An extra in Tom Cruise's new film Digger has described the star as a consummate professional, praising his kindness and consideration on set. Umnia El-Neil, an actress and singer, was one of the lucky few to appear as an extra in the blockbuster, which has been shrouded in secrecy due to a major plot twist.
No Audition, No Idea
Umnia didn't have to audition for the small role and had no clue that Cruise, 64, was the lead star in the mysterious film, which was known by the code name Judy. She told Metro: 'There had been talks for months of this film called Judy and how people were [spoiler] at Tom Cruise for days on end, and how difficult that had been.'
She was told there was a week of filming with big [spoiler] scenes, and she couldn't say anything to anyone because it was the big spoiler of the film. For Umnia, it was a win-win situation: she'd get a nice chunk of money and the opportunity to work with 'great filmmaker' Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
Tom Cruise on Set
Speaking about Cruise, Umnia insisted: 'People don't believe me when I say this, but he's such a consummate professional. So nice, so kind.' She recalled that after each take, he would say: 'Thank you guys so much. I really appreciate you. You guys are working so hard. You're giving off energy, and we really feel it up here, so thank you.'
'He was really considerate of our time and our energy. You just got the sense he was really fun to work with,' she added. 'It was quite intense all day and Tom would get a seat off stage and sit there with his parka on and wait for the next take, sitting in the room with everyone else. It was brilliant.'
The Cold Set and the Twist
Cruise has undergone an extreme transformation for his role as Digger Rockwell, using full prosthetics to age him. To stop his makeover from melting in the summer heat, the set at Pinewood Studios had to be 'very, very cold' and left them 'freezing the whole time.'
The extras were told very little about the wider story of Digger, causing rumours to consume the set. Umnia shared: 'They never told us anything officially, but with 400 people in the room, word gets around. "Judy's the name of an iceberg, he's an oil guy, there's a president…" It was a whisper network and everyone was exchanging spoilers under the table.'
'I assumed filming it that we were the twist. So when I watched it last night, I was shocked that [spoiler] happens in the first act. [I didn't realise] that we become less of a twist and more of a gut punch.'
Defending the Film
Despite Digger struggling to win over all the critics, with a fairly low 52% on Rotten Tomatoes, Umnia stands by the 'masterpiece.' She said: 'I loved it! I actually genuinely did love the film and didn't think I was going to. I thought it was going to end up being too on-the-nose. I thought it was a very brilliant commentary and nice to have presented in such a gorgeously shot film.'
Aware of the scepticism, she insisted: 'Warner Bros. has not got a gun to my head – I think the film benefits from a second watch knowing the ending. If people just interpret it as just being a film about how terrible climate change is, or how terrible billionaires are, that's a bit reductive.'
Umnia, who has also appeared as an extra in Apple TV+ series Silo, would not reveal exactly how much she was paid, but disclosed that it was enough to pay bills and fund her own project. 'My short film series that I filmed in my kitchen, I credit being able to do that financially [to Digger],' she revealed proudly. 'I tell people Tom Cruise is the reason I'm able to make short films in my kitchen. That money was instrumental enough that I was able to provide enough stability to do that with a lot of the people I've met on the set.'
Digger arrives in UK cinemas on Friday.
