The star power that Mission: Impossible franchise lead Tom Cruise holds in the industry can sometimes appear to be unreal. It’s not just the films that have helped the actor garner a huge global fanbase, but also the ethics that he has displayed over the years.
According to an exclusive Deadline report back in 2021, Cruise made headlines as he publicly condemned an award that most actors yearn for throughout their film careers. He reportedly sent back the awards to show his support to the underrepresented people working behind the curtain.
Tom Cruise Condemned HFPA To Stand Against Harassment
The HFPA [Hollywood Foreign Press Association] has often come under fire for not being inclusive and asking bizarre questions to celebrities during press events that are borderline s-xist and racially insensitive, as per Variety.
Meher Tatna, who had been with the HFPA since 2002 and served as the president for two years [2017-2019] said in an interview with Variety that the organization hadn’t recruited people of color since she worked there.
While top Marvel brass like Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson alerted Hollywood to keep a distance from the organization, Tom Cruise set an example with an incredibly powerful move.
After announcing on May 3 that HFPA’s 90-member panel approved recruiting more underrepresented people, a week later Cruise returned the awards represented by the association in a peculiar fashion.
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay Lauded Tom Cruise’s Decision
Tom Cruise, according to an interview with BBC in 2002, has never been quite fond of awards. He said that he loved making films and that he would keep making more, but not with a view to getting an accolade.
“I’ve always felt what I do is extraordinary – being able to make these pictures and doing something you love. So, I’ll just keep doing it. I love it, I don’t do it for the awards.”
He lived up to his statement as Deadline broke the news on May 10, 2021, that Cruise had returned back the Golden Globes that he won for three films – Jerry Maguire (1996) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989) for Best actor and Magnolia (1999) for best supporting role.
A Wrinkle in Time (2018) director Ava DuVernay took to Twitter to heap praises for the 61-year-old actor –
“That time that Tom Cruise sent his @goldenglobes for ‘Jerry Maguire,’ ‘Magnolia’ and ‘Born on the Fourth of July’ in an actual box to the reception desk of HFPA to stand against their s-xist, homophobic, racist practices of exclusion, harassment, and bias.”
The HFPA still continues to pick on Tom Cruise as Jerrod Carmichael, the host of Golden Globes this year, called out Cruise for returning the awards.
Tom Cruise will be next seen in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two which comes out on June 28, 2024.
Source: Variety
