Digger, the new film by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, will be released in French cinemas. This is an opportunity for Tom Cruise to show a new side of his performance, moving away from his usual action roles of recent years. Since September 30, 2026, Tom Cruise has been starring in Digger, proving that he seems to be gradually closing the chapter of Mission: Impossible to return to projects led by great directors. After years of pushing the limits of stunts and making his blockbusters true spectacles, the actor seems to want to remind audiences that he is also capable of delivering solid and sometimes remarkable performances. His career is full of roles that almost make one forget, for a moment, the one who jumps off a cliff on a motorcycle. In Collateral (2004, Michael Mann), Tom Cruise plays Vincent, an impeccably dressed, graying-haired hitman who takes a taxi driver, Max, on a murderous night in Los Angeles. Vincent has everything to be hated, but his charisma, punchlines ("I shot him. The bullets and the fall killed him"), and ability to kill with terrifying efficiency make him a character with hypnotic charm. In this role, Tom Cruise is more involved than ever, forming an irresistible duo with Jamie Foxx. In Magnolia (1999, Paul Thomas Anderson), Tom Cruise's performance culminates in the scene where his character goes to his dying father's bedside, gradually breaking his armor of anger in the face of fate. This sequence directly echoes the life of the actor, himself abandoned in adolescence and who came back to see his father suffering from terminal cancer. Carried by a poignant chemistry with Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose on-screen empathy is translated into real tears, this scene remains one of the darkest and cathartic of his career. In Rain Man (1988, Barry Levinson), Tom Cruise plays Charlie Babbitt, a selfish young man who discovers upon his father's death that he has an older brother, Raymond, an autistic brother whose existence he was unaware of. In this film, Tom Cruise plays a character not very appreciated, initially interested in his father's inheritance, but who gradually becomes attached to his brother, played by Dustin Hoffman, during a touching road trip across the United States. In Vanilla Sky (2001, Cameron Crowe), Tom Cruise plays David Aames, a rich New York publisher whose life turns upside down after a car accident that disfigures his face. As he tries to rebuild his life, his perception of reality gradually becomes blurred, between love, memories, and strange virtual experiences. A remake of the film Open Your Eyes by Alejandro Amenábar, in which Eduardo Noriega already delivered an incredible performance, Vanilla Sky allows Tom Cruise to once again distance himself from his image as a Hollywood star to deliver a more disturbing and vulnerable performance, where he plays with the different facets of his character. Jerry Maguire (1996, Cameron Crowe) earned Tom Cruise an Oscar nomination for best actor, his second in this category after Born on the Fourth of July. We all remember the famous line "Help me, help you" said to Cuba Gooding Jr., who won the Oscar for best supporting actor. Born on the Fourth of July (1989, Oliver Stone) tells the true story of Ron Kovic, a young American who enlists in the Marines and goes to fight in Vietnam. After being seriously injured and paralyzed, he returns to the United States and discovers the consequences of the war, becoming a fervent opponent. Born on the Fourth of July is especially one of the best examples of Tom Cruise's dramatic talent, who delivers a particularly intense performance. Alternating between vulnerable and angry at his own country, the actor displays an impressive physical and emotional transformation. He receives with this film his first Oscar nomination for best actor. War of the Worlds (2005, Steven Spielberg) features Tom Cruise as Ray Ferrier, a divorced father who tries to protect his two children when a mysterious alien invasion occurs. But here, Tom Cruise is far from the classic hero, and even further from the image of the good family man. Selfish, immature, and overwhelmed by events, his character is initially unlikable, before becoming simply a type trying to get his family out of a serious mess. A performance very well embodied, but a promotional tour that will quickly overshadow the film (the famous sequence on Oprah Winfrey's couch), which will tarnish his public image. Interview with the Vampire (1994, Neil Jordan) sees Tom Cruise portray Lestat, a cult character from the novel Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. Charismatic and frightening, Tom Cruise portrays him perfectly. The best vampire alongside Gary Oldman's Dracula (in a different register). The role was not a given. Anne Rice herself had publicly criticized the choice of Tom Cruise to play Lestat. After seeing the film, the author retracted her comments in public apologies to read here. Eyes Wide Shut (1999, Stanley Kubrick) stages the couple, on screen as in the city, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in a narrative with omnipresent sexual tension. Tom Cruise plays Bill Harford, a New York doctor whose life turns upside down after a revelation from his wife about his fantasies. The actor delivers a more internal and vulnerable performance, far from the confident hero to which he is often associated. Stanley Kubrick's eye does the rest to reveal the best of the actor. The Mission: Impossible Saga (1996-2025) has seen Tom Cruise carry the Mission: Impossible spy saga to the cinema, with Ethan Hunt remaining loyal to Tom Cruise, often for the best, rarely for the worst. Especially, the Mission: Impossible films allow the actor, legendary and eternal, to defy the laws of time with unbelievable stunts that he performs himself. If cinema is sometimes just a huge spectacle, then Tom Cruise is its best showcase.