In 2023, the Academy Awards ceremony made history. Several Asian performers took home golden statues and were either the first or second people to do so in their categories in the near-century of the honors existing — and Hollywood staple Tom Cruise almost joined them. He had a Best Picture chance for producing Top Gun: Maverick and, while he and the sequel’s team fell short of the biggest prize, several are wondering if he has ever won an Oscar before, or even been nominated for some of his prior films’ efforts.
Surprisingly, no, Cruise has not won an Oscar at this point in his career or at earlier times when his star power was perhaps greater. Since his beginnings in the entertainment industry, the 60-year-old has taken home awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globe Awards (he later returned these in what some feel was designed to be a stunt). In addition, he has been recognized at a number of smaller and lesser-known awards shows like the American Cinema and Screen Actors Guild Awards and has received some Oscar nominations during his long and extensive filmography. The last one happened 23 years ago, and for each one he almost took home hardware for, he was appearing in mostly dramatic stuff from directors who are more prestige than popcorn.
Before the Top Gun sequel, these consisted of Frank T.J. Mackey in Magnolia, the titular character in Jerry Maguire, and veteran and anti-war activist Ron Kovic in Born on the Fourth of July. These films came out in 2000, 1997, and 1990 respectively, and of the trio, Jerry Maguire and Born on the Fourth of July are the best-reviewed with 84 percent fresh ratings on Rotten Tomatoes while Magnolia is at 83 percent. From here, Cruise did not appear in any work which netted him a similar level of industry acclaim until the Oscar buzz for Top Gun: Maverick began to circulate in the wake of the film’s release and it becoming one of the highest-grossing projects of all time. Co-star Jennifer Connelly said he deserved one during the campaign season, and while this did not happen, there is always the chance the third time in the franchise could end up being the charm for the committed entertainer.
Several stars of Top Gun: Maverick have indicated they are open to a sequel, though nothing is official at this time and would likely need Cruise’s blessing in order to get a go-ahead. Here’s hoping if it does, Cruise brings back the G-Force acclimation system he made so his co-stars would not get sick while flying as their characters and it lessens his pain if he lost once again.