Tom Cruise Honored With U.S. Navy’s Top Civilian Award for Military Roles and Service Advocacy

From sports agent to stock car driver, 62-year-old Tom Cruise has assumed countless on-screen personas over his acting career. One of his most notable roles as dauntless aircraft pilot Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun (1986) has recently earned him the U.S. Navy’s top civilian honor. Read to learn more about the medal ceremony and what the award means to Cruise.

Tom Cruise honored with U.S. Navy’s highest civilian award

Though he’s still awaiting an illusive Academy Award, action star Tom Cruise took home a different kind of honor from the U.S. Navy: The Distinguished Public Service Award. 

This is the Navy’s highest civilian honor for “outstanding contributions.” Cruise was awarded the medal and certificate in honor of his portrayal of several military figures throughout his film career. 

In a statement, the Navy describes Cruise as a “staunch advocate for the U.S. Navy,” and the award recognizes his filmography’s ability to increase “public awareness and appreciation for our highly trained personnel and the sacrifices they make while in uniform.” 

In addition to expressing gratitude to award presenter Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro for what Cruise considers an “extraordinary acknowledgment,” he emphasized his appreciation for the real-life servicemen and women who inspired his iconic characters.

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

Tom Cruise’s connection to the U.S. Navy

Cruise’s recent Distinguished Public Service Award reception isn’t the actor’s only connection to the United States Navy.

In October of 2020, Cruise, alongside film producer Jerry Bruckheimer, became the U.S. Navy’s 36th Honorary Naval Aviator.

The awards were presented before a screening of Top Gun: Maverick (2021), Top Gun’s modern sequel, and authorized Cruise and Bruckheimer to “wear the ‘wings of gold’ of a U.S. naval aviator and are entitled to all honors, courtesies and privileges afforded to Naval Aviators.”

Tom Cruise’s most iconic military roles in film

Considered the then-24-year-old’s breakout film, Cruise’s role in Top Gun not only catalyzed his career but set the tone for several of his future roles in other military-focused films. 

Cruise went on to play Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg in Valkyrie (2008)—a film about an attempt to kill Hitler—and Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men (1992)—a film about a military lawyer defending two Marines accused of murder. 

He also starred as the title character in Jack Reacher (2012) which followed an ex-Army investigator as he worked to solve a murder case involving an ex-military sniper. 

How ‘Top Gun’ inspired military recruitment

Top Gun didn’t just do numbers at the box office. Its release sparked awareness and interest in the military for young viewers.

Recruiters noted a significant increase in applications with a specific interest in aviation training programs following the movie’s premiere in 1986.

Intending to capitalize on this surge of interest in high-flying, high-stakes military careers, the Navy set up recruitment booths outside movie theaters showing Top Gun. 

In 2022, when the film’s sequel—Top Gun: Maverick—was released, U.S. Navy Commander Dave Benham, Navy spokesperson, told FLYING that Top Gun’s new incarnation would, “certainly raise awareness and should positively contribute to individual decisions to serve in the Navy.”