Sandra Hüller, who will star opposite Tom Cruise in his next major motion picture, Digger, has teased the film as the most impressive she has ever seen. The movie, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, remains largely shrouded in mystery, but its first trailer, shared by Cruise at CinemaCon in April, has already generated significant Oscar buzz. Cruise reportedly described the role—an insane, cat-loving, beer-bellied billionaire—as one he had waited 40 years to play.
Hüller's Enthusiastic Tease
Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday as part of a live recording of The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, Hüller expressed her excitement. 'I am nearly bursting and wanting to talk about this movie,' she said. 'But I can’t—legally, I can’t,' she joked, before relenting slightly. 'I can say that I saw a version that’s maybe not the final version—and that it impresses me beyond anything I’ve ever seen. And that’s all I can say… It’s really, I think it’s going to be a remarkable film.'
Hüller's Rising Stardom
Hüller's praise carries extra weight given her recent trajectory. The 48-year-old German actress broke through internationally in 2023 with back-to-back award darlings Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, both of which premiered at Cannes and made history as the first two non-English language films to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Hüller herself earned a Best Actress nomination for Anatomy of a Fall and received a double BAFTA nomination, one in each acting category for both films. In 2026, she has already won the Best Leading Performance award at the Berlinale for the historical drama Rose and is currently at Cannes with Fatherland, which is being touted as a frontrunner for the Palme d'Or. In Fatherland, she plays Erika, the daughter of writer Thomas Mann, on a road trip through Germany in 1949. Additionally, she appeared opposite Ryan Gosling in the sci-fi blockbuster Project Hail Mary, which has become the second-highest-grossing film of the year. For Digger to surpass all that is a tantalizing prospect.
