As Johnny Depp pointed out last week there are a multitude of actors who abuse their privilege of fame and fortune to undertake a music career. So much so that generally news of an actor doing such a thing is treated with almost instant disdain.
However there are a select few that run against the grain and aren’t actually terrible. We’ve listed ten actor-turned-musicians below that deserve some kudos for churning out some respectable tunes.
Jeff Bridges
Aside from his work with The Abiders, the True Grit actor has released three albums so far with his debut dropping at the beginning of the millennium. It took him another ten years to finally get back into the solo swing of things with his Academy Award-winning role in Crazy Heart, where he sung on several of the soundtrack’s songs, jump starting his music career again.
Signing to Blue Note Records in 2011 Bridges released the Americana-esque self-titled album to positive reviews later that year. His latest work though is something else entirely. Sleeping Tapes is Bridges’ spoken word attempt at soothing insomniacs to sleep. The double album features Bridges’ voice over hushed piano tones ensuring you’ll never be left sleepless again.
Guy Pearce
Last year Pearce, one of the country’s finest acting talents, released his debut album, Broken Bones, after 30 years of waiting. By forgoing the regular Neighbours route the actor not only surprised us in 2014, but managed to confound our expectations with positive acclaim following the record and his live shows.
Drake
While some may have forgotten Drake’s Degrassi Roots when he first started churning out brilliant hip-hop records, the internet was unlikely to let the Canadian escape from his pre-teen acting career. After appearing on a whopping 139 episodes of Degrassi: Next Generation, among other TV spots, Drake quickly turned his sights to a music career releasing Thank Me Later in 2010. His latest, Views From The 6, is due sometime this year.
Eddie Murphy
Yes it’s true, we did include Murphy in our ten Worst Actor-Turned-Musicians, but that was four years ago and as of earlier this year we’re happy to say the comedic actor has changed our minds. As we wrote a few weeks back Murphy has gone reggae and his music is actually quite good. Just take a listen to ‘Oh Jah Jah’ below and find out for yourselves.
Abbie Cornish
The biggest Aussie music surprise for 2015 is already the fact that not only is Abbie Cornish putting our killer hip-hop tracks as MC Dusk, but she was able to nab the support slot of Nas’ Sugar Mountain sideshows. The first taste of her hip-hop career, ‘Way Back Home’, featured a choir-infused chorus and a sound that is reminiscent of Plan B’s Defamation Of Strickland Banks. Her latest track, ‘Evolve’, features Jane Tyrrell and a pretty decent string component. Check it out below.
Jenny Lewis
Much like Drake this American singer-songwriter is more recognisable for her contribution to music than she is the acting world, however Lewis made her debut in the spotlight on a Jell-O ad with a voice spot on It’s An Adventure, Charlie Brown coming shortly after. While she appeared in several teen movies, Lewis’ focus turned to music via at the turn of the century via indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Her acting spots have become rare in the meantime as she undertook a solo career, which most recently included 2014’s highly acclaimed record, The Voyager.
Ryan Gosling
Everybody’s favourite blue-eyed heartthrob has long been famous for his romantic leads, while his other project Dead Man’s Bones, has remained fairly underground. Alongside Zach Shields the duo have been active since 2007 with their indie folk-rock template being boosted by the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir on their 2009 self-titled debut. If that’s not evidence enough Gosling’s ‘You Always Hurt The Ones You Love’ on Blue Valentine’s OST is pretty special.
Zooey Deschanel
Entering the mainstream pop-culture consciousness with (500) Days Of Summer and the once-relevant New Girl most know her for her acting talents, however her music career, which, to be fair, has its own sizeable audience, is not to be shunned either. Those Youtube videos with Jospeh Gordon-Levitt might be cute, but the five records with M.Ward as She & Him are where Deschanel demonstrates the best of her music talents. While it’s probably best to avoid the Christmas album their first three records definitely deserve a look in. Listen to a cut from last year’s Classics below.
Hugh Laurie
As the Dad from Stuart Little and the acerbic lead in House Laurie plays the role of a blues gentleman in his music career. As a musician his career is fairly nascent, with two records released and the first coming in 2011, Let Them Talk stalled at #2 in the UK charts and received positive reviews. The follow-up, Didn’t It Rain, was released in 2013 and went Gold in France.
Jared Leto
With starring roles in incredible films like Fight Club, American Psycho, Requiem For A Dream and more recently Dallas Buyers Club you could be forgiven for wondering why Leto even undertook a music career in the first place. However alongside his brother Shannon and Tomo Miličević their band 30 Seconds To Mars has taken the world by storm with four high selling records and frequent appearances Down Under. Leto has made both cult films and acquired a cult following. He juggles both better than most.
