by Tom Cruise has reportedly opted out of the Oscars this year to spend the evening in an igloo.
The Hollywood icon, 60, was noticeably absent from the star-studded lineup at 95th The Academy Awards on Sunday, while his film Top Gun: Maverick received six nominations and won an award for best sound.
Cruise is thought to have snubbed the Oscars after learning the film wasn’t going to win Best Picture and instead traveled 500 miles south of the North Pole to Svalbard, to shoot scenes for the eighth installment of Mission Impossible.
According to an insider, Cruise turned down a private jet offered to fly him to the Oscars, as he toured Svalbard with director Chris McQuarrie to “continue doing what he does best” in front of the camera.
“Tom knows how these things play out – he’d rather keep doing what he does best and make amazing movies that millions of people want to go see than sit in an audience that cheers and smiles for the cameras,” said a source at The Sun.
They added, “He’s already seen it all.”
Top Gun: Maverick beat out the films All Quiet on the Western Front, Elvis, Avatar: The Way of Water and The Batman to win the Oscar for best sound on Sunday.
The Top Gun sequel, released 36 years after the original, has been dubbed the film that “saved cinema” after grossing nearly $1.5 billion at the box office last year.
Among the film’s Oscars attendees were co-stars Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Miles Teller, and Greg Tarzan Davis.
It was also reported that Cruise skipped the ceremony to avoid an embarrassing confrontation with ex-wife Nicole Kidman, who was seen at the awards show with husband Keith Urban.
A source told Mail Online: “Tom wasn’t there because she was there, and he didn’t want a meeting.”
Cruise and Kidman, 55, divorced in 2001 after marrying in 1990. The couple share son Connor, 28, and daughter Isabella, 30, both of whom they adopted during their relationship.
Last month, Cruise attended the 2023 Oscars luncheon where he was seen talking to Steven Spielberg.
The director of the Fabelmans praised the star at the event telling him he “saved Hollywood’s ass” by bringing audiences back to the theatre.
