Riz Ahmed Says He’s “Never Seen Anything Like” Tom Cruise in Digger

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Riz Ahmed talked about working with director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and shared his experience filming alongside Tom Cruise in an upcoming dark comedy. He said he’d never witnessed anything quite like Cruise’s dedication on set.

In a recent interview on ScreenRant’s “Coffee and a Chat” with Liam Crowley, actor Riz Ahmed described working with Tom Cruise on the movie Digger as a “unique” experience.

Tom Cruise’s Digger Performance Hyped Up by Riz Ahmed

Riz Ahmed enthusiastically praised the team behind the film Digger, especially cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who has received eight Academy Award nominations, including three recent ones. He described working with Tom Cruise as inspiring, saying, “It was amazing to be around him and learn from his energy and dedication.”

Let me tell you, this guy is where he is for a reason. He pours everything into making sure whatever we’re filming is absolutely the best it can be – it’s honestly unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. Working with the cast – Sandra Hüller was just phenomenal, and Jesse Plemons and John Goodman were incredible too – it felt like I was learning from the best. I always enjoy seeing how other actors approach their work, and I definitely feel like I absorbed something from each of them. It really impacts my own performance, you know?

The film is directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and written with Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone, and Sabina Berman. It centers around a very powerful leader who desperately tries to convince everyone he’s a hero, before a catastrophe he caused wipes out everything.

Starring alongside Tom Cruise in Digger are John Goodman as the President of the United States and Ahmed as his assistant. The film also features Sandra Hüller, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg, Pip Torrens, Burn Gorman, Emma D’Arcy, Sophie Wilde, and Robert John Burke, who all play currently mysterious roles.

Since its initial announcement in December 2025, very few details about the movie Digger have been revealed, aside from a short teaser trailer and a brief plot summary. A trailer shown at CinemaCon revealed that Tom Cruise plays a wealthy businessman whose investments led to global destruction.

Riz Ahmed’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Experience

Ahmed shared that he first entered the Star Wars universe in Rogue One, playing Bodhi Rook – a character who begins as an Imperial pilot but joins the Rebel Alliance. He explained that director Gareth Edwards offered him the part, but he still had to submit an audition tape.

Ahmed shared that he believes a director made a mistake by giving him his email address. Ahmed took advantage of this, sending him around fourteen audition tapes in just four days – something he now realizes was a bit much. He suspects the director ultimately gave him the role just to get him to stop sending submissions. Ahmed also mentioned that he purposefully varied each audition tape with small changes to his costume, overall feel, and accent.

Digger is slated to arrive in theaters on Oct. 2.

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2026-04-25 17:42