise has been nominated for competitive Oscars four times—for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire as best actor, for Magnolia as best supporting actor, and for producing Top Gun: Maverick as best picture—but had never won until now.

The academy also honored choreographer and actor Debbie Allen, production designer Wynn Thomas, and awarded Dolly Parton the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Parton, 79, accepted via a pre-recorded speech from her home in Nashville due to a scheduled medical procedure, with Andra Day performing her 1973 song “Jolene” live. Parton has previously been nominated for Oscars for her songs “9 to 5” and “Travelin’ Thru,” and was recognized for her philanthropic work, including support for the LGBTQ community and funding research that contributed to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Allen, 75, who became known for her work in Fame, Grey’s Anatomy, and Amistad, praised her fellow honorees and referenced Cruise’s early film Risky Business during her speech. Thomas, 73, the first Black production designer to join the art director’s guild, is known for his collaborations with Spike Lee, including Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X.