'Rock of Ages' Star Malin Akerman on Tom Cruise: 'He Transformed Himself Into a Rock Star' (Video)

In Rock of Ages, Malin Akerman plays Constance Sack, a good-girl journalist from Rolling Stone who attempts to interview bad-boy rocker Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise).

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But Jaxx’s sheer magnetism and intensity cause Constance to eventually fall for the rocker, despite writing a relatively scathing article about him.

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Akerman spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about auditioning for the part, which involved a reading with Cruise himself.

"To be able to work with Tom Cruise is incredible,” she said. “If you look back at his body of work, he's such an incredible actor so I always feel like whenever you get to work with someone who's been in the business for a while whose really good at their job, they always make you a better actor."

In the film, Cruise, who took months of singing lessons to play Stacee Jaxx, fully embodies the look and sound of a rock star. However, Akerman was quick to point out that, other than fame, Cruise and his on-screen character didn’t have that much in common.

“I don’t know if I would say he is Stacee Jaxx. I would say he became Stacee Jaxx on set for sure. He transformed himself into a rockstar,” she told THR.”I don’t think he’s as lost as Stacee Jaxx is. I think Tom’s pretty – he knows what he wants and he’s pretty focused.”

Akerman, who was once in a band herself, said the experience of being a part of Warner Bros. adaptation of the musical Rock of Ages was special because these were the bands she grew up listening to.

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A song that is a special part of her past? “Stairway to Heaven,” which says reminded her of “high school dances and dancing with a guy I was completely in love with.”

As for why the music of the 80s has stood the test of time, Akerman, who will play Blondie's Debby Harry in rock flick CBGB, says it’s because “it’s real, all of the music comes from a real place.”

“These are musicians who are self-made. Compared to some of the musicians nowadays who are produced a lot more by record labels, and are still great, but this was really from a raw place,” she said. “You feel that in the guitar riffs. You can just feel the pain and the love.”

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As for her own “love” scenes with Cruise’s Jaxx, she explained her method of preparation very simply.

“You just dive in head first, or in this case, tongue first,” she said.

Rock of Ages, which is directed by Adam Shankman and also stars Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand, opens in theaters on Friday, June 15.

Email: Rebecca.ford@thr.com; Twitter: @Beccamford