5 Times Actors Tried To Become Musicians (And It Didn’t Go Quite as Planned)

Few actors manage to become actors-turned-musicians. There have been a few successful attempts, but for the most part, many actors are better suited for the profession that got them famous. Here are five actors who tried to become musicians but unfortunately, things didn’t pan out as successfully as their acting careers.

1. Sean Connery

Scottish actor Sean Connery never could quite get the Irish accent right. He did play an Irishman in the 1959 film Darby O’ Gill And The Little People. Unfortunately for viewers, he didn’t nail that accent; and he had to sing for the film. 

If Connery was expecting to make a future out of music alongside his acting career, he was likely humbled after this particular film was released. His vocals were incoherent and hard to listen to. Some might even argue they should have scrapped that musical scene entirely. We’re not hating on Connery; he was an incredible actor—a legendary one at that. Sometimes, actors have failed to become musicians or singers for a reason.

2. Michael Cera

Michael Cera (yes, of Arrested Development and Juno fame) once released an indie folk album back in 2014 called True That. Out of all of the entries on this list, Cera’s music was actually quite good. Cera even recorded and mixed the release himself, and music critics were generally positive about the album when it was released. Some even called it Elliott Smith-esque.

Cera has since toured with supergroup Mister Heavenly, but hasn’t done much professionally as a musician. His acting career still dominates much of his entertainment presence, and it’s almost kind of a shame. We want another album, dang it!

3. David Hasselhoff

Ah, the Hoff. He’s best known for Baywatch and his pop culture debacles during the early 2000s. The younger generation may not know that Hasselhoff once tried his hand at becoming a musician, too. It didn’t really work out. One can’t deny that David Hasselhoff has some serious charisma and could potentially have excellent stage presence, but he just wasn’t experienced enough as a musician to make a big career switch. 

4. Gwyneth Paltrow

Yep, the Goop founder herself once dabbled in music. Gwyneth Paltrow was once in a relationship with Coldplay’s Chris Martin, so maybe she got a little inspired to pursue music on her own. She attempted a rendition of “F*** You” on the TV show Glee, and got involved in a few musicals like Country Strong and Shout, but didn’t really catapult to the next level of being a “singing” actress. With that said, her “Cruisin’” single alongside Huey Lewis does have nearly 49 million streams on Spotify.

5. Eric Idle

Eric Idle is an actor and comedian best known as part of the comedy troupe Monty Python, as well as the Beatles parody group The Rutles. Idle tried his hand at writing his own music, but couldn’t quite escape being pigeonholed as a parody writer. The 1993 comedy film Splitting Heirs features a lot of Idle singing, and it isn’t exactly great. The potential was there, but he hasn’t really been involved in music since that film was released.

Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Daily Front Row

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