Audiences expect blockbuster spectacle whenever Tom Cruise signs on to a project, but his co-stars on Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s upcoming film Digger were left in utter disbelief by the superstar’s relentless stamina and non-stop output.
“What Is That Guy Made Of?”— Digger Cast on Tom Cruise
Reflecting on the experience of sharing the screen with Hollywood’s most famously driven leading man, the ensemble opened up about watching Cruise balance demanding creative risks while juggling simultaneous high-octane productions. Rather than showing any signs of fatigue, Cruise jumped into the complex, layered shoot with overwhelming energy.
“Ethan Hunt was still there somewhere,” said John Goodman, noting Cruise was toggling projects without missing a beat. “He was doing things back-to-back. He ain’t human. What is that guy made of anyway? It is otherworldly. Give me some. But he’s seriously having fun. This is how he lives, and you don’t want to let that down. You don’t want to take away from that joy, he makes you want to share it with him.”
Beyond the punishing schedule, the cast was shocked by how completely Cruise vanished into the titular role of Digger Rockwell, sporting transformative prosthetics and staying dialed into character all day.
“It was actually weirder to see him as Tom Cruise because we were so used to seeing him in this outfit with these prosthetics, his accent,” a co-star explained. “He was kind of in it the whole time really. Not in a weird way, like he’d come up and start making small talk and we’d be hanging out. But we kind of hung out with Digger Rockwell. When we had the cast dinner at the end, I was like, ‘I miss Digger! What’s Tom doing here?’“
That work ethic proved contagious across the entire set, establishing a fearless atmosphere where actors felt empowered to fail, experiment with bold impulses, and match Cruise’s contagious love for movie-making.
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