Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Transformation Initially Took Six Hours — but He Convinced the Makeup Team to ‘Get It Under an Hour’

For his new film “Digger,” Tom Cruise transforms into Digger Rockwell, a wealthy oil tycoon who was not blessed with Cruise’s own good looks. In order to put on all the prosthetics for the role, the actor was originally sitting in hair and makeup for six hours — until he convinced the team they could do it faster.

Speaking on Travis and Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast on Friday, Cruise peeled back the curtain into his transformation — which included sporting a fat suit — and how he made it “more efficient.”

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“The first time we did the makeup, it took six hours, OK?” Cruise told the Kelces, adding that he started doing the mental math and knew that wasn’t going to work with his schedule.

“I gotta sleep at least six [hours]. They keep saying I need more… but OK, that’s 12,” he continued. “Now, we have 12-hour days filming. So now that’s six hours on, two hours off with the makeup.”

To streamline the process, Cruise said he showed up with a chalkboard and started timing how long it took to put each prosthetic on.

“I had a guy there with a stopwatch and I’m like, ‘OK, you see that time, six hours? By the time we’re done, we’re going to get it under an hour,'” Cruise said. “They were like, ‘No, I’m not doing that, it will never happen.’ I’m like, ‘OK, first of all, if you say no, you can’t do it, you will never get there. So can we agree that we’ll maybe make it a little less?’ So with each piece that was going on, it was timed and then we’d drill and practice.”

It worked, and they eventually got his makeup and prosthetics routine down to under an hour. “They were like, ‘What?!’ And they didn’t even know it, and they didn’t even rush,” Cruise said. “I like going into a system, studying it and trying to figure out how I can do it better, more efficient. The films that I make, I’m constantly going, how can I do it better?”

Although Cruise successfully shortened his time in the makeup chair, the practicality of wearing the fat suit and prosthetics was still difficult.

“I’m sweating because I’m wearing these prosthetics. And the scenes, they’re long takes and the rhythm of it — you really have to know what you’re doing,” Cruise said. “But I’m sweating underneath, so I came up with all these different things, like cooling machines.”

“Digger,” which premieres Oct. 2, is directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and also stars Riz Ahmed, John Goodman and Sandra Hüller. Cruise said he’s been working with Iñárritu on the movie for seven years and was drawn to the project because of his artistry and “what I’m looking to challenge myself with.”

“I want to make a lot of movies and I love working with different directors, I love learning from them, seeing their stories, setting the table for them, giving them opportunities,” Cruise said.

His passion for this collaboration is part of why Cruise doesn’t necessarily want to direct himself. “If I’m directing, I don’t get to do that, I don’t have that experience … I want to learn and I like seeing their point of view on things, and I like mixing it up.”

Beyond “Digger,” Cruise is gearing up for the sequel to his 1990 racing film “Days of Thunder,” which he’ll star in with Anne Hathaway.

“That movie’s going to be fun. I can’t wait,” Cruise said. “Get me in that race car again man, please!

Watch Cruise’s full appearance on “New Heights” below.