4. Tom Cruise - Rock Of Ages
2012 was an amazing year for musicals, due entirely to the success of Les Miserables. After having been subjected for years to garbage like Band Camp or the High School Musicals, it was a relief to see a genuinely good and well-made musical. It raked in over $400 million at the box office, won three Academy Awards, and was nominated for five more. But this success did not extend to the musical Rock of Ages, released a few months earlier. Rough critical reviews scared away audiences, leading to it falling $20 million short of earning back its budget. And yet, amazingly, the best part about this whole 80's music turkey was Tom Cruise. It doesn't even matter what you think of Tom Cruise, because as soon as he walks onscreen, you don't see the possibly insane couch jumper who scales deadly heights for kicks. You see
Stacee Jaxx, the drugged out rock star at the center of the story. He plays a bizarre mix of the ego of Axl Rose, the style of Steven Tyler, and the philosophy of Jim Morrison, all rolled into one strangely appealing character. Further helping his performance is the fact that before filming began, Cruise learned to sing and play the guitar for all the songs in the film his character sings. When Stacee Jaxx starts belting out his rendition of "Wanted Dead or Alive"? Tom Cruise singing.