Actors that have surprisingly great singing voices
Feb 8, 2006 at 3:45 PM Post #33 of 82
Quote:

Originally Posted by omedon
Are they really good singers though? Hugh Jackman I would say yes since he performed in broadway. But the rest? Could just be studio magic.

Of course that goes for a lot of musicians too who benefit from serious studio sweetening.

prime example: lead singer of the crash test dummies.


Actually Ewan recently won an award for his performance in a UK Broadway production called Guys & Dolls. If you see Moulin Rouge you can tell he's got some real talent for singing.

I also agree about Jeremy Irons, I don't know what elese he as done but the song he did as the voice of Scar in The Lion King was excellent. I also agree with rsaavedra about that song Pippin sings in LOTR, that was great!
 
Feb 8, 2006 at 4:18 PM Post #34 of 82
Actors who can sing, dance and act? Didn't anyone ever see a Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers movie? In the good old days and actor had to have chops and legs to make it on Broadway and in films. Some of the greats from yesteryear include Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Judy Garland, Debby Reynolds, Gordon MacRae, John Raitt (Bonnie's father), Mary Martin, Julie Andrews, Yul Brynner, Gertrude Stein, Maurice Chevalier, Marlene Dietrich (although some don't really think she acted so much as posed -- she started on stage in Berlin), Shirley Jones (yes, Mama Partridge was a GREAT musical singer, just get the dvd of Oklahoma -- she was a particular favorite of Richard Rodgers), Diahann Caroll, Leslie Uggams, and the lady out on a limb, Shirley MacLaine who also had her breakout when she understudied the lead in The Pajama Game on a night when a critic was in the audience. Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera, Robert Preston, Hal Linden, were all stars of Broadway musicals and could sing and dance up a storm. And let's not forget Marilyn -- she was dynamite in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes -- she did her own singing and dancing.

Nowadays we still have actors that sing and act (and some that dance as well): Raoul Julia's breakout role (remember Gomez Adams?) was at Lincoln Center in the Three Penny Opera, and Angela Lansbury revived her career by doing Mame on broadway (movie made with Lucille Ball), Sweeney Todd and now does singing for Disney Cartoons (Mrs. Kettle in Beauty and the Beast). Let's not forget about Patty Lupone (the original Broadway Evita as well as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes), Betty Buckley (Broadway's Mehitabel Cat and London's Sunset Boulevard), Jon Cipher (did Man of La Mancha on tour; he played the general on Major Dad), and of course Glenn Close (Sunset Blvd. on Broadway). Another note, everyone knows that Jason Alexander was George Costanza, but how many people saw him as the singing and dancing numerous roles in Jerome Robbins' Broadway? He was terrific -- acting, dancing and singing. Anyone going to see the movie of The Producers? You can see Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane singing up a storm as well. Sarah Jessica Parker also started as a child star on Broadway and can sing and strut with the best of them.

It's not unusual for an actor to know how to sing, or dance -- it's how they make their living, after all.

Btw, I thought Moulin Rouge was an awesome movie. I love all of Baz Luhrman's movies and I also loved his production of La Bohème that he did on Broadway as well.
 
Feb 8, 2006 at 4:30 PM Post #35 of 82
In the good old days we also have Rita Hayworth, darn that was another actress who could certainly dance!!! Her singing wasn't great though. The songs "Put the blame on Mame" and "Amado mío" in Gilda were sung by another singer whose name I can't recall right now.
 
Feb 8, 2006 at 6:37 PM Post #36 of 82
Bunnyears,

Good call on the stars on yesteryears. Don't forget Shirley Temple....saw her on the SAG Awards last weekend picking up a "Lifetime Achievement Award", still radiant after all these years.

How about Tim Curry?
 
Feb 8, 2006 at 6:50 PM Post #37 of 82
Mandy Patinkin... although I do believe he was a Juliard trained singer first.

Megan Mullally. Given her annoying voice on Will & Grace, I was surprised to hear her sing so beautifully. She also has a very charming personality in interviews.
 
Feb 8, 2006 at 7:06 PM Post #38 of 82
Shirley Temple was one of the greatest child stars ever. She sang, she danced and could cry on cue. Anyone ever catch her tapping with Bill Robinson, the original Mr. Bo Jangles in The Littlest Rebel? She had it all! Had she been handled better, she would have been able to cross over as an adult star.

Absolutely right about Patimkin. He was Che to Patti Lupone's Evita, and that was probably his breakout role as well.
wink.gif


Btw, Megan Mullally (Grease and How to Succeed in Business without really Trying) isn't the only cast member of Will and Grace who can sing and dance. Kevin McCormack did a revival of The Music Man on Broadway to great acclaim, too.

Edit: Thanks for reminding me of Tim Curry, the original Frank n' Furter and the original Mozart in the Broadway play of Amadeus. Now, that was a play! Tim Curry played Wolfgang, Jane Seymour was his wife Constanze (or was it spelled Konstanze?) and Ian MacKellan was Salieri. What an evening!!!
 
Feb 9, 2006 at 3:05 AM Post #40 of 82
The actress Rebecca Pidgeon who appeared first in "The Spanish Prisoner" and later in "The Heist", both directed by David Marmet, is actually much better as a singer than a movie actress. Try her album "The Raven".



Cheers,
W
 
Feb 9, 2006 at 3:24 AM Post #41 of 82
Whenever I listen to Bjork - it is worse than holding a nail gun to my head...
confused.gif




BTW - No mention of "Will Smith" ??
smily_headphones1.gif



Sting was stunning in "Lock Stock and two smoking barrels". Minor role but he played it with class...
 
Feb 9, 2006 at 3:40 AM Post #42 of 82
Quote:

Originally Posted by HollisBrown
Apparantly, Rick Moranis of Honey I Shrunk The Kids fame is releasing a country album title The Agoraphobic Cowboy. I don't know about anyone else, but that's just reallllly funny to me.


Rick Moranis is a passable singer at best. Watch the movie version of Little Shop of Horrors to see (or hear) what I mean.

Has anyone mentioned Jerry Orbach in this thread? He's probably now best known for Law & Order, but he was a Tony award-winning Broadway star.

Rosie O'Donnell is a decent singer. She's spent some time on Broadway, in Grease if I remember correctly.

And how about Jamie Foxx? His performance in Ray was impressive.
 
Feb 9, 2006 at 3:48 AM Post #43 of 82
Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari
Sting was stunning in "Lock Stock and two smoking barrels". Minor role but he played it with class...


Sting is also one of the bad guys (in fact the one who eventualy challenges Muadib) in "Dune". That is the original film by David Lynch (1984), not the more recent Dune TV series.
 
Feb 9, 2006 at 3:52 AM Post #44 of 82
Quote:

Originally Posted by Febs
Rick Moranis is a passable singer at best. Watch the movie version of Little Shop of Horrors to see (or hear) what I mean.


I've seen the movie and I don't think he's necessarily a bad singer, but I find it hilarious that he's releasing a country album. One with a title like The Angoraphobic Cowboy, no less. Did you listen to the clips? He sounds like he's mumbling about 1 inch away from the microphone. It makes him sound really insecure about his singing ability. Maybe I'm crazy, but the whole sitatution cracks me up.
 
Feb 9, 2006 at 3:55 AM Post #45 of 82
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Val Kilmer yet!

He apparently sung a lot of the songs in the movie The Doors himself and sounded a whole lot like Jim Morrison... not too bad. I wouldn't have expected it, that's for sure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top