Tom Cruise Talks Digger Transformation, Cut Time From 6 Hours to Under 1
The Hollywood Reporter • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Tom Cruise revealed on the New Heights podcast that the prosthetic makeup for his character in the upcoming film Digger originally took six hours to apply, which conflicted with his need for sufficient sleep during long filming days.
- To reduce the time, Cruise implemented a system using a stopwatch and timed each step of the prosthetic application, motivating the team to cut the process from six hours to under one hour without rushing.
- Cruise emphasized that this efficiency-driven approach reflects his general work ethic of studying systems to improve preparation and execution in filmmaking.
- In Digger, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Cruise plays an eccentric oil tycoon undergoing a heavy prosthetic transformation, marking his first role of this kind since Tropic Thunder (2008).
- The film, co-starring John Goodman, centers on Cruise’s character being tasked by the U.S. president to fix an environmental disaster he caused and is set to release in theaters on October 2.
