Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ World Premiere Was A Royal Affair With Prince William & Kate Middleton

Tom Cruise and Digger took over London’s Leicester Square Gardens on Tuesday for the world premiere of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s dark political comedy. The Warner Bros/Legendary pic is due to hit screens internationally on September 30 and on Imax and across North America beginning October 2.

The event, a Royal Film Performance, was attended by Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales and was hosted in aid of the UK’s Film & TV Charity.

William and Kate greeted Cruise and González Iñárritu first on the carpet, and after a chat met the rest of the cast, with González Iñarritu escorting Prince William and Cruise escorting Princess Catherine down the line. Cruise’s co-stars in attendance included Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons.

Also in attendance were Emma D’Arcy, Emmanuel Lubezki, Sophie Wilde, J.J. Abrams, Hannah Waddingham and Salma Hayek. Click for Deadline’s red carpet photo gallery.

Once inside, Cruise introduced the movie, thanking the Royal Family.

“We “want to thank the Royal Highnesses for supporting this event,” he said onstage. “And just to tell them that we love them and we really appreciate what they do for the arts for this country and for the world, thank you.”

He also praised producers Mary Parent and Michael Sharp before turning to González Iñarritu.

“You are one of one and I have so admired your films from the very first one, and to have the opportunity to work with you has been one of the great dreams of mine and pleasure, and you’ll see this character and what he’s created,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. His mind is just extraordinary.”

Then it was González Iñarritu’s turn.

“We all know how incredible actor he is, but I think for me the most surprising thing is, how generous, how the positive energy that he brought every day to the set,” said the director. “His enthusiasm is contagious — it’s actually uncomfortable,” he added, making Cruise laugh.

“I think he shared his experience, his enthusiasm with all of us every day in a very challenging role that you will see something that he has never done like that, at least I never saw how capable he was to understand every inch of his body, of his voice, of the tone, of the volume of the pauses of the thing as precise as when he jumped into the plane and he knows that one second can be dead or alive.”

In Digger, Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an oil baron and the world’s most powerful man, as he embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the environmental disaster he unleashed destroys everything.