Tom Cruise recounts his spectacular transformation for Digger

Unrecognizable, the 64-year-old actor has completely reinvented himself for the new film by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. The actor reveals the secrets of this radical transformation.

After years of running, jumping and hanging from planes in the sagas Mission: Impossible And Top GunTom Cruise completely changes register with Digger. On the occasion of the release of a new trailer, the actor returned to Entertainment Weekly on the impressive metamorphosis he underwent to play Digger Rockwell, the hero of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s new film.

This is his first role in an original film – outside of the franchise – since Barry Seal: American Traffic in 2017: “My process is to absorb, absorb, absorb“, explains the star. “With the body, we tell a story. I want the audience to be totally immersed in the story.”

For him, each character is constructed through a multitude of details. “I’m trying to figure out the best way to communicate this character“, he continues, quoting Joel Goodson in Risky BusinessThe Grossmans in Thunder in the tropicsLestat in Interview with a Vampire or even Vincent in Collateral.

In Diggerthis research includes costumes and accessories:

“The color of cowboy boots… What do my shorts look like? The decors, their colors… Everything is magnificent on every level. Just look at this man’s taste, it’s very special…”

And it’s a physical detail that allowed him to definitively get into the skin of his character:

“I put Digger’s fake teeth on and I was like, ‘Come on, let’s fucking go!’

The actor also praised the work of Alejandro G. Iñárritu, whose direction of actors he admires: Alejandro understands music, and it is the universal language we are all looking for.” Before adding that playing a character like Digger is “a lifelong learning experience. We learn, we learn, we learn…”

Alejandro G. Iñárritu also praised his star’s investment. The director says that Tom Cruise once told him that he had to “forty years to become a Digger.”

Digger will be released in cinemas in France on September 30, 2026.