How Kazu Hiro Transformed Tom Cruise Into ‘Digger’ With Prosthetics for His Belly, Nose and Chin — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Kazu Hiro evolved his design for Cruise from an initial age of 76 to 67 after Alejandro González Iñárritu requested the revision, then blended that concept with a third design for the final appearance.
- Digger began with a 12-piece full-coverage concept; Hiro’s test application took under five hours and a second-day application took 2½ hours before the finished build used seven pieces.
- Tom Cruise cited a six-hour prosthetic routine and challenged the team to get it under one hour, explaining that he wanted to wear makeup during rehearsals six weeks before filming.
- Hiro delivered a 2-hour-15-minute application including hair work and the wig, compared with roughly one hour if he reduced the process in ways he said would sacrifice quality.
- Tom Cruise wore a standalone prosthetic belly for shirtless scenes, but used spandex with glued-down prosthetics under his suits because he rejected the weight and difficulty of the separate piece.
- Digger follows Cruise as a Texas oil tycoon whose company causes a potential global catastrophe, with Alejandro González Iñárritu directing the film.
Why it matters: The 2-hour-15-minute routine let Cruise participate in rehearsals in character makeup six weeks before filming, while Hiro retained the detailed application he says quality requires. Under the suits, the spandex-and-glue workaround also spared Cruise the weight of the standalone prosthetic belly.
Ask SkimNews
