Yesterday I wrote about actors who, maybe surprisingly, didn’t sing their own vocals in musicals and movies.
But what about actors who do, in fact, sing their own songs? From A-list movie stars to musicians-turned-actors, there are LOT of them.
Here are 50 actors who sing their own parts in their movies. Some of these are pretty obvious (Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson, for example!), but others may surprise you.
Because there are so many actors who sing their own parts, I’ve limited my list to movies that came out after 2000.
- Nicole Kidman – Moulin Rouge! (2001)
- Ewan McGregor – Moulin Rouge! (2001)
- Catherine Zeta-Jones – Chicago (2002)
- Ren̩e Zellweger РChicago (2002)
- John C. Reilly – Chicago (2002)
- Beyonc̩ РThe Fighting Temptations (2003)
- Jamie Foxx – Ray (2004)
- Terrence Howard – Hustle & Flow (2005)
- Joaquin Phoenix – Walk the Line (2005)
- Reese Witherspoon – Walk the Line (2005)
- Beyonc̩ РDreamgirls (2006)
- Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls (2006)
- Vanessa Hudgens – High School Musical (2006)
- Helena Bonham Carter – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
- Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
- John Travolta – Hairspray (2007)
- Meryl Streep – Mamma Mia! (2008)
- Pierce Brosnan – Mamma Mia! (2008)
- Colin Firth – Mamma Mia! (2008)
- Amanda Seyfried – Mamma Mia! (2008)
- Hugh Dancy – Adam (2009)
- Dolly Parton – Joyful Noise (2012)
- Anna Kendrick – Pitch Perfect (2012)
- Rebel Wilson – Pitch Perfect (2012)
- Adam Devine – Pitch Perfect (2012)
- Hugh Jackman РLes Mis̩rables (2012)
- Anne Hathaway РLes Mis̩rables (2012)
- Eddie Redmayne РLes Mis̩rables (2012)
- Russell Crowe РLes Mis̩rables (2012)
- Tom Cruise – Rock of Ages (2012)
- Keira Knightley – Begin Again (2013)
- Jennifer Hudson – Black Nativity (2013)
- Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
- Adam Driver – Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
- Emily Blunt – Into the Woods (2014)
- James Corden – Into the Woods (2014)
- Meryl Streep – Into the Woods (2014)
- Justin Timberlake – Trolls (2016)
- Anna Kendrick – Trolls (2016)
- Emma Stone – La La Land (2016)
- Ryan Gosling – La La Land (2016)
- Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born (2018)
- Lady Gaga – A Star is Born (2018)
- Taron Egerton – Rocketman (2019)
- Andrew Garfield – Tick Tick Boom! (2021)
- Ariana DeBose – West Side Story (2021)
- Rachel Zelger – West Side Story (2021)
- Peter Dinklage – Cyrano (2022)
- Ryan Reynolds – Spirited (2022)
- Will Ferrell – Spirited (2022)
Not All Performances are GOOD Performances
Just because an actor wants to sing doesn’t mean that they should.
Ms. Mojo put together a list of the top 10 “notoriously bad” singing performances. It’s no surprise that Russell Crowe is on the list for his painful Javert in Les Miserables, but there are some surprises in this list…movies that some actors would probably prefer that everyone forget they sang in! (Hint: Rock of Ages…)
Who Is the Best Singer in Hollywood?
The best singers in Hollywood are surely the musicians who have built a career on their vocals — people like Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. Every once in a while, though, an actor comes along and knocks it out of the park with an incredible vocal performance.
Ms. Mojo lists the following as the best singing actors:
- Eddie Redmayne
- Anne Hathaway
- Val Kilmer
- Patrick Swayze
- Kerry Washington
- Emma Stone
- Catherine O’Hara
- Zachary Levi
- Tom Hiddleston
- Chris Pine
- Oscar Isaac
- Colin Farrell
- Jensen Ackles
- Joaquin Phoenix
- Seth McFarlane
- Gerard Butler
- Robert Pattinson
- Hugh Laurie
- Robert Downey, Jr.
- Jeremy Renner
There are some pretty controversial names on that list, so take a look at their video compilation to find out if you agree.
