# Tom Cruise Welcomes Prince William and Kate Middleton at ‘Digger’ World Premiere in London: ‘We Love Them and Really Appreciate What They Do for the Arts’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/tom-cruise-welcomes-prince-william-and-kate-middleton-at-digger-world-premiere-in-london-we-love-them-and-really-appreciate-what-they-do-for-the-arts/
- Published: 2026-09-23T09:39:52+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-23T15:55:30+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/film/global/tom-cruise-prince-william-kate-digger-premiere-london-1236871955/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Film, UK, World

## Key points

- Cruise premiered "Digger" with royal attendance at The Film and TV Charity benefit event.
- Prince William and Catherine spent ten minutes chatting with Cruise and director Iñárritu.
- Cruise defended human creativity against AI, emphasising audiences want real cinema experiences.

## Summary

Tom Cruise premiered his new film "Digger" in London on Tuesday, with Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, attending as royal guests. The event served as this year's Royal Film Performance, organised by The Film and TV Charity, with proceeds benefiting the organisation. The premiere marked a significant moment for Cruise's latest film, in which he plays oil tycoon Digger Rockwell in director Alejandro González Iñárritu's satirical black comedy.

The red carpet event transformed Leicester Square into an elaborate themed experience, featuring film set pieces and large photographs of Cruise with his cat, Maggie. Prince William and Catherine engaged with the cast—including Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons—before spending approximately ten minutes in conversation with Cruise and Iñárritu. During the stage presentation, Cruise publicly thanked the royals for their support of the arts, praised producer Mary Parent and director Iñárritu, and shared his conviction that human skill and craftsmanship in cinema will endure despite advances in artificial intelligence. "Digger" is scheduled for UK theatrical release on 2 October through Warner Bros. Pictures.

## Coverage

- [Variety: Tom Cruise Welcomes Prince William and Kate Middleton at ‘Digger’ World Premiere in London: ‘We Love Them and Really Appreciate What They Do for the Arts’](https://variety.com/2026/film/global/tom-cruise-prince-william-kate-digger-premiere-london-1236871955/)
- [Deadline: Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ World Premiere Was A Royal Affair With Prince William & Kate Middleton](https://deadline.com/2026/09/tom-cruise-digger-world-premiere-royal-family-1237110919/)
- [BBC Entertainment: Prince and Princess of Wales share a laugh with Tom Cruise at film premiere](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck0e3y7qzv1ro?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.