Could be the year Tom Cruise finally takes home the gold?
If the reaction at CinemaCon this week is any indication, the answer is a resounding “yes.” During the Warner Bros. presentation in Las Vegas, the curtain was pulled back on Cruise’s latest project, Digger, and the room—packed with theater owners and industry insiders—was left in a state of shock.
Forget the death-defying stunts and the perfectly coiffed hair. In Digger, the -year-old superstar has undergone a radical transformation. Attendees were treated to footage of a gray-haired, pot-bellied Cruise playing an aging oil man who, after a lifetime of destroying the planet, vows to fix it.
The buzz was instantaneous. Social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), exploded as descriptions of the footage leaked. “Tom Cruise in a pot belly was not on my bingo card, but I am here for the Oscar win,” one fan posted.
This “unrecognizable” turn is drawing comparisons to Cruise’s legendary supporting role as Les Grossman in ’s Tropic Thunder. But while Grossman was a comedic cameo, Digger is being hailed as a meaty, lead performance in a film with something “pertinent to say about the world.”
The pedigree behind the camera only adds to the hype. The film is helmed by five-time Oscar winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the visionary director who famously led Leonardo DiCaprio to his first Oscar with The Revenant.
Vegas oddsmakers are already taking note. Following the presentation, the odds of Cruise securing a Best Actor nomination—and a potential win—shot up dramatically. While Cruise has been nominated for three acting Oscars in the past (Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia), the competitive statuette has remained elusive.
However, the Academy may already be signaling that his time is now. Just this past November, the Academy presented Cruise with an Honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards.
History suggests this could be a major omen. Legend Henry Fonda received an Honorary Oscar in , only to win Best Actor for On Golden Pond the very next year. Paul Newman followed the same path, winning for The Color of Money—which coincidentally co-starred a young Tom Cruise—just one year after his own Honorary Academy Award.
While CinemaCon is usually about blockbusters and box office numbers, Digger stood out as a clear artistic contender. It wasn’t the only potential Oscar bait in the room, however. Sony Pictures also generated buzz with footage from Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning, where Succession star Jeremy Strong is reportedly “right on the money” playing Mark Zuckerberg.
Still, the spotlight remains firmly on Cruise. After decades of carrying the industry on his back as “the biggest movie star in the world,” the narrative of a veteran actor finally claiming his competitive prize is one that Oscar voters typically find irresistible.
Digger is slated for an October release, strategically positioned right at the start of award season. If the “wickedly wild and comic” energy of the footage translates to the full film, the red carpet in might just belong to Tom.
One thing is certain: between the gray hair and the high-stakes drama, we’ve never seen a Tom Cruise performance quite like this.
