Tom Cruise has bagged the 2023 MTV award best performance, accepting it from the pilot’s seat of a World War II-era fighting plane.
Wearing his trademark aviator glasses and a headset, the 60-year-old Hollywood megastar appeared in a video distributed by the Movie and TV association.
He thanked fans for voting for his performance in Top Gun: Maverick. The golden popcorn trophy had a prominent spot beside him.
“I make these films for you, I love you,” Cruise said.
“I love entertaining you. I know how much you enjoy it. How much you appreciate it. There’s just no better feeling.”
The speech on Sunday (US time) was the second time in a weekend Cruise had turned to the stunt. Hours earlier, he’d appeared in the same P-51 Mustang in a video message at the King’s Coronation Concert at Windsor.
“You can be my wingman anytime,” he told the newly crowned monarch.
Cruise finished his MTV speech with a plug for his upcoming action film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, calling it a “wild ride”. It is released in July.
“You have a wonderful summer. Thank you again for letting me entertain you. It’s an absolute privilege. We’ll see you at the movies,” Cruise finished with.
Cruise is famous for performing many of his own stunts after learning to fly a helicopter in 2017 for one of his Mission Impossible outings. Last year, at the premiere of the Top Gun sequel, he landed a helicopter on a US Navy carrier docked in San Diego.
He followed that up just a few weeks later with a still from Mission Impossible, showing the star hanging from a red vintage WWII biplane, as it does a nose-dive and barrel roll.
The other contenders for best performance at Sunday’s MTV awards were Austin Butler (Elvis), Florence Pugh (Don’t Worry Darling), Keke Palmer (Nope) and Michael B. Jordan (Creed III).
Top Gun: Maverick had the most nominations for movies, with Stranger Things and The Last of Us leading the TV nomination count.
Sunday’s MTV awards show was presented with a difference, amid the Hollywood writers’ strike.
Plans to air the ceremony live were cancelled when host Drew Barrymore backed out in solidarity with the striking writers.
Other winners, including Pedro Pascal, Jennifer Coolidge and the Vanderpump Rules cast, also accepted their awards with pre-recorded speeches. Barrymore also appeared in pre-taped sketches.
“Almost all great comedy starts with great writers, and I just think that as a proud member of SAG, I stand here before you tonight side-by-side with my sisters and brothers in the WGA that are fighting right now. Fighting for the rights of artists everywhere,” Coolidge said in her recorded speech accepting the comedic genius award.
The red carpet was cancelled late last week, amid calls from the Writers Guild of America to picket the show.
