Tom Cruise to obtain BFI fellowship: ‘I’ve been making movies within the UK for 40 years and haven’t any plans to cease’ | Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise has thanked the British Movie Institute after its announcement that he’s to obtain its highest accolade, the BFI fellowship.

“I’m actually honoured by this acknowledgment,” Cruise stated. “I’ve been making movies within the UK for greater than 40 years and haven’t any plans to cease.”

He continued: “The UK is residence to extremely gifted professionals – actors, administrators, writers and crews, in addition to among the most beautiful areas on the planet. I’m grateful for all of the BFI has performed to help UK film-making and this unimaginable artwork kind we share.”

Cruise spends a lot of his time in England, with appreciable parts of a lot of his initiatives based mostly right here. The Mission: Unattainable movies had been filmed on location in London, Birmingham and Yorkshire; different UK-based credit embody Legend, Interview With a Vampire, Fringe of Tomorrow and Eyes Huge Shut.

The BFI chair, Jay Hunt, stated: “Tom has introduced a lot to the UK as a producer … selecting to make a lot of his movies on our shores, the place he’s welcomed by our crews who step as much as assist make his cinematic visions a actuality.”

She continued: “In doing so, he additionally helps our studios and places our areas on a world stage, within the course of creating jobs and provoking the following technology of movie expertise. He’s, after all, additionally merely one of many world’s nice actors and a real film star, delighting audiences because the motion hero and romantic lead after which shocking us with courageous, left-field roles the place his versatility and expertise shine by way of.”

An “in dialog” occasion with Cruise will happen on 11 Might, the day earlier than he receives the fellowship, to kick off a month-long season of his movies.

Former BFI fellows embody David Lean, Bette Davis, Akira Kurosawa, Ousmane Sembène, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Orson Welles, Thelma Schoonmaker, Derek Jarman, Martin Scorsese, Satyajit Ray, Yasujirō Ozu and, most lately, Tilda Swinton, Barbara Broccoli, Michael G Wilson, Spike Lee and Christopher Nolan.

In 2022, Cruise obtained an honorary Palme d’Or on the Cannes pageant in France; he has additionally received three Golden Globes and been nominated for 4 Oscars. In December 2024, he was awarded the US navy’s highest civilian honour, the distinguished public service award, in recognition of his “excellent contributions” to the army through his movie roles – presumably High Gun and its sequel, quite than, say, Cocktail.

One of many highest-grossing movie stars of all time and among the best remunerated, he’s additionally a well known advocate for the Church of Scientology, and is believed to have a house close to its UK headquarters in East Grinstead, West Sussex.