Tom Cruise talks up 'Digger' on 13th Korea visit

Plenty of Hollywood stars have stopped by Seoul on a press tour. Tom Cruise practically commutes.

Since his first trip in 1994 for "Interview With the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles," the ageless superstar has flown in to promote nearly every major film he's starred in, among them the "Mission: Impossible" series and "Top Gun: Maverick." By now he's been here 13 times, more than any other Hollywood actor.

In most of those films, he was the guy who saves the world. This time, he is the one who nearly destroys it.

In "Digger," Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a paunchy, balding oil baron from Texas. His drilling operation in the Arctic breaks off a massive glacier and sends it drifting toward Europe, setting the stage for a global catastrophe.

Under thick layers of prosthetics, the actor is barely recognizable. And you could tell he is awfully proud of what he has made.

"It's the most original film," Cruise said at Thursday's press conference in Yeouido, western Seoul. "I've never seen anything like it."

He seemed no less glad to be back, too. "It's amazing. I love it," he said. "I hope to be able to come another 30 times — if you'll have me."

Inarritu ("Birdman," "The Revenant") developed the project over nine years. Cruise said he got the call while shooting "Top Gun: Maverick" and went to meet the director that same night. They talked into the early hours, and by morning he was in.

"This is a character that I have never read before, ever," he said. "I've never seen a character like Digger in any movie."

Early reviews describe Inarritu at his most uninhibited, replete with metafictional conceits and grandstanding monologues. Critics are sharply divided; some call it a biting, timely satire, while others see a loud, smug lecture short on substance.

Cruise, for his part, was quick to put the director in rarefied company. "I've worked with (Steven) Spielberg, with (Martin) Scorsese, all of these guys. He's right there with them," he said. "His command of this art form is exceptional."

The filmmaker was unable to attend the presser for personal reasons.

Love it or hate it, popcorn fare "Digger" is not. That makes it an offbeat choice for Cruise, who has largely kept to blockbusters since the late 2000s.

The 64-year-old has not drawn this kind of awards buzz since Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia" (1999), which earned him his third Oscar nomination.

He has yet to win a competitive Oscar, though the academy gave him an honorary award last year.

"As far as Oscars and all of that, I make movies," Cruise said. "It's always just a privilege to be able to make a film." What he dreams of, he said, is "the lasting nature of cinema, the lasting nature of a story."

"Digger" opens in theaters Saturday.