Director Adam Shankman has found his leading man for musical adaptation Rock of Ages: Mexican actor/singer Diego Boneta will crank out several ’80s hair music hits as aspiring rocker Drew.
Boneta has been seen across the pond on the likes of the 90210 reboot and drama Pretty Little Liars. He also clocked up a couple of episodes on the Mexican soap Rebelde.
According to Shankman, Boneta impressed him during auditions and also has that star quality. "He walked in and absolutely fit the part like Zac Efron in Hairspray, and Channing Tatum in Step Up," he said in a statement picked up by Variety.
“The Drew character is in his early 20s and is the nicest aspiring rocker you'll find in the Bourbon Room, or anywhere else for that matter."
Rock of Ages will follow the basic plot of the show, which is set in the Bourbon Room rock club on LA’s Sunset Strip, which is threatened with demolition by a pair of developers looking to gentrify the place. Julianne Hough, Mary J Blige and Tom Cruise are locked on board and, after being linked to the film for a while, Russell Brand has officially signed a deal to co-star.
With a script by the show’s creator, Chris D’Arienzo (since polished by several writers, including Shankman and Justin Theroux), the movie will feature songs from the likes of Journey, Bon Jovi and Joan Jett. Shankman will roll the cameras starting next month.