Tom Cruise, playing the role of the fictitious rock star Stacey Jaxx, in the movie ‘Rock of Ages’, has ‘hit all the right notes’ in more ways than one. With a four octave range, and AXL Rose’s vocal coach, he made sure that he trained for at least five hours a day in order to fit the role.
Shankman, the director of ‘Rock of Ages’, in expressing his astonishment and delight, said, “Tom was going off to do ‘Mission: Impossible 4,’ but we both agreed if [his schedule worked out], and it turned out he could sing, this could be incredible. It turns out, in his background there were some opera singers. Maybe he’s genetically predisposed for this.”
Almost everyone, right from the executive music producer to the costume designer is convinced that not only is Cruise’s voice ‘rock star material’ but he also looked the part as well.
Cruise took it a step further by taking the time to create a rock star persona that wasn’t an imitation of the stars from the eighties by not only learning how to play guitar but also attached hair extension and an abundance of fake tattoos. If that wasn’t enough, he also got himself a sidekick for a baboon.
Even though people might not believe that the voice of the rock star in the movie is actually Cruise’s voice, the truth is that auto-tuning and lip-syncing were out of the question.
This movie is based on the Tony-nominated Broadway hit with the same name, and stars Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand and Julianne Hough.