Tom Cruise Reveals Transformation Behind ‘Digger’

Speaking about the process of building Digger Rockwell and the role that makeup, costume, and physicality played in bringing the character to life, Tom Cruise said, “My process is, I'm absorbing, I'm absorbing, I'm absorbing. With the body, we're communicating a story. I want people to be immersed in a story”.

He also shared details about the elements that helped shape his character, as he shared, “The color of the cowboy boots. What are my shorts like? The sets, the color of the sets. They're beautiful on every single level... You look at the taste of this man. It's very special”.

The actor also revealed that Digger's false teeth became a key part of unlocking the character's voice and personality, saying, “I put the teeth on, and it's like, 'Let's f*in' go’”.

He also spoke about finding the rhythm, and how sets his eyes on the musicality of the character.

He further mentioned, “If you start to feel the musicality of the character, it has a rhythm, and it's not a rhythm like anything else. So the behavior of a character, the movement of a character, these are things that we're looking at on the makeup side. As you're developing, you've got to go, 'Is this our tone? Is it a drama? Is it a comedy? Is it too much?' You're dialing it in”.

He went on, “When we're looking for characters, we're looking for humor, drama, certain constructs, how do we communicate this? Whether it's Les Grossman or Interview With the Vampire, Collateral, or Risky Business, I'm always asking, 'How do I communicate this?' The physicality, the makeup, that is stuff that you find as you are learning how to communicate. You really have to understand the tools, it's not one-size-fits-all. You have to find the communication, the lenses, the color of the makeup”.

He credited director Alejandro G. Inarritu for helping shape the performance, as he said, “Alejandro understands music, and that's the universal language that we're all finding. I think further, 'How do I prepare so that we have time to discover that rhythm?' Everything that I'm doing in terms of training or language or dance, I'm going, 'How do I prepare for these moments?' So I'm thinking about having that ability to be able to play a character like this”.

“It's a lifelong journey of learning and learning and learning”, he added.