Oscar Seasoning: The Tom Cruise Campaign Has Begun

A lot of people turn down honorary Oscars because they fear it will kill their chances of winning a competitive one. Some see this lifetime award as the nail in the coffin, a sign that the Academy has given up trying to give you a chance to get the real thing. But you can go from one to the other. Peter O’Toole almost said no but relented, then landed his eighth nomination for Venus (he lost to Forest Whitaker). Spike Lee got one, then won Best Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman. Glenn Close will get one next year, but never write off her finally nabbing Best Actress. It's rare, however, for someone to get an honorary award and for that to be considered a launching pad for a full-on campaign. But Tom Cruise has never been one to do things normally.

Last year, Cruise won an honorary Oscar for his "incredible commitment to our filmmaking and stunts community as well as to the theatrical experience." The trophy was given to him by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the multi-award-winning director who has just completed shooting his new movie, Digger, starring Cruise. This week, the first trailer for this mysterious film dropped, and it’s largely a sizzle reel of Cruise’s 40+ years in the industry. It’s a montage of his most iconic roles, selling the actor as an instantly recognisable icon who has been a part of our lives for decades. And then we get a teeny peek at Digger itself, but no hint of what it’s about. All we know is that this is a “new” kind of Cruise. For your consideration.

Wikipedia tells me that the film is about Digger Rockwell, "The most powerful man in the world races to prove he is humanity's savior before the disaster he unleashed destroys everything." It co-stars Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, Jesse Plemons, and John Goodman as the President of the United States (no seriously, how has John Goodman never even been nominated for an Oscar?!)

Cruise hasn’t been nominated for an Oscar since 1999’s Magnolia, which remains one of his best films. After that point, he moved away from “acting”, for lack of a better term, to focus on being the biggest movie star in the world. between Scientology and Mission: Impossible, it became tougher to view Cruise as someone who could play real people, or people who weren’t extremely like him. That’s why he doubled down on those amazing stunt shows with the M:I franchise. If everyone thinks you’re a kooky Thetan, then go wild with the kinds of eye-watering set-pieces nobody else can get away with.

And now he’s back to being an actor. He’s Back. And that requires a grand announcement. I am curious as to how this will play to his fanbase, by which I mean general audiences who love the blockbusters but didn’t run out to see Vanilla Sky. Once upon a time, Cruise’s presence in a more adult-oriented drama with a decent-sized budget could guarantee its commercial success. Few actors have that power nowadays aside from Leonardo DiCaprio. I imagine later trailers will give people a better idea of Digger’s plot and tone, and Iñárritu has made films that non-indie audiences are aware of. Still, I am intrigued to see if Cruise can sell it. I don’t believe this was a cheap movie to make because neither he nor this director do things on a budget.

But that sizzle reel trailer also played like a victory lap for the industry, for Cruise’s friends and associates who have made a lot of money from him. Xenu may have made Tom kind of off-putting to audiences, and for good reason, but within his business, people remain loyal to Cruise. He’s a professional, he is on time and serious about the work, and the cast and crew generally have a good time working with him. Hollywood has been desperate to make new movie stars and above-the-line talent who can guarantee box office returns, but it’s clear that we can’t really make new Tom Cruises, so we have to keep this one running at a rapid pace. But not even the invincible Super-Cruise can smash his body up for these movies.

So, why go all-in on the Oscar? Probably because he can. He’s done everything else. Actors often find themselves in this weird position where the Academy will say they’re “not ready” for the win until they’re a little more seasoned and rugged. Women win Oscars before they’re 35 because then they’re too old and ugly for grandma roles. Men get time to mature (this is one of the things that hurt Chalamet’s chances, way more so than his supposed arrogance or anti-opera comments.)

When Cruise was first nominated for Best Actor, for Born on the Fourth of July, he wasn’t even 30 yet. He also lost to a young up-and-comer, but said rising star was Daniel Day-Lewis. His second nomination was for Jerry Maguire, a proper movie-star turn, which he lost to Jeffrey Rush for Shine, a more traditionally Oscar-friendly performance. His sole Supporting Actor nod, for Magnolia, was one great performance in a packed category, and he lost to Michael Caine, because seniority often matters for the Academy. There are other arguments at play as to why he didn’t win for these three nods, but I do think, on some level, voters thought, “he’s got plenty of years before we finally get around to him.” And now, 27 years later…

Iñárritu movies tend to do very well at the Oscars. His last film, Bardo, was an exception, but look at The Revenant, Birdman, Babel… he makes big, complicated movies full of capital-A actor moments, astonishing technical prowess, and big themes. I also find all of them to be totally insufferable. He is decidedly Not For Me. But I am intrigued by Digger, if only because that cast is undeniable, and I want to see what direction he and Cruise take in defining this new “serious” era of one of the most recognisable people alive. I hated Birdman, but I can see Cruise doing well in that role (the acting is never my problem with Iñárritu films, to be clear.)

It’s still blockbuster season, so we’re looking at the 2027 race with a clear field right now. Cruise’s potential competition includes Sam Rockwell in the new Martin McDonagh film, Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen (?!), Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary, bald Sebastian Stan in Fjord, Michael Jackson's nephew in that mess, Matt Damon in The Odyssey, Jeremy Strong as the new Mark Zuckerberg… I expect Digger to launch at Venice, and for that rollout to be massive. This will not be a quiet campaign, but it will be ruthlessly efficient, much like a good Tom Cruise movie. He won’t stop running.