Julianne Hough To Join Tom Cruise In 'Rock Of Ages'

Adam Shankman-helmed movie based on the Broadway musical will begin shooting in May.
By Jocelyn Vena

Tom Cruise
Photo: George Pimentel/WireImage

Tom Cruise is ready to get his hair metal on for the big-screen adaptation of the musical "Rock of Ages," and now burgeoning starlet Julianne Hough, whose movie credits include "Burlesque" and "Footloose," is joining the superstar in the flick.

"Yes, it's true. Julianne Hough was beyond brilliant in her audition and will be rocking the role of Sherrie Christian in #rockofagesmovie," director Adam Shankman tweeted.

"She's the lead — she's the girl who comes to Los Angeles looking for the dream," Shankman told The Wrap. "We have Tom [Cruise] playing Stacee Jaxx, the biggest rock star in the world, and we have Mary J. Blige playing Justice."

Shankman also shared that he is busy working on the script with "Tropic Thunder" writer Justin Theroux.

The play focuses on a young couple who meet at the rock club Rock of Ages, and their story is told through the music of Joan Jett, Twisted Sister (frontman Dee Snider appeared in the show on Broadway) and Bon Jovi. The flick will begin filming in May in Florida.

Shankman told Variety that he offered Hough the part over the phone while she was waiting for a plane. "I asked [Hough] if she wanted to be in a movie with Tom Cruise and she wanted to not get on the plane so she could celebrate. Her audition was surreal — maybe the best I've ever seen."

Shankman will also be choreographing the flick. And he says that he and Hough, a professional dancer by trade and former "Dancing With the Stars" regular, really are on the same page. "We both speak the language of dance. We really see eye-to-eye on everything," he said. "She is like the most open, sweet ray of sunshine in the world and I can't say enough good about her. And she was jaw-droppingly good in her auditions. It was a no-brainer."

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