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The legend of Tom Cruise has continued to grow, as the United States Navy has awarded its top civilian honor to the iconic actor. Cruise was given the Distinguished Public Service Award during a ceremony at Longcross Film Studios in England on Tuesday, December 17.
According to the Navy, Tom Cruise was given the Distinguished Public Service Award due to his “outstanding contributions” to the United States military during his film career.
Cruise has starred as either an active member or veteran of the armed forces in films such as Top Gun (Navy), Born on the Fourth of July (Marines), A Few Good Men (Navy), Jack Reacher and its sequel (Army), and Top Gun: Maverick.
The Navy said Cruise’s work has “increased public awareness and appreciation for our highly trained personnel and the sacrifices they make while in uniform”.
“I admire all of the servicemen and women,” Cruise said after being presented the medal by United States Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. “I know in life, something that is very true to me, is that is to lead is to serve. And I know that to my core. And I see that in the servicemen and women.”
In addition to the work he did with the Navy on the billion-dollar-plus-grossing, movie-theater-business-saving Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise also filmed portions of his upcoming film Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which looks like it’s shaping up to be Cruise’s *final* Mission: Impossible (although that’s still just speculation), is scheduled to be released in movie theaters in the United States on May 23, 2025.
Alongside Cruise, the film will also star Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, and Rolf Saxon. Fans also suspect addition actors/character from previous M:I movies will appear in the film, too.
You can check out the official teaser trailer for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning below.