Tom Cruise Deep Dives Into Process of Digger with Alejandro G. Iñárritu

 

There are some movie stars whose sheer presence brings millions in droves to witness whatever journey they have planned for us in the dark. Tom Cruise possesses that type of star power. Cruise, single-handedly, was the reason millions of movie lovers worldwide went back into theaters during a pandemic when he released Top Gun: Maverick in May 2022.

Now, he has another epic journey for audiences as he takes on the role of Digger Rockwell in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Digger” for Warner Brothers Pictures.
Moderated by On Film…with Kevin McCarthy host – Kevin McCarthy, during a curated journalists gathering on the Warner Brothers, Cruise shared nuggets of past projects, what drew him Rockwell, working with Alejandro and what may well prove to the most engaging journey for the cinematic duo. Due to work conflicts, Iñárritu was unable to join us in-person, yet he found time to share this message with the room via satellite video.
“The film (Digger) needed Tom. The transformation he went through was astonishing. “Alejandro, it took me 40 years to become this character,” he (Tom Cruise) told me once and I think we both know what it means to carry an entire career into a single moment like this. We both knew that throughout our journeys, we had never done anything even close to this.”

“We shot on Vista Vision, because cinema deserves scale, used a 1954-designed camera, and for the first time ever Chivo (his trusted cinematographer) and I were allowed to mount on some new crazy wide vintage Leica lenses designed specifically for our film. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by extraordinary artists and people who believe in something that, for a very long time, existed only inside my head,” Iñárritu excitedly shared.
The excitement was mutual as Tom Cruise hit the stage recalling the first time his awareness of Alejandro’s work came into fruition with a film 25 years ago called Amores Perros. A film that intertwines three distinct stories of love, betrayal, and violence in Mexico City, all of which are violently set into motion by a single, devastating car crash.

Having the opportunity to hear Cruise regale moments from his storied career is a gift I shall never soon forget. But, to listen to him as he breaks down his character process was a masterclass within itself when he likened it to rhythm and musicality.
“If you start to feel the musicality of the character, it has a rhythm, and it’s not a rhythm like anything else. So, the behavior of a character, the movement of a character, these are things that as we’re looking at the makeup side, as you’re developing, you got to go, is this our tone? Is it drama? Is it comedy? Is it too much?

Alejandro understands music and that’s the universal language that we’re all finding. How do I prepare so that we have time to discover that rhythm? Everything that I’m doing in terms of training or language or dance, I’m going, how do I prepare for these moments? You really have to understand the tools; it’s not one size fits all. You have to find the communication, the lenses, the color of the makeup. The level of detail of making a film like this. The color of the cowboy boots, what are my shorts like, the sets, the color of the sets? They’re beautiful on every single level, you look at the taste of this man and it’s all very special.”

One could have never guessed just how deep Tom Cruise and his love for the artistry of filmmaking and creating characters would go. Yet, after this particularly afternoon, I walked away with one thing for certain. Tom Cruise is every bit of the movie star he exudes with every fiber of his being. A star who loves all kinds of movies and will do whatever it takes to tell the story.

I learned about the goofy/corny side Tom Cruise who does Donald Duck impersonations just to see his mother and sisters laugh. A side that makes him more like us…just an average human being obsessed with life and the movies. More than anything I learned he is very curious about the beauty of this art form, “Everyone has the things they like and their own taste and what works and what doesn’t work. I tell people, learn these skills and go off and communicate your own stories. You don’t have to do it like I do. Do your thing.” I will do just that Mr. Cruise…I promise you that!

The Digger trailer launched on July 13th and the feature, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and starring Tom Cruise, is officially due to be released in theaters and IMAX across North America on October 2, 2026, with an international roll out on September 30th.