Tom Cruise Awarded Top US Navy Civilian Honor

Tom Cruise, known for his fictional role as the world’s most famous Top Gunhas been recognized by the US Navy and awarded its highest civilian honor for “his outstanding contributions to the Navy and Marine Corps.”

During a ceremony in London on Tuesday, the actor was awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award. The Navy praised Cruise for raising “public awareness and appreciation of our highly trained personnel and the sacrifices they make while in uniform” through his work in Top Gun, Born on the Fourth of July, A couple of good menand Mission Impossible film franchise, per Associated Press.

“I admire all servicemen and women,” Cruise said. “I know in life that something that is very true for me is to lead is to serve. And I know that to my core. And I see that in the servicemen and women.”

Cruise, who starred in the original Top Gun in 1986 (it was the highest-grossing domestic and worldwide film of that year), returning in 2022 for its sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Like the first film, the follow-up was a commercial success and earned nearly 1.5 billion dollars worldwidemaking it the second-highest-grossing film of 2022 and Cruise’s highest-grossing film of his prolific career.

According to the Navy, Maverick “brought nostalgia to older audiences and revived the minds of newer audience members, effectively targeting a younger audience’s interest in the skills and opportunities the Navy can offer.”

Cruise stars of the future Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning movie that will be released on May 23. It is the eighth part in Mission: Impossible series.