In Digger, Tom Cruise both conceals and reveals himself under layers of prosthetics

It was more than 25 years ago when Tom Cruise first watched the directorial debut of Alejandro González Iñárritu and thought: “What the f***?”

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Cruise had already worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott and Ron Howard.

“When I saw his film 25 years ago, Amores Perros, what a brilliant film. It was amazing. I was one of the first audiences, and I heard about it early on … Who’s this guy, Alejandro?” Cruise said during an onstage conversation this summer to promote Digger, his first collaboration with the writer-director.

Nominated for an Oscar, the film followed multiple characters whose worlds collide following a Mexico City car crash. As Iñárritu made inroads in Hollywood with subsequent films, including 21 Grams (2003), and Babel (2006), Cruise made a point of seeing every one of his movies in the theatre.

Iñárritu approached Cruise with his story for Digger seven years ago, while the actor was shooting Top Gun: Maverick.

“He came to me with this project, Digger, which he’d been working on for a couple of years by then,” Cruise recalled, “and then we just worked on it together.”

Released on Oct. 2, Digger disguises Cruise under layers of prosthetics as he plays Digger Rockwell, an arrogant oil baron whose drilling in Greenland threatens to cause a global disaster.

“Alejandro, he’s like, ‘I want you to look like this’ … I’m thinking, ‘This guy’s got f***ing balls,’ and I’m like, ‘I can’t wait. Let’s go,’” said Cruise. “I have never had something that could challenge me in this way and neither has Alejandro when we went in, ever. And when you see this film, it’s totally original.”

The film also stars Riz Ahmed, Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons.

Cruise’s castmates said they weren’t prepared to see the legendary actor become so unrecognizable as he struts around his mansion sporting grey hair, wrinkles and a large gut.

“There’s a great spirit that comes out of him,” said Goodman, who appears in the film as the president.

Stuhlbarg, who plays the vice president, said Cruise completely immersed himself in the character of Digger.

“That was kind of interesting because he was behind this remarkable character he was playing. In many ways, we didn’t get to see the Tom Cruise we all know and love,” Stuhlbarg said.

After more than a decade playing IMF agent Ethan Hunt in his Mission: Impossible films, Ahmed, who plays a scientist trying to guide Digger through the global catastrophe his company has unleashed, praised Cruise for trying something vastly different in front of the camera.

“He’s always willing to try things out. Always. And he’s always willing to fail and try again. I saw him go through this process,” Ahmed said.

“It’s very inspiring and uplifting and it gave us an opportunity to try things we hadn’t done before,” said Hüller, who plays Digger’s sister.
The Digger cast likened the movie to a painting with so many parts that come alive on the screen. Iñárritu said it was an idea he had been crafting for 10 years.

“It was just after The Revenant, when I had an idea, not script, not a film, just a relentless recurring obsession, that has endured through all these wild years. I knew who this character was. I knew how he spoke, how he survived, how he seduced reality into agreeing with him,” Iñárritu said.

“It’s absurd, it’s dangerous, but certainly comedic, because the source of great comedy is tragedy,” he said. “People often ask me why I chose Tom to play Digger. To me, that’s like asking somebody why you drink water when you are thirsty? Because it’s what you need,” he added.

Cruise made Iñárritu read his script to him. He has developed a desire for wanting to hear scripts read aloud to him so he can “feel the musicality of the character.”

On Digger, he sat and listened as Iñárritu unveiled his story.

“Alejandro took several days during which he was just reading the script to me,” Cruise said. “I’m listening to everything that’s in his mind, so that I can understand that, and then I know how to contribute to it, and bring that collaboration together. And to be there with Alejandro, it was beautiful.”

After Digger, Cruise is now shifting gears for the sequel to his 1990 racing film Days of Thunder, which he’ll star in with Anne Hathaway.
“There’s nothing better than to physically and metaphorically stand on the edge of a cliff and go, ‘Let’s do this,’” he said, contemplating his lengthy career.

“I’ve never felt like, ‘I’m there. I’m there.’ You’re never there. It’s always the next dream, the love of this art form and the passion, it’s all encompassing.”

mdaniell@postmedia.com

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