When Actors Take The Mic: Part I

I'm on a Nine kick. Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, and Marion Cotillard are joining an austere club of movie stars coaxed into singing on the silver screen. How risky! In a movie musical debut, one could pull a Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, or Jennifer Hudson and nab an Oscar. But they were established vocalists. Actors-turned-singers, though, have also gained award buzz. Some with Oscars, some with Razzies. Let's start with actors who surprised us:

The Good

Antonio Banderas. Evita, 1996. Though Madonna was the musician of the cast, her delicate performance impressed (maybe for the first time) more than her vocals. Many keys were lowered and harmonies rewritten to keep her voice within about an octave. The surprise was how Banderas lent gusto to folk and rock ballads.


Jimmy Stewart. Born to Dance, 1936. Back when vocal standards were not terribly great on film--let's face it, Astaire and Rogers were dancers first, charmers second, and singers to get by--Jimmy Stewart proved he could carry a tune. He has a light, pleasant tenor, on-par with many screen singers in the 1930s.


Catherine Zeta-Jones. Chicago, 2002. Following Chita Rivera and Bebe Neuwirth, both fantastic Velmas, Zeta-Jones's rendition of "All That Jazz" is even more electrifying. No doubt her West End musical experience helped. And she took home an Oscar for proving she's got the stuff.


Meryl Streep. Mamma Mia!, 2008. To be fair, her first on-screen singing was in Postcards from the Edge, and she performed in Broadway and off-Broadway musicals in the 1970s. She counteracts the sleek, Swedish ABBA glean with a coarser "acted" sound. At 59, she's probably past her vocal prime. Her belting is solid at times, strident at others. But Streep emotes like mad, grounding a beach-party romp in occasional sincerity. "The Winner Takes it All" uses her first take.


Ewan McGregor. Moulin Rouge!, 2001. The vibrato quivers, but there's a solid pop tenor in there. Unlike his leading lady, he's not afraid to sing louder than pianissimo. Check out this link to "Luck Be a Lady" in Guys and Dolls... and his B-flat at the end!


Johnny Depp. Sweeney Todd, 2007. The original Sweeney on Broadway, Len Cariou, was no Don Giovanni; he had a light, everyman baritone. So Depp's quirky, David Bowie take on Sweeney--while not as punk rock as he wished--satisfies more than the rest of the cast (save Ed Sanders, the boy who plays Tobias). He commits musically, and despite some contorted vowels, he finds a nice balance between raspy and lyrical.


James Cagney. Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942. The greatest performance on this list (also winning an Oscar). He talk-sings, his footwork favors spirit than technique--and yet he's a true-blooded song-and-dance man.


On Friday, the Bad and the Ugly!