{"success":true,"data":{"id":"786f2ded-2fca-4f9b-8bfa-4077d00d7dd8","title":"Tom Cruise’s love for ‘Amores Perros’ led him to ‘Digger’","summary":"Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Not now Yes please US Edition Change Support Now NewsNews World CupWorld Cup SportsSports CultureCulture LifestyleLifestyle MoneyMoney TravelTravel PremiumPremium More More Thank you for regi...","content":"## Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent\n\nNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.\n\nNot now Yes please\n\nUS Edition Change\n\nSupport Now\n\n*   News[News](https://www.independent.co.uk/us)\n\n*   World Cup[World Cup](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup)\n\n*   Sports[Sports](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport)\n\n*   Culture[Culture](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment)\n\n*   Lifestyle[Lifestyle](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style)\n\n*   Money[Money](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/money)\n\n*   Travel[Travel](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/travel)\n\n*   Premium[Premium](https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium)\n\nMore\n\nMore\n\n### Thank you for registering\n\nPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in\n\n# Tom Cruise’s love for ‘Amores Perros’ led him to ‘Digger’\n\n## Tom Cruise has launched an early promotional tour — and preview of a potential Hollywood awards campaign — for his next film\n\n[Leslie Ambriz](https://www.independent.co.uk/author/leslie-ambriz)Tuesday 14 July 2026 22:07 BST\n\n*   Copy link  \n*   Bookmark  \n\n## Bookmark popover\n\nRemoved from bookmarks\n\nClose popover\n\nShow all 2\n\n### Your support helps us to tell the story\n\nFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.\n\nAt such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.\n\nThe Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.\n\n**Your support makes all the difference.**\n\n[Tom Cruise](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/tom-cruise) still remembers being in awe of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s feature directorial debut “Amores Perros,\" which took home the [Academy Award](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/academy-award) for best international feature film in 2001.\n\n“What a brilliant film. It was amazing,” Cruise told journalists at a recent press event. “Every aspect of that film was very thought out, very detailed, and you could feel the powerful human voice of someone who was incredibly skilled at what they were doing.”\n\nTwenty-five years later, Iñárritu and Cruise have collaborated on the highly-anticipated dark comedy “Digger.” Cruise kicked off his promotional tour for the film — and previewed a potential [Hollywood](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/hollywood) awards campaign — at a trailer reveal event last week on the Warner Bros. studio lot. He greeted and posed for photos with film journalists and influencers.\n\n“He’s never made something like this before, nor have I,” said Cruise, who told journalists it felt as if all the skills he has developed throughout his 45-year acting career led up to his performance in the film, set for theatrical release on Oct. 2.\n\nIñárritu knew the role was meant for Cruise.\n\n“The transformation he went through was astonishing,\" said the filmmaker in a prerecorded video at Thursday's event. \"And I think we both know what it means to carry an entire career into a single moment like this. We both knew that throughout our journeys, we had never done anything even close to this.”\n\nThe 64-year-old actor and producer stars in Iñárritu’s “Digger” alongside a cast of A-list talent like John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, [Riz Ahmed](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/riz-ahmed) and [Jesse Plemons](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/jesse-plemons).\n\nIñárritu first approached Cruise with the script and read it to him line by line over a series of days, a method Cruise says he asks of all collaborators.\n\n“I’m listening to everything that’s in his mind, so that I can understand that, and then I know how to contribute to it, and bring that collaboration together. And to be there with Alejandro, it was beautiful,” said the actor.\n\nThe trailer showcases an eccentric oil baron named Digger Rockwell, played by Cruise in heavy prosthetic makeup, whose company sets off a chain of events and hijinks.\n\nIñárritu says he had the idea for the film just after completing “The Revenant,” but it took him a decade to complete the story.\n\n“Not script, not a film, just a relentless recurring obsession that has endured through all these wild years. I knew who this character was,” said the Oscar-winning director. “I knew how he spoke, how he survived, how he seduced reality into agreeing with him ... I wasn’t looking for a story. I was looking for the right way of saying it.”\n\nLike “The Brutalist” and “One Battle After Another,\" the film was shot on VistaVision.\n\n### More about\n\n### Most popular\n\n### Popular videos\n\n### Bulletin","source_name":"The Independent","source_url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/tom-cruise-burbank-academy-award-hollywood-jesse-plemons-b3014952.html","url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/tom-cruise-burbank-academy-award-hollywood-jesse-plemons-b3014952.html","author":"Leslie Ambriz","author_name":"Leslie Ambriz","published_at":"2026-07-14T21:07:12.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-14T21:07:12.000Z","image_url":"https://static.independent.co.uk/2026/07/14/22/Film-Digger_63_44.jpg?quality=75&width=640&height=614&fit=bounds&format=pjpg&crop=16%3A9%2Coffset-y0.5&auto=webp","category":"world","topic":"world","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":4,"word_count":758,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot"}}