Def Leppard's Phil Collen Approves Of Tom Cruise In Rock Of Ages

8/13/2011 5:49 PM ET

(RTTNews) - Phil Collen has voiced his resounding approval of Tom Cruise's performance in Rock of Ages.

The Def Leppard guitarist opened up about his opinion of Cruise's performance in the 1980s rock film—which features the music of Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Styx, Scorpions and Pat Benatar—and told VH1 Classic Rock Nights:
"I was so impressed because he hadn't sung before and he had vocal lessons. He was literally doing five hours a day, five days a week, like truly real, getting in there and doing it."
He added: "And we saw him and he was amazing; it was like Iggy Pop meets someone else and he's in great shape and it was like, 'What!?' It was surreal, but he really pulls it off and it was like he's a total rock star."
Cruise stars alongside Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti and Russell Brand in the adaptation of the Broadway hit show, which is slated for theatrical release in June 2012.