Tom Cruise’s best characters may come from franchises like Mission: Impossible and Top Gun. But his films like Rain Man, Jerry Maguire, Tropic Thunder and more prove he’s more than just an action star. On that note, Cruise’s new movie with Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Digger, appears to further demonstrate the actor's versatility. If you need more reason to believe the Risky Business actor is going all out for his role as the titular billionaire, his co-star, Riz Ahmed, says he went full method, and jokes were made about that.
When I watched the trailer for 2026 movie release, I was mesmerized by Tom Cruise’s unrecognizable look and broad Southern accent. With that, I honestly forget this was the same actor who hung from the ceiling in Mission: Impossible. After filming wrapped, Digger's Riz Ahmed’s spoke with Empire and admitted that Cruise's method acting really had an effect on him as well:
I kind of forgot about Tom. Because Tom was Digger, and he became Digger, and he stayed in Digger. Whatever people say about method acting, whether you try or not, lines blur between yourself and a character. They have to. That’s the process, right?
I completely understand. There are some actors who flawlessly transform into their roles when the cameras are on and return to themselves when filming is over. But then, there are method actors like Jared Leto, Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, and more, who allow themselves to get lost in their roles, with their true selves being non-existent throughout the shoot. I love hearing about Cruise committing to his role as oil tycoon who must save humanity from a massive fissure (that he caused) in the Earth.
With Tom Cruise fully absorbed in the role of Digger Rockwell, it sounds like Ahmed didn't quite get to know his co-star as his regular self amid filming. On that note, the Sound of Metal star joked around plenty about Cruise not being present in the Alejandro G. Iñárritu film. Ahmed even recalled a quip he threw Cruise's way later on:
I joked, at the end of it all we had a wrap dinner, I was like, ‘It’s really good to meet you, but I wish my pal Digger was here.’ It was that kind of feeling. We’d joke around like, ‘Man, I’ve heard Tom Cruise is meant to be on set somewhere.’
Cruise’s new role is arguably similar to his Tropic Thunder character, Les Grossman. In playing that character, the Oscar nominee was hard to make out through that male pattern baldness hairpiece and faux gut. It's refreshing when Cruise gives frantic, whimsical performances, and it shows just how far he’s willing to go to bring a character to life. On the topic of Digger, Riz Ahmed went on to share thoughts about how Cruise may have felt while portraying his alter ego:
Honestly, I think it was quite liberating for him as well, to be able to lose himself, lose that globally recognised face into a character. I could see that allowing him to be open, in a different way.
I can imagine how invigorating it must've been for Cruise to play a role like this one. Another Digger co-star, Emma D’Arcy, even said she found Cruise’s performance “unparalleled” and “extraordinary” as he immersed himself in the part.
First reactions to Cruise’s Digger footage at CinemaCon included a considerable amount of praise for the gray-haired, southern oil magnate. Let this be another reminder that Cruise is not afraid to step out of his comfort zone (in a way that doesn't involve dangerous stunts) to completely disappear into a character.
Based on Riz Ahmed’s takes, it sounds like we’re truly going to see Tom Cruise in a way we’ve never seen before. Method acting was a mission clearly not so impossible for Cruise, and I’m all the more excited to see how far he’ll take the bizarre role when Digger hits theaters on October 2nd.
