“He’s Gone Beyond Extraordinary”: Two-Time National Award Winner Preetisheel Singh D’Souza on Kazu Hiro’s Work on Tom Cruise in Digger

Releases only in Cinemas on October 2, 2026. Also in IMAX
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Tom Cruise’s striking transformation into oil tycoon Digger Rockwell has been one of the biggest
talking points around Digger, with the actor appearing almost unrecognisable beneath the prosthetics
created by four-time Academy Award-winning makeup and prosthetics designer Kazu Hiro. While the
finished look may appear effortless on-screen, creating a believable prosthetic character on one of the
world’s most recognisable faces requires extraordinary precision, artistry and restraint. Awardwinning Indian professional makeup, hair & prosthetic artist, and character designer Preetisheel
Singh D’Souza, whose work has shaped some of Indian cinema’s most memorable characters across
films including Padmaavat, Bajirao Mastani, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Pushpa, Jawan, Dhurandhar and
Chhaava, knows that process better than most. With two National Film Awards to her credit, including
one for Nanak Shah Fakir and another for Gangubai Kathiawadi, Preetisheel brings the perspective
of a fellow prosthetic artist to Hiro’s work on Digger, highlighting the intricate detail and restraint
behind Cruise’s appearance.

Speaking about what makes Cruise’s look in Digger so remarkable, Preetisheel said, “When you look
at Tom Cruise in Digger, that’s a major transformation. Yet so believable, and that to me is the
ultimate sign of a great prosthetic transformation. You know, as a prosthetic artist myself, I know
how incredibly difficult it is to take one of the most recognizable faces in the world and transform it
while making it look , very realistic. What Kazu Hiro has done over here is nothing short of
extraordinary. “

She further elaborated on the details that make Hiro’s work stand out, highlighting how the smallest
elements of Cruise’s appearance contribute to the overall character design. Preetisheel said, “He
hasn’t simply made Tom Cruise look older or changed the shape of his face. He’s completely
completely reimagined his character. You know, through subtle changes in facial volume, skin
textures, contours, hairline, and aging, and believe me, every single element feels incredibly
incredibly considered. And what I really appreciate is the restraint. The prosthetic is not announcing
itself. It just disappears into the transformation.”

Speaking about the technical precision required to make such a prosthetic work seamlessly on screen,
she further added, “ I know how challenging it is to make silicone move convincingly with an actor’s
face, especially through all the expressions and dialogues and close-ups. And when I look at this
work, it is purely seamless, and how beautifully it is integrated is where I see the real craftsmanship
is. Kazu Hiro has again proved himself. You know he’s gone beyond extraordinary. You know his
work is, I’m a huge fan, and his work is impeccable. And honestly, this is what a great character
design is all about.”

While Preetisheel’s perspective highlights the artistry visible in the finished result, Cruise has also
spoken about the extensive process behind achieving the look. For the actor, the challenge was not
only wearing the prosthetics but finding a way to work efficiently within the demands of a major
production, ensuring that the time spent in makeup did not come at the expense of time on set.
Speaking about the process in an interview, Cruise said, “When we started out, this, the makeup was
six hours. And I was like, okay, there’s 24hours in the day. It’s two hours to take it off, six hours;
that’s eight hours, that leaves me, you know, 16 hours. Now, I want to, the way that I look at it is
going, I want everyone- the director to have every shot he can and have as much information in the
editing room for us to play.”

Speaking about how he approached the challenge of reducing the time spent in makeup, Cruise
explained how he developed a detailed system to make the process more efficient without
compromising the look. He said, “So I’m going, and I’m going, okay, I have to be able to do this faster.
So I designed a whole thing on how I could get it down, not changing the makeup, but I had a whole
board. It was like Swiss watch and everything else to be able to get, I said, look, we’re going to get
it down to an hour, not just because I want it down an hour. I’m thinking of, I want as much time on
set. I’m thinking of the crew.”

He further added, “You have to understand all of those resources. You understand how much money,
the big swing that this film is, how important it is, how much fun it is for me as an actor to be able
to work with everyone. I’m also thinking about how do I help the studio? How do I deliver something
and this bullseye, that they’re trusting us to do it, not just for us and for them, but also for future
generations. For me, it’s like, I want you to be able to make this kind of movie. I want you to be able
to understand how to do this, and for us to have these opportunities and for these films to be made.
So how do we educate this new film-going audience that are very hungry for this kind of stuff? They
want to know how movies are made and how it’s made practically and the artistry of this, the kind
of artists that we bring in and educate. The only way you know how to do it is by doing it.”
Cruise stars in the title role alongside Oscar winner Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Oscar nominee Sandra
Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Oscar nominee Jesse Plemons. Robert John Burke, Emma D’Arcy, Burn
Gorman and Sophie Wilde also star.

Iñárritu directed from a screenplay by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Oscar winners Alexander Dinelaris
and Nicolás Giacobone, and Sabina Berman, from a story by Iñárritu and Berman. The film is
produced by Iñárritu, Oscar nominee Mary Parent, Tom Cruise and Michael Sharp, and executive
produced by Joshua Grode, Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone, Jez Butterworth
and Emmanuel Lubezki.

Joining Iñárritu behind the camera are previous collaborators including Oscar-winning director of
photography Emmanuel Lubezki; editors Conor O’Neill and Oscar winner Stephen Mirrione; Oscarnominated costume designer Jacqueline West; Oscar-winning makeup and hair designer Alessandro
Bertolazzi; and Oscar-nominated casting director Francine Maisler; alongside Oscar-winning
production designer Dennis Gassner and production designer Richard Johnson, Oscar-winning
prosthetic makeup designer Kazu Hiro, and composer Cosmo Sheldrake.

An Alejandro G. Iñárritu Film, Digger was shot entirely in VistaVision and will be released in Cinemas
and IMAX® across India on 2nd October 2026. The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.