Tom Cruise is virtually unrecognizable in the first look at his upcoming film "Digger," where he portrays an eccentric billionaire named Digger Rockwell. The trailer and official poster for the satirical black comedy, directed by four-time Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu, were released Monday.
In the film, the 64-year-old actor appears with gray hair and prosthetics designed to make him look older and heavier than his typical appearance. The poster shows Cruise in a suit and cowboy hat, holding a shovel while standing on a globe. He shared the image on social media, with the text "Digg. Or Die. DIGGER. Only in theaters October 2."
The transformation has drawn reactions on social media, with many users expressing disbelief at the actor's altered appearance.
"Digger" marks Cruise's return to non-franchise films outside of "Mission: Impossible" and "Top Gun" since his 2017 role in "American Made." In "Digger," he plays a Southern oil baron who attempts to avert a large-scale global ecological disaster he inadvertently caused.
The cast also includes Sandra Hüller, Jesse Plemons, John Goodman, Riz Ahmed, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma D’Arcy, and Robert John Burke.
At a recent Q&A event in Los Angeles, Cruise described "Digger" as the most unique and challenging project of his career. "I have never had something that could challenge me in this way and neither has Alejandro when we went in, ever," he stated, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. "And when you see this film, it’s totally original."
Iñárritu, 62, said Cruise was his first choice for the role, expressing a long-held desire to collaborate. "The film needed Tom. We wanted to work together since the beginning of the century," the filmmaker explained. "I admired him as an actor for years, and that wasn’t a surprise for me. The surprise was discovering that the human being behind the actor was just as extraordinary as the performances I will see throughout his career."
Cruise also commented on the film's originality, noting at CinemaCon in April that it took "40 years" to embody the character's "many layers." He teased the movie as "wild" and "funny."