The Digger set had a magnetic pull on Tom Cruise. As both star and producer, he tends to involve himself in just about everything happening around a movie, and this one was no different. Even when the cameras were not focused on him, Cruise said he usually stayed nearby and watched the movie come together.
Part of that came with the job. The rest came down to something much simpler.
He could not get enough of watching Alejandro G. Iñárritu work.
The Digger set kept Tom Cruise close to the action
Wearing two hats on a movie changes the experience.
As an actor, Cruise had his own scenes and character to focus on. His producer role gave him a much bigger picture to watch at the same time.
So even when somebody else stepped in front of the camera, Cruise stayed close to the action.
That did not seem like much of a burden. He was fascinated by the way Iñárritu approached the movie and wanted to see as much of the process as possible.
And considering Digger is a pretty different kind of film for him, there was plenty to watch.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu kept Tom Cruise fascinated
Digger gives Cruise a chance to step away from the giant action spectacle people have come to expect from him.
This time, he is working inside a dark comedy with a filmmaker known for doing things his own way.
That seems to have been a big part of the appeal.
Cruise has talked about wanting to work with Iñárritu for years. Once he finally got that opportunity, he was not exactly eager to leave the Digger set when his own work for the day ended.
Instead, he watched Iñárritu shape scenes, guide performances and put the movie together piece by piece.
Sometimes producing means staying close because the job demands it. In this case, Cruise also genuinely wanted to see what happened next.
Digger gave Tom Cruise a front-row seat
There is something fun about hearing an actor who has spent decades making movies still sound excited about watching somebody else work.
Cruise has spent most of his life on film sets. Over the years, he has worked with major directors, helped build enormous productions and pushed action filmmaking into some pretty wild places.
Yet Digger still gave him something new to study.
That says quite a bit about what working with Iñárritu meant to him.
Click on the video below to hear Tom Cruise talk about being a constant presence on the Digger set and why watching Alejandro G. Iñárritu make the movie kept him so fascinated.
Tom Cruise was not just watching from the sidelines
Of course, Cruise did not hang around purely as a spectator.
Producing a movie comes with responsibilities, and producers often have to make quick decisions on set. But there is a difference between staying because the job requires it and staying because you genuinely do not want to miss what is happening.
For Cruise, the Digger set became a little bit of both. The producer in him had work to do, while the movie fan in him got to watch a filmmaker he had admired for years create something right in front of him.
After all this time in Hollywood, apparently Tom Cruise can still get excited about simply being on a movie set.
Digger is now playing in theaters.
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