Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, who is gearing up for his upcoming film “Digger,” joined the special line-up for the Closing Ceremony of the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
The actor appears alongside a global lineup that includes Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger, IShowSpeed, and Jennifer Hudson. In a special video, the actor shared what separates legend from common man, and how his character shares a commonality with the football legends.
Talking about the same, “You want to know what separates a legend from everybody else? Well,it ain't luck. It ain't even speed. Yeah, it's control. The greats, Pele, Maradona, Cristiano, Messi, they don't hell chase the ball. The ball answers to them.” “For me, “Digger.” I play with a much, much bigger ball, and I don't play just to win, I play to dominate. See now we legends, we can make you believe just about anything. Even that gravity doesn't exist. Ain't that right, Maggie?,” he added.
In the film, the actor takes on one of his most unpredictable roles yet, exploring new dimensions as a performer alongside Alejandro G. Inarritu. An original film from the Academy Award-winning filmmaker, “Digger” is a comedy of catastrophic proportions that stars him as Digger Rockwell, an oil baron whose company may have triggered an ecological catastrophe with the potential to spark a nuclear war.
The film also stars Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Oscar nominee Sandra Huller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Oscar nominee Jesse Plemons. Robert John Burke, Emma D’Arcy, Burn Gorman and Sophie Wilde. The film is produced by Inarritu, Oscar nominee Mary Parent, Tom Cruise and Michael Sharp, and executive produced by Joshua Grode, Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone, Jez Butterworth and Emmanuel Lubezki. “Digger” was shot entirely in VistaVision.
The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film is set to release in cinemas and IMAX across India on Oct.2, 2026 .
Meanwhile, Tom Cruise has spoken up on the long-drawn process of prosthetics and make-up for his part in the film. The actor reflected on the creative process behind his transformation into the titular character of Digger Rockwell, an oil baron. From false teeth and a Southern accent to cowboy boots, costumes, and body language, the actor revealed that every detail of the character's appearance and physicality was carefully considered in service of the story.
Speaking about the process of building Digger Rockwell and the role that make-up, costume, and physicality played in bringing the character to life, Tom Cruise said, “My process is, I'm absorbing, I'm absorbing, I'm absorbing. With the body, we're communicating a story. I want people to be immersed in a story.”
He also shared details about the elements that helped shape his character, as he shared, “The colour of the cowboy boots. What are my shorts like? The sets, the colour of the sets. They're beautiful on every single level... You look at the taste of this man. It's very special.”
He also spoke about finding the rhythm, and how sets his eyes on the musicality of the character.
He further mentioned, “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 we're looking at on the makeup side. As you're developing, you've got to go, 'Is this our tone? Is it a drama? Is it a comedy? Is it too much?' You're dialing it in.”
He went on, “When we're looking for characters, we're looking for humor, drama, certain constructs, how do we communicate this? Whether it's ‘Les Grossman’ or ‘Interview With the Vampire,’ ‘Collateral,’ or ‘Risky Business,’ I'm always asking, 'How do I communicate this?' The physicality, the make-up, that is stuff that you find as you are learning how to communicate. You really have to understand the tools, it's not one-size-fits-all. You have to find the communication, the lenses, the colour of the make-up.”
Indo-Asian News Service