Sandra Huller couldn’t recognize Tom Cruise in Digger look: ‘Apologised for staring at him’

When the first look of Alejandro Inarritu’s upcoming satire Digger dropped online, one could barely recognize that the titular character is no one but Tom Cruise under layers of prosthetic. The actor exchanged his face — which is worth a million dollars (literally) — for an overweight, 65-year-old oil tycoon with a thick, drawling Southern accent. Sandra Huller, who plays his half-sister and business partner Emma in the movie, confesses she couldn’t place the star when she first met him.

Tom Cruise looks unrecognizable as Digger Rockwell

“I couldn’t recognize him. I stared at him, and apologized that I’m staring, but couldn’t help it. It was an awkward moment in a good way,” Sandra tells SCREEN in an exclusive interview. “I met him the first time in costume. It took a long time until I saw his actual face. But you could still see his eyes. So, the connection could go through that small window,” she adds.

Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays the US Vice President in Digger, agrees that it wasn’t just the costume and the prosthetic that aided the transformation, but also Cruise’s unpredictable interpretation of the larger-than-life character. “You never know what you’re going to get with a character like what it was that we had to read. It was so much fun to see what he had to offer. It’s always disarming and surprising. We grew accustomed to what he was offering more than what we expected. It was wonderful,” he says.

Jesse Plemons, who plays a mysterious character called Kenny in Digger, could see Tom navigate the various layers of Digger Rockwell in real time, as he shared screen space with him. “From the pure thrill of watching him work, it felt brand new. Everyone knows what an incredible actor he is, but we’ve never seen this character, this version of him. So, to get to watch him explore and find it was really good,” says the actor.

Digger is risky for Tom Cruise

John Goodman, veteran actor who essays the dictatorial US President in Digger, points out that one often forgets how “risky” the film was for Cruise, or still is. But he agrees that by having such a huge movie star attach his worth to a burning satire like this helps give it — and all the cast and crew associated with it — a much-needed impetus. No other movie star could get even the prosthetic department to optimize their potential and reduce the time in the makeup chair from six hours to less than an hour.

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“I think Tom is the most infectious person I’ve ever met without a disease,” says Goodman, with a chuckle. “He’s got so much heart that just rubs off on everybody. He wants everybody succeed and have as much fun as he’s had. I think a lot of that is based on gratitude. A lot of us forget sometimes how lucky we are to be doing what we’re doing,” he adds. It’s the love for movies and gratitude for being a movie star for decades that make Cruise switch from the blockbuster spy thriller franchise Mission: Impossible to a risky satire like Digger.