‘People want to see real things’: Tom Cruise on AI

Tom Cruise said artificial intelligence is “coming and going to happen” but agreed that audiences still want to experience “real things” on screen during a BAFTA conversation in London on Monday.

Cruise was speaking at the BAFTA Life in Pictures event, where he discussed the growing use of AI and technology in the film industry, an issue that has sparked debate among celebrities and creatives.

Asked about AI, Cruise said, “You know, it is coming and it is going to happen... But people want to see real things.” He also encouraged creatives to “keep creating”.

The actor, known for films including Top Gun: Maverick and the Mission: Impossible franchise, also spoke about the theatrical experience and described watching films in cinemas as “a different art form”.

“I have nothing against streaming or anything like that, but seeing a film in theatres is simply a different art form,” he said.

Cruise also discussed his upcoming film Digger, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The film marks the actor’s first collaboration with the Oscar-winning filmmaker, whose previous projects include Birdman and The Revenant.

According to the film’s official logline, Digger follows the “most powerful man in the world” as he embarks on a “frantic mission to prove he is humanity's saviour before the disaster he is unleashed destroys everything”.

Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an oil baron whose company’s actions trigger an ecological disaster with the potential to spark a nuclear war.

Describing the film, Cruise called it the most “original film” and said, “I have never read a movie like this. It is one of the most moving films.”

The film is produced by Inarritu, Cruise and Michael Sharp under TC Productions and M Productions, with Warner Bros Pictures serving as presenter and global distributor.