Described by the AFI as “the highest honor given for a career in film,” the Life Achievement Award is given to one person annually who meets the Board’s criteria: “The recipient should be one whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time.”

The first Life Achievement Award went to John Ford in 1973. In the intervening years, it has gone to luminaries including Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Barbara Stanwyck, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, Sidney Poitier, Martin Scorsese, Julie Andrews and Denzel Washington. Eddie Murphy was the 2026 honoree.

Over the course of his five-decade career, Cruise has starred in movies that have grossed nearly $13 billion worldwide. He has been nominated for three acting Oscars, for “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Magnolia,” and one for producing 2023 Best Picture nominee “Top Gun: Maverick,” also the highest-grossing film of his career at $1.5 billion.

He most recently starred in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s divisive-but-respected satire “Digger.”

AFI is currently celebrating it 40th AFI Fest, spreading love for cinema all across L.A.