No Action! An Unrecognisable Tom Cruise Plays an Oblivious Oil Tycoon in Digger
Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the film opens in UK cinemas this Friday (02.10.26).
Audiences accustomed to seeing Tom Cruise perform death-defying stunts in action franchises such as Mission: Impossible are in for a massive surprise. The Hollywood star is completely unrecognisable in Digger, the latest feature from Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (The Revenant, Birdman).
The 62-year-old actor plays Digger Rockwell, a wealthy oil tycoon whose company triggers a potentially world-ending disaster in Greenland. To fully embody the role, Cruise underwent a dramatic transformation each day on set, donning a fat suit, heavy facial prosthetics and a shock of grey hair.
The plot follows Rockwell alongside US President Compson (played by John Goodman) and his government officials as they scramble to halt a catastrophe capable of destroying humanity. Deeply rooted in the anxieties about climate change, Digger shares thematic DNA with recent political satires like Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up (2021) and Rumours (2024) - films in which our collective future rests entirely in the hands of profoundly idiotic, self-absorbed authority figures.
For viewers who approach the film for what it is - a sharp satire and dark comedy - Digger delivers a treat, offering plenty of laughs at the expense of the broad political stereotypes portrayed in the script.
The star-studded ensemble cast also features Michael Stuhlbarg as the Vice President, Robert John Burke as the head of the military, Sandra Hüller as Digger's half-sister and business partner, and Riz Ahmed as Ganesh, a government scientific adviser who walks away with some of the film's funniest moments.
Already dividing opinions among critics, Digger lands in UK cinemas this Friday (02.10.26).
