Tom Cruise is detailing how he achieved his wild transformation for his new film, “Digger.”
“My process is: I’m absorbing, I’m absorbing, I’m absorbing,” the actor said during a recent press event at Warner Bros. in Burbank, California, per Entertainment Weekly. “With the body, we’re communicating a story… I want people to be immersed in a story.”
“You really have to understand the tools — it’s not one-size-fits-all,” he continued. “You have to find the communication, the lenses, the color of the makeup.”
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, “the most powerful man in the world,” on a mission to save the world from an ecological disaster.
Cruise, 64, said Digger’s false teeth also helped him fully get into the outlandish character.
“I put the teeth on, and it’s like, ‘Let’s f–kin’ go,’” he said, as he imitated Digger’s distinct accent.
He also compared his new role to his previous iconic movie characters, including Les Grossman in the 2008 film “Tropic Thunder,” in which Cruise famously wore a fat suit and prosthetics.
“When we’re looking for characters, we’re looking for humor, drama, certain constructs — how do we communicate this?” Cruise explained.
“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.”
“I have never had something that could challenge me in this way, and neither had [director Alejandro González Iñárritu] when we went in, ever,” the actor admitted at the press event, per the Hollywood Reporter. “When you see this film, it’s totally original.”
After Cruise posted the movie poster on his social media pages Monday, fans couldn’t believe that it was the legendary actor in the photo.
“That can’t be Tom Cruise,” one insisted in the comments section, with another adding, “Ain’t no way.”
