{"id":6908,"date":"2026-07-15T19:30:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=6908"},"modified":"2026-07-15T19:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:30:27","slug":"tom-cruise-pulls-back-curtain-on-wild-transformation-for-digger-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=6908","title":{"rendered":"Tom Cruise pulls back curtain on wild transformation for &#8216;Digger&#8217; character"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F07%2F134467664.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Tom Cruise is detailing how he achieved <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/07\/13\/entertainment\/tom-cruise-looks-unrecognizable-in-new-role-as-eccentric-billionaire-in-digger\/\">his wild transformation<\/a> for his new film, \u201cDigger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy process is: I\u2019m absorbing, I\u2019m absorbing, I\u2019m absorbing,\u201d the actor said during a recent press event at Warner Bros. in Burbank, California, <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/tom-cruise-reveals-how-he-found-his-wild-digger-look-12019537\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">per Entertainment Weekly<\/a>. \u201cWith the body, we\u2019re communicating a story\u2026\u00a0I want people to be immersed in a story.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou really have to understand the tools \u2014 it\u2019s not one-size-fits-all,\u201d he continued. \u201cYou have to find the communication, the lenses, the color of the makeup.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Tom Cruise detailed how he achieved his wild transformation for his role in \u201cDigger,\u201d as seen above. <span class=\"credit\">Warner Bros.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cYou really have to understand the tools \u2014 it\u2019s not one-size-fits-all,\u201d the actor (pictured above, left) explained during a recent Warner Bros. press event. \u201cYou have to find the communication, the lenses, the color of the makeup.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The trailer, which was released Monday, features an unrecognizable Cruise sporting a gray combover, a pot belly and a strong southern accent. He portrays the role of oil baron Digger Rockwell,\u00a0\u201cthe most powerful man in the world,\u201d on a mission to save the world from an ecological disaster.<\/p>\n<p>Cruise, 64, said Digger\u2019s false teeth also helped him fully get into the outlandish character.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI put the teeth on, and it\u2019s like, \u2018Let\u2019s f\u2013kin\u2019 go,\u2019\u201d he said, as he imitated Digger\u2019s distinct accent.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The trailer features an unrecognizable Cruise (seen above) with a gray combover, a pot belly and a strong southern accent for his role as oil baron Digger Rockwell in the film. <span class=\"credit\">Warner Bros.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>He compared his new character (pictured in a scene from \u201cDigger\u201d above) to his previous one as Les Grossman in the 2008 film \u201cTropic Thunder,\u201d in which Cruise famously wore a fat suit and prosthetics. <span class=\"credit\">Warner Bros. Pictures via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Page Six Daily\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He also compared his new role to his previous iconic movie characters, including Les Grossman in the 2008 film \u201cTropic Thunder,\u201d in which Cruise famously wore a fat suit and prosthetics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we\u2019re looking for characters, we\u2019re looking for humor, drama, certain constructs \u2014 how do we communicate this?\u201d Cruise explained. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether it\u2019s Les Grossman or\u00a0\u2018Interview With the Vampire,\u2019\u00a0\u2018Collateral\u2019, or\u00a0\u2018Risky Business,\u2019 I\u2019m always asking, \u2018How do I communicate this?\u2019 The physicality, the makeup, that is stuff that you find as you are learning how to communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Also during the press event, the legendary actor revealed that playing this character was one of the biggest challenges he\u2019s ever faced in his career. <span class=\"credit\">Warner Bros.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cWhen you see this film, it\u2019s totally original,\u201d the \u201cTop Gun\u201d actor teased. <span class=\"credit\">Warner Bros.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI have never had something that could challenge me in this way, and neither had [director Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu] when we went in, ever,\u201d the actor admitted at the press event,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-features\/tom-cruise-digger-trailer-1236646274\/\"> per the Hollywood Reporter<\/a>. \u201cWhen you see this film, it\u2019s totally original.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After Cruise posted the movie poster on his social media pages Monday, fans <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/video\/see-the-funniest-reactions-to-unrecognizable-tom-cruise-in-digger\/\">couldn\u2019t believe that it was the legendary actor<\/a> in the photo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat can\u2019t be Tom Cruise,\u201d one insisted in the comments section, with another adding, \u201cAin\u2019t no way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script 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a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/134467664.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}