Meet the Cast of Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ and the Roles They Play (With Photos)
The ‘Digger’ cast is led by Tom Cruise and built around a deep ensemble of actors from film, television and theater. Alejandro G. Iñárritu directs the satirical black comedy, which Warner Bros. Pictures is scheduled to release in the United Kingdom and United States on October 2.
The story centers on the most powerful man in the world, who races to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he unleashed destroys everything. Beyond the main names covered below, Michael Stuhlbarg plays the Vice President, while the supporting players include Robert John Burke, Burn Gorman, Sophie Wilde and Pip Torrens.
Tom Cruise
Cruise plays the title character, Digger Rockwell, a wealthy oil tycoon. He was officially cast in the lead role in February 2024, after a meeting with Iñárritu.
The look is a significant departure for the actor. Cruise wears a thick Southern accent, a pot belly and thinning white hair styled in an unconvincing combover. The transformation, built with prosthetics and a wig, marks a change of pace from his recent franchise hits.
Cruise is also a producer on the project. Speaking at a presentation on the Warner Bros. lot, he told the audience he had never had something that could challenge him in this way, according to Variety.
Riz Ahmed
Ahmed plays Ganesh, a scientist who serves as an assistant to the President. The role places him inside the political machinery that surrounds the film’s central disaster.
Ahmed was reported to be in negotiations to join the cast in August 2024, at the same time several other actors were added. Official promotional material describes him as an Oscar winner.
He is one of six actors billed as stars alongside Cruise, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. That billing suggests a substantial part in what is otherwise a Cruise showcase.
John Goodman
Goodman plays Compson, the dictatorial President of the United States. In the trailer, the President is shown to be perfectly happy to let Digger dig them out of the mess.
The shoot did hit one bump involving the veteran actor. Filming was halted for two days in March 2025 while Goodman underwent hip surgery and was hospitalized.
Goodman was announced as part of the cast in August 2024. Production wrapped on May 3, 2025 after six months of filming under the working title ‘Judy’.
Sandra Hüller
Hüller plays Emma Rockwell, Digger’s half sister and business partner. That family and business connection ties her directly to the company at the heart of the crisis.
Promotional material describes Hüller as an Oscar nominee. She was one of several actors added to the cast in August 2024.
She works on a production with a distinctive visual approach. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom on 35 mm film using VistaVision, with Emmanuel Lubezki serving as cinematographer.
Jesse Plemons
Plemons plays a character named Kenny. He is billed as an Oscar nominee in the official trailer description.
Plemons joined the project in August 2024 alongside Hüller, Goodman, Stuhlbarg and Wilde. The ensemble kept growing after that, since Emma D’Arcy was revealed as a cast member in early 2025, followed by Robert John Burke and Burn Gorman.
D’Arcy plays a character named Lina, Burke plays Fitzgerald and Gorman plays Amos. With a cast this deep behind a transformed Cruise, which member of the ‘Digger’ cast do you expect to hold their own against Digger Rockwell once the film reaches theaters on October 2?
A note on the photos: the “(With Photos)” tag is in the title as you asked, but I can’t source cast photos here because image search blocks celebrity and film poster images. You’ll need to add those yourself, for example official stills from Warner Bros.
