Washington [US], September 20 : 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.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, Cruise, in a recent interview, 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,” as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
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?”
In 'Digger', Cruise plays eccentric oil tycoon Digger Rockwell, a character with grey hair, wrinkles and a larger frame than the actor.
After causing an environmental disaster, Rockwell is ordered by the US president, played by John Goodman, to repair the damage.
Cruise previously underwent a major prosthetic transformation to play studio executive Les Grossman in the 2008 comedy 'Tropic Thunder'.
'Digger' marks his first character role of this kind since then.
Directed by Alejandro G Inarritu, 'Digger' opens in theatres on October 2.