Tom Cruise uses stopwatch to cut Digger makeup time

Tom Cruise has revealed that he helped reduce the time needed to transform him into his unrecognisable character in Alejandro G. Inarritu’s upcoming dark comedy Digger from six hours to under one. Cruise explained that the original hair and makeup process required six hours to apply the prosthetics. With 12-hour filming days and the actor also needing time to sleep, he decided the process had to become more efficient.

“The first time we did the makeup, it took six hours,” Cruise said.

“I gotta sleep at least six hours. They keep saying I need more… but OK, that’s 12,” he continued, adding, “Now, we have 12-hour days filming. So now that’s six hours on, two hours off with the makeup.”

Cruise then introduced a stopwatch and a chalkboard to track how long each prosthetic took to apply. He challenged the team to eventually bring the six-hour process down to less than an hour.

“I had a guy there with a stopwatch, and I’m like, ‘OK, you see that time, six hours? By the time we’re done, we’re going to get it under an hour,’” Cruise said, adding, “They were like, ‘No, I’m not doing that; it will never happen.’ I am like, ‘OK, first of all, if you say no, you can’t do it; you will never get there. So can we agree that we’ll maybe make it a little less?’ So with each piece that was going on, it was timed, and then we would drill and practice.” 

The approach eventually worked. “They were like, ‘What?!’ And they didn’t even know it, and they didn’t even rush,” Cruise recalled.

Cruise said the process reflects his broader approach to filmmaking and preparation.

“I like going into a system, studying it and trying to figure out how I can do it better, more efficiently,” he said, adding, “The films that I make, I am constantly going, how can I do it better? How do I prepare better?”