Tom Cruise Gives Confirmation of His Rumored On-Set Behavior 

Tom Cruise is gearing up for the release of his new film, “The Digger,” which is already predicted to be among the most talked-about movies of the year. In a recent interview, the 64-year-old Hollywood legend opened up about his passion for cinema and confirmed the rumors that he can be challenging on set.

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GQ Magazine interviewed Cruise in September 2026 ahead of his new movie, “The Digger.” During the interview, he opened up about his love of the theatrical experience, and his comments branched into a discussion of his on-set behavior, which has been widely discussed in Hollywood for decades.

He began, “So movies are, this is about humanity. I have nothing against cable or TV or Netflix. I think it’s great. Create jobs and everything. But what I like about cinema is it is all of us coming together in a room and sharing an experience.”

After that, the actor began to discuss how he approaches various film sets he’s a part of. According to him, “When I’m working with people, I’m not afraid to, as I’m acting, to look foolish, to do it. It’s like: That’s not what this is about. It’s finding our tone, finding these tools together and having an experience.”

He continued, “And look, I work hard, and people that work with me, they know. I expect a lot, and I’m upfront about it. It’s like: ‘The rumors are true. And do you want this?’ I’m like, ‘Trust me, the rumors are true. I’ll be here before you. What experience do you want?’”

Tom Cruise Says He Feels ‘Responsibility’ For Everyone On Set

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After confirming rumors that he expects top-level professionalism on set, Cruise explained why he loves cinema. For him, he considers it his duty, often as the lead of the movie, to foster the environment on set.

According to him, “I’m very open. It’s not like we don’t have a plan. We have scripts, we have plans, we’re going through it. But I also feel that level of responsibility for, I guess, for everyone.” From there, Cruise went on to share that he’s always been this way.

He explained, “Even when I was a kid, they were like, ‘Oh, come on, Tom. You’re so intense.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know what to say. I am intense.’”

The “Digger” star continued, “I got a very good sense of humor about it, but it was like: When I’m interested in something, I want to learn it. I want to understand it. And you want to blast through the confusion and build up that ability.”

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Footage of Cruise berating crew members on the set of “Mission: Impossible 7” for allegedly breaking COVID-19 protocols leaked in December 2020. Later, in May of the following year, Cruise spoke about the video in an interview with Empire.

He explained, “I said what I said. There was a lot at stake at that point. But it wasn’t my entire crew. I had the crew leave the set, and it was just select people.”

Cruise then explained his mindset at the time, stating, “All those emotions were going through my mind. I was thinking about the people I work with, and my industry. And for the whole crew to know that we’d started rolling on a movie was just a huge relief. It was very emotional; I gotta tell you. And here we are, continuing to film.”

Notably, part of the reason for Cruise’s emotional response to the alleged breaking of COVID-19 protocols was that the set had been shut down multiple times due to the pandemic.

The Actor Says His Character In ‘The Digger’ Is His Most Challenging

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“The Digger” will be released in US movie theaters and IMAX on October 2, marking Cruise’s first non-action, non-franchise film in several years. The cast also includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jesse Plemons. 

Cruise opened up about the upcoming film during his interview with GQ, calling his character, Digger Rockwell, his most challenging.

Cruise stated, “It is the culmination of all my skills. I’ve never done it before. Everything that I’ve done has been very thought-out, why I did it. I have personal goals and challenges with everything I do. I was so excited to be able to have this character. It’s the most challenging character ever.”

Tom Cruise Has Multiple Projects In The Works

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Beyond “The Digger,” Cruise has several film projects in various stages of development. Per IMDb, this includes an untitled “Days of Thunder” sequel, listed with a 2028 release date. Additionally, Deadline reports he’s been planning a collaboration with SpaceX since 2020.