US film superstar Tom Cruise has received his first-ever Oscar statuette.

Cruise, 63, accepted an honorary Oscar at the annual Governors Awards in Hollywood alongside singer-philanthropist Dolly Parton, choreographer Debbie Allen and production designer Wynn Thomas.

"Making films is not what I do, it is who I am," the four-fold Oscar nominee said on Sunday, accompanying his long-awaited Academy Awards honour with an acceptance speech about his love of cinema.

The Top Gun and Mission: Impossible actor paid tribute to filmmakers in front of and behind the lens, those he has worked with during his 45-year career, as well as the power of the movies.

Upon taking the stage, Cruise received a minutes-long standing ovation and raucous round of applause from film luminaries in the audience, including Steven Spielberg, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jerry Bruckheimer.

Filmmaker Alejandro G Iñárritu, who is directing an upcoming Cruise film, presented the actor with the Governors Award.

"The cinema, it takes me around the world," Cruise said in his speech. "It helps me to appreciate and respect differences. It also shows me our shared humanity, how alike we are in so, so many ways.

"And no matter where we come from, in that theatre, we laugh together, we feel together, we hope together, we dream together. And that is the power of this art form.

"And that is why it matters, that is why it matters to me. So making films is not what I do, it is who I am," he said.

Cruise made his film debut in 1981 and was previously nominated for best actor for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire. He was also nominated as best supporting actor in the film Magnolia and for producing Top Gun: Maverick.

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences selected Cruise for his "incredible commitment to our filmmaking community, to the theatrical experience, and to the stunts community", the organisation said.

The Risky Business actor said in his speech that cinema made the world much larger than the one that he knew as a child.

"It opened my eyes. It opened my imagination to the possibility that life could expand far beyond the boundaries that I then perceived in my own life. And that beam of light opened a desire to open the world, and I have been following it ever since," he said.

The actor, who famously performs his own stunts, has also been a fervent advocate for cinema as the streaming industry and social media compete for viewers' time and attention.

"I want you to know that I will always do everything I can to help this art form, to support and champion new voices, to protect what makes cinema powerful - hopefully without too many more broken bones," he added.

Notably, earlier this year, Cruise was reportedly set to be recognised by US President Donald Trump when he announced his picks for this year's Kennedy Center honours, but the actor declined due to scheduling conflicts.