“We love them”: Tom Cruise praises Prince William, Kate Middleton for supporting arts at ‘Digger’ premiere
Sep 23, 2026
London [UK], September 23 : Hollywood star Tom Cruise welcomed Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales at the world premiere of his upcoming film ‘Digger’ in London, where he thanked the royal couple for their support towards the arts, Variety reported.
The premiere of ‘Digger’ at Leicester Square also marked this year’s Royal Film Performance, an event organised by The Film and TV Charity, with proceeds from the event donated to the cause.
Prince William and Princess Catherine attended the premiere and met the cast and crew of the film, including Cruise, director Alejandro González Iñárritu, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons, as per the outlet.
During the event, Cruise praised the royal couple for attending the premiere and acknowledged their contribution to the arts.
“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,” Cruise said.
Cruise shared the pictures from the premiere on Instagram stories.

The actor also expressed his admiration for director Alejandro González Iñárritu, calling the opportunity to work with him one of the great dreams of his career.
“Alejandro, 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,” Cruise said.
Praising Inarritu’s work on ‘Digger’, Cruise added, “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.”
The premiere featured a special setup across Leicester Square, with installations inspired by the film, including an Arctic Ocean-themed backdrop, the character’s shovel and images of Cruise in his role.
The official Instagram handle of The Prince and Princess of Wales shared the videos and pictures from the event.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DdmnJGADeMf/?img_index=1
‘Digger’ follows Cruise’s titular character, described in the film’s synopsis as “the most powerful man in the world”, as he attempts to prove himself as humanity’s saviour before facing the consequences of a disaster he caused.
The film marks Cruise’s latest collaboration with acclaimed filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu and is scheduled to release in theatres on October 2 through Warner Bros. Pictures.
Ahead of the premiere, Cruise also spoke about the impact of artificial intelligence on cinema during a conversation at London’s BAFTA headquarters, where he said that audiences continue to value real experiences and human craftsmanship, according to Variety.
“You know, it is coming and it’s going to happen. But people want to see real things,” Cruise said while discussing AI.
“People want that experience. They’re going to movie theaters. I always believe in humanity,” he added, Variety reported.