Did you know? Fahadh Faasil said no to Tom Cruise's Digger

Tom Cruise’s Digger is one of the biggest releases of the year, and any actor would be delighted to be part of it. But did you know that Indian actor Fahadh Faasil rejected the role, which eventually went to Riz Ahmed?

Time and again, many Indian actors have passed on Hollywood roles that could have been career-changing moments. And now, the latest addition is none other than Fahadh.

In the trailer released, Cruise grabs all the attention with his shocking makeover, but Riz Ahmed also makes a brief appearance. So why did the actor say no to this role? Why did he miss this opportunity?

Fahadh Faasil on why he rejected Tom Cruise’s Digger

While the trailer is out now, the Malayalam actor had talked about this missed opportunity last year, when he shared why he had to say no to being part of Cruise’s movie.

During a conversation with Cue Studio, the actor revealed the director was not convinced with the accent during the audition. To get that accent right, they asked him to go to the US and stay there for three months. But he would have to pay for it himself.

“To perfect the accent, I was told to go to the US and stay there for three or four months. But they weren’t ready to pay for that,'' he shared.

‘’That’s why I skipped it. Otherwise, I would have gone running. The commercial aspects of it wouldn’t have worked out. Also, to bother so much for an accent, I didn’t feel that kind of fire for it,” he added.

For this role, Fahadh said that he had a virtual meeting with Cruise.

“I spoke to him on a video call. It might be during that conversation that he also realised, ‘Oh, this isn’t the guy I’m looking for.’ Such things happen. There have been many films I lost during such meetings. Also, all the magic in my life happened here in Malayalam. So, even in the future, if any new changes were to happen, I want them to come from Malayalam. I don’t think I will leave Kerala for that. If a project emerges that redefines me in some way, I want it to be in Malayalam,” Fahadh said during the meeting.

Not only Fahadh, but Vir Das had also auditioned twice for Digger, for the same role that Fahadh was considered for, and it eventually went to Ahmed.

Reacting to the trailer, Das wrote on X, before deleting the post, “Gave two auditions for this. They went with Riz Ahmed. Was severely crestfallen, but that’s life. This script is insanity, in such a good way.”

What is Digger about?

Starring Tom Cruise as Digger Rockwell, a billionaire with a huge net worth and one of the most bankable and powerful CEOs.

Speaking about the film during a recent promotional event, Cruise said, "I have never had something that could challenge me in this way, and neither has Alejandro," as quoted by Variety. "Alejandro took several days during which he was just reading the script to me and I'm listening to everything that's in his mind, so that I can understand that, and then I know how to contribute to it, and bring that collaboration together."

The movie will release on October 2.