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Tom Cruise world-premiered his new film “Digger” on Tuesday night to an enthusiastic audience in London, which included some royal guests.
Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales got a front row seat to Cruise’s
latest transformative role, this time as wealthy oil tycoon Digger Rockwell in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s satirical black comedy. “Digger’s” world premiere also doubled as this year’s Royal Film Performance, an event held by The Film and TV Charity that is attended by members of the U.K. royal family, with its proceeds donated to the cause.
Guests found themselves in a maze as the premiere took over the whole of Leicester Square, with set pieces from the film — including an Arctic Ocean-themed step-and-repeat and Digger’s prized shovel — as well as blown-up photos of Cruise in character (some with his beloved and ancient cat, Maggie) surrounding the red carpet.
Prince William, sporting a black velvet suit jacket, and Kate, wearing a fittingly royal-purple gown, arrived as the carpet began to close to avoid a frenzy. They shook hands and held conversation with each “Digger” cast member, including Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. The royals spent extra time with Cruise and Iñárritu, chatting for a good 10 minutes — with Cruise at one point causing William and Kate to burst into laughter — before entering the Oden Luxe theater together. Royal guards dotted the audience in preparation, and the King’s band even marked their entrance with a trumpet salute of “God Save the King” as the crowd stood up to show their respect.
When the cast took to the stage, Cruise grabbed the mic and commended William and Kate for being there. “We want to thank the royal highnesses for supporting this event, and just to tell them that we love them and we really appreciate what they do for the arts, for this country and for the world,” he said.
Cruise also thanked the Film and TV Charity and then turned his attention to producer Mary Parent — whom he called “absolutely brilliant” — and, of course, his director.
“Alejandro,” Cruise began. “You are one of one, and I have so admired your films from the very first one. And to have the opportunity to work with you has been one of the great dreams of mine and a pleasure.”
He continued, “You’ll see — this character, what he’s created, I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t know, his mind is just extraordinary.”
“Digger” follows Cruise’s titular character — the “most powerful man in the world,” according to the film’s synopsis — as he “races to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he unleashed destroys everything.”
Cruise has been making the promotional rounds for the film over the past few weeks, appearing on the cover of GQ, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and Travis and Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast (notably after watching the Kansas City Chiefs’ first game of the season next to Taylor Swift).
He also gave an intimate talk at London’s BAFTA headquarters on Monday night, delivering an impassioned monologue on why he believes human skill and craftsmanship will always prevail over AI.
“You know, it is coming and it’s going to happen,” Cruise said of AI. “But people want to see real things.”
He added, “People want that experience. They’re going to movie theaters. I always believe in humanity.”
“Digger” opens in theaters on Oct. 2 from Warner Bros. Pictures.
