Tom Cruise has gone to extraordinary lengths for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s upcoming satire ‘Digger’. The actor plays Digger Rockwell, a 65-year-old, overweight oil tycoon with a thick Southern drawl, and the transformation is so dramatic that even his co-stars struggled to recognise him.

Sandra Hüller, who plays Digger’s half-sister and business partner Emma, says she met Cruise for the first time while he was already in costume. With his face buried under layers of prosthetics, the actor looked nothing like the Hollywood star audiences are accustomed to seeing.

“I couldn’t recognize him. I stared at him, and apologized that I’m staring, but couldn’t help it. It was an awkward moment in a good way,” Hüller told Screen in an exclusive interview.

She says it took some time before she finally saw Cruise’s real face. Yet, there was one feature that remained unmistakable.

“I met him the first time in costume. It took a long time until I saw his actual face. But you could still see his eyes. So, the connection could go through that small window,” she adds.

Tom Cruise’s Digger transformation surprised his co-stars

Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays the US Vice President in ‘Digger’, believes Cruise’s transformation went beyond the prosthetics. According to him, the actor’s unpredictable approach to the character made Digger even more intriguing to watch.

“You never know what you’re going to get with a character like what it was that we had to read. It was so much fun to see what he had to offer. It’s always disarming and surprising. We grew accustomed to what he was offering more than what we expected. It was wonderful,” Stuhlbarg says.

ALSO READ: Fahadh Faasil on wife Nazriya Nazim amid divorce rumours: ‘I’m married to a child’

Jesse Plemons, who plays the mysterious Kenny, also got to watch Cruise develop the character while working alongside him. For Plemons, the experience offered a glimpse of a side of the actor audiences have never seen before.

“From the pure thrill of watching him work, it felt brand new. Everyone knows what an incredible actor he is, but we’ve never seen this character, this version of him. So, to get to watch him explore and find it was really good,” Plemons says.

John Goodman calls ‘Digger’ a risky choice for Tom Cruise

John Goodman, who portrays the dictatorial US President in the film, says the scale of Cruise’s gamble with ‘Digger’ should not be overlooked. Moving from a blockbuster franchise such as ‘Mission: Impossible’ to a biting satire represents a very different kind of role for the actor.

Goodman also believes Cruise’s involvement gave the film and its ensemble an added push. The actor’s commitment reportedly even helped the prosthetics team reduce the time required for his transformation from around six hours to less than an hour.

“I think Tom is the most infectious person I’ve ever met without a disease,” Goodman says with a chuckle. “He’s got so much heart that just rubs off on everybody. He wants everybody succeed and have as much fun as he’s had. I think a lot of that is based on gratitude. A lot of us forget sometimes how lucky we are to be doing what we’re doing,” he adds.

ALSO READ: Riz Ahmed reacts to Fahadh Faasil comparisons in ‘Digger’: ‘I’m not familiar with his films’ 

For Goodman, that sense of gratitude and Cruise’s enduring love for cinema are central to why the actor was willing to take on a project as unconventional as ‘Digger’.

With Iñárritu at the helm and Cruise buried beneath an elaborate prosthetic transformation, the film marks a striking departure from the larger-than-life action roles that have defined much of the actor’s recent career.