Tom Cruise Is Awarded the U.S. Navy's Highest Civilian Honor: 'To Lead Is to Serve'

Tom Cruise is adding a unique distinction to his collection of Hollywood accolades: the U.S. Navy's highest civilian award.

Called a "staunch advocate for the U.S. Navy" in a Tuesday, Dec. 17 press release, the actor-producer, 62, was honored with the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service (DPS) Award. Presented by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, it is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a civilian outside the Department of the Navy.

After starring in 1986’s Top Gun, the action-packed drama about naval aviators, Cruise led and produced the 2022 box office hit Top Gun: Maverick. The Joseph Kosinski-directed sequel “brought nostalgia to older audiences and reinvigorated younger viewers’ interest in the skill sets and opportunities the Navy provides,” per the press release. “The success of this portrayal led to Cruise being named the U.S. Navy’s 36th Honorary Naval Aviator.”

Cruise received the award in England during a ceremony on Tuesday at the Longcross Film Studios in Chertsey, Surrey.

"I know in life, something that is very true to me,” he said in a speech. “To lead is to serve. And I know that to my core.”

Praising “the servicemen and women” around him, Cruise expressed his thanks for the "extraordinary acknowledgment,” per the BBC.

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“I’m happy I have been able to be a source of inspiration to many of the sailors who serve today or have served in the past,” said the Oscar nominee in the press release. “The effort was not just on my end, but the cast and crew I get to work with on all our sets. They are what really bring the work to life.”

“It was an honor to present Tom Cruise with a Defense Public Service award for his decades of naval advocacy through many movies,” Del Toro said. “His work has inspired generations to serve in our Navy and Marine Corps.”

Due to the success of the original Top Gun, interest in becoming a Navy pilot surged in the late 1980s, increasing recruitment, per the release. 

Cruise is not the first Hollywood legend to receive the Navy's Distinguished Public Service honor. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks also received the honor for their work on the 1998 World War II movie Saving Private Ryan.

Cruise is reportedly developing a Top Gun 3, which producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed to PEOPLE in March. Top Gun Maverick was a commercial and critical success, earning $1.496 billion at the global box office — Cruise's highest-grossing film to date — and nabbing six Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture. The film won for Best Sound.

The Mission: Impossible star next appears in that action franchise’s eighth installment, The Final Reckoning, in theaters on May 23, 2025.