Why Tom Cruise Skipped The 2023 Oscars

When you think of the Oscars, you think of all the biggest movie stars in the world gathering in the same place. From the likes of Brad Pitt, to Leonardo DiCaprio, to Tom Cruise, they're total staples year after year at the event, right? Well, not always.

You may be surprised to learn that, at least prior to the 2023 Oscars, the latter has never actually won an Academy Award before. We know! Crazy, right? Cruise has been nominated an impressive four times though, landing his first nomination back in 1990 for Best Actor playing the role of real life Sergeant Ron Kovic in "Born on the Fourth of July," before he earned himself another in the same category in 1997 for "Jerry Maguire" in which he played, well, Jerry Maguire, of course! He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for "Magnolia" in 2000, and then, 2023 brought him the coveted Best Picture nomination for "Top Gun: Maverick." But while we're sure the cast and crew of the massive sequel were celebrating the movie's huge success all night, the main man himself wasn't there.

Yep, Tom Cruise didn't cruise on in to the 2023 Oscars, because he's a little busy living it up in Europe. Entertainment Tonight reported that the actor is actually across the pond in the U.K. — but he's not just enjoying a little vacation time, oh no. The star is feeling the need, not for speed, no, but for hard work, as he's filming another installment of one of his other most famous movie franchises, "Mission: Impossible." Cruise is actually working on "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part II," with Deadline reporting he'd also been shooting for the upcoming movie in Sicily, Italy.

Cruise is one of the producers on the super well received "Top Gun: Maverick" (as well as playing the main role of the iconic Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell), so it's a real shame the star wasn't around to celebrate alongside his co-workers and co-stars — but at least we'll get a Lady Gaga performance of the movie's theme, though! Nevertheless, we seriously doubt there won't be more chances to win an Oscar in this actor's future. Hey, maybe he'll even be back next year for "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part II"?

While Tom Cruise no doubt would probably have been the leader of the pack had he been able to attend the 2023 Oscars, the cast and crew of "Top Gun: Maverick" weren't without enthusiasm — or Cruise on their minds! — when they hit the red carpet for the big award show. Charles Parnell, who played Rear Admiral Solomon "Warlock" Bates in the movie, addressed Cruise's absence to Entertainment Tonight during a joint interview with his co-star Jay Ellis, confirming Cruise wasn't there because of work commitments. "He's off doing TC things that make TC, TC. Working while other people are playing. Stuntin' while other people are sleeping," Parnell then added, also noting that Cruise was doing his bit to keep the movie industry running.

According to Entertainment Tonight, "Top Gun: Maverick" producer Jerry Bruckheimer will accept the movie's award shall it win Best Picture. Moreover, the movie was nominated in a slew of other categories, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound.

Tom Cruise did manage to get in on a little bit of 2023 Oscars action despite him skipping out on the ceremony, as he attended a luncheon for the award show's nominees in February. At the event, Cruise received very high praise from none other than Steven Spielberg who couldn't stop gushing about him or "Top Gun: Maverick." "You saved Hollywood's a** and you might have saved theatrical distribution," the director told him, referring to the movie's very impressive box office takings following the COVID-19 pandemic. "Seriously, ['Top Gun:] Maverick" might have saved the entire theatrical industry," he added. Variety also reported there was a little controversy involving the actor when Jerry Bruckheimer hosted an event at his home that was attended by a number of Academy Awards voters, which raised some eyebrows as it was voting season and, as we know, "Top Gun: Maverick" has multiple nominations.

Cruise was also remembered at the start of the Oscars ceremony, as host Jimmy Kimmel entered the world-famous Dolby Theatre following a skit that featured a scene from "Top Gun: Maverick." The "Jimmy Kimmel Live" host actually fell from the ceiling with a parachute after he pretended to be ejected from Cruise's Captain Pete Mitchell (aka Maverick himself)'s plane while the movie's iconic guitar riff played. Kimmel then went on to joked about Cruise not being at the show and quipped maybe he was there as Judd Hirsch. Spoiler alert: he wasn't.