Tom Cruise and Dolly Parton will be among this year’s recipients of honorary Oscars.
The pair join choreographer, actor and director Debbie Allen and production designer Wynn Thomas, all scheduled to receive special Oscars at this year’s governors awards in November.
Academy president, Janet Yang, called them “four legendary individuals whose extraordinary careers and commitment to our film-making community continue to leave a lasting impact” in a statement.
The honorary Oscars are given “to honour extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences in any discipline, or for outstanding service to the Academy”.
It will mark Cruise’s first Oscar after the actor has been nominated on four occasions for performances in Born on the Fourth of July, Magnolia and Rain Man, and for producing best picture nominee Top Gun: Maverick. This year has seen him returning to the role of Ethan Hunt in the eighth Mission: Impossible film.
Parton will receive the Jean Hersholt humanitarian award to recognise how she has brought “credit to the industry by promoting human welfare and contributing to rectifying inequities”. Previous winners have included Richard Curtis, Michael J Fox, Tyler Perry and Angelina Jolie.
The singer and actor has previously been nominated for two Oscars for best original songs from 9 to 5 and Transamerica.
Allen has previously won five Emmys and been nominated for two Tony awards. She is known for starring in Fame and Grey’s Anatomy and also for directing and producing with credits including A Different World, Empire and Insecure. She has also worked as a choreographer for the Oscars ceremony on multiple occasions.
As production designer, Thomas’s credits include films such as Hidden Figures, Do the Right Thing, Da 5 Bloods, A Beautiful Mind and Malcolm X. In a statement, Yang said that he has brought “some of the most enduring films to life through a visionary eye and mastery of his craft”.
Last year’s honorary Oscars were awarded to casting director Juliet Taylor and posthumously to Quincy Jones.
