Digger's Alejandro G. Iñárritu: I knew Tom Cruise's range and yet he surprised me

Alejandro G. Iñárritu reveals how Tom Cruise transforms into two contrasting characters, Digger and Curtis, in the upcoming film Digger.

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• Alejandro G. Iñárritu opens up about Tom Cruise’s dual performance as the eccentric Digger and vulnerable actor Curtis in Digger
• The director praised Cruise’s accents, eye movements and precise body language

Tom Cruise’s Digger may be the character audiences have been introduced to through the trailers, but Alejandro G. Irritu says there is another, far more vulnerable side to the actor’s performance in Digger. In an exclusive statement to India Today, the five-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker opens up about Cruise’s transformation into two sharply contrasting characters, each demanding a different voice, physicality and emotional register.

While Digger is loud, eccentric and larger than life, Cruise also plays Curtis, a vulnerable actor, father, husband and artist grappling with doubt and the emotional weight of his circumstances. For Irritu, the challenge was not simply in having Cruise play two different characters, but in ensuring that each felt completely distinct.

“Only Tom could have done these two characters completely, one to the other, back-to-back. Digger is loud and exhausting, like the loud and exhausting world we live in. Digger is a larger-than-life character, and Tom Cruise was the only actor I could imagine containing him. I knew Tom’s range, yet he still surprised me. He gave this loud, brilliant, absurd man sensitivity, fragility and real power, making the smallest emotional gesture reveal an entire thought. Every day, in every scene, he carried the film with extraordinary precision, generosity and joy,” the director said.

Tom also plays Curtis, whose emotional world is considerably more intimate. Unlike Digger’s outsized personality, Curtis is defined by vulnerability and uncertainty, forcing Cruise to approach the character from a more grounded place.

“Yes, then Tom plays this vulnerable actor, father, husband, artist with flesh and bones, dealing with something that hurts, that has him in doubt. And then the archetype again, aged five years, losing control and realising that reality was always catching up. Both in another accent, with a different voice, the body language is always perfection, with precision, even every single movement of the eyes,” he added.

The film also brings together an ensemble that includes Oscar winner Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Oscar nominee Sandra Hller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Oscar nominee Jesse Plemons. Robert John Burke, Emma D’Arcy, Burn Gorman and Sophie Wilde also star.

Irritu directs the film from a screenplay by Alejandro G. Irritu, Oscar winners Alexander Dinelaris and Nicols Giacobone, and Sabina Berman, based on a story by Irritu and Berman. The film is produced by Irritu, Oscar nominee Mary Parent, Tom Cruise and Michael Sharp. Joshua Grode, Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicols Giacobone, Jez Butterworth and Emmanuel Lubezki serve as executive producers.

Behind the camera, Irritu reunites with several of his previous collaborators. The creative team includes Oscar-winning director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki; editors Conor O’Neill and Oscar winner Stephen Mirrione; Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West; Oscar-winning makeup and hair designer Alessandro Bertolazzi; and Oscar-nominated casting director Francine Maisler. They are joined by Oscar-winning production designer Dennis Gassner and production designer Richard Johnson, Oscar-winning prosthetic makeup designer Kazu Hiro, and composer Cosmo Sheldrake.

Digger is set for a theatrical release in India on October 2, 2026.

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