# Acting singers vs. Singing actors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885 "2016-10-27T22:12:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885/21 "2016-10-28T18:38:51Z")
Jared Leto first got known as a teen actor then became very successful as a singer then he won the Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885/22 "2016-10-28T21:18:15Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Crap like William Shatner’s and Leonard Nimoy’s “music” albums made a joke of the idea of an actor having a serious chance at a music career. Or that an actor making an album was nothing more than a money grab, trading on name recognition. It may be a joke today, but it has a long history. Browse around a used record store, or YouTube, and you will find a lot of albums by celebrities you never imagined could sing. Robert Mitchum did an [album](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPgQrlzuRBQ&list=PL624A2943E8C73AE3). (If you can stomach the thought of a rich white yank singing calypso, it’s really not bad.) Before he became leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan had some success as a [musician](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo2eeVVQz8I&list=PL2ztHG8865T67VcbiQq3lleu1UBMa9zCl), under the stage name “The Charmer”. Strangely enough, both of them covered Roaring Lion’s “Ugly Woman” (which most yanks have never heard of, though many of us are familiar with Jimmy Soul’s version, “If You Want To Be Happy”.) ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885/23 "2016-10-28T21:25:40Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I > Crap like William Shatner’s and Leonard Nimoy’s “music” albums made a joke of the idea of an actor having a serious chance at a music career. Or that an actor making an album was nothing more than a money grab, trading on name recognition. What, you _didn’t like_ “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins”? 😕 [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGF5ROpjRAU) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885/24 "2016-10-28T23:49:57Z")
Phil Collins, in “Buster”, Barbara Streisand did a lot of both. So did Doris Day. Dean Martin. Frank Sinatra. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885/25 "2016-10-29T03:25:23Z")
Gordon Sumner was gross in a sorta Sting-like way in _Brimstone and Treacle_. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885/26 "2016-10-29T03:58:47Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Phil Collins, in “Buster” Ironically, Phil Collins started out as a child actor, albeit not a very successful one. (His most notable role was as an extra in _A Hard Day’s Night._) I remember the time he guest-starred in an episode of _Miami Vice_; good lord, he was terrible. > [@jtur88](#): > > Barbara Streisand did a lot of both. So did Doris Day. Dean Martin. Frank Sinatra. I don’t think either Sinatra or Martin were ever taken seriously as actors. Good point with Streisand, though. Also, there’s Mark Wahlberg, who seems to have successfully made the transition from one-hit wonder pop star to A-list Hollywood actor. Although, as mentioned upthread, hip-hop isn’t really music. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885/27 "2016-10-29T04:15:15Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > I don’t think either Sinatra or Martin were ever taken seriously as actors. Sinatra won the Oscar (supporting actor) for “From Here to Eternity” and the Golden Globe for “Pal Joey”. Martin starred in several (terrible) movies (with Jerry Lewis), all boxoffice hits, before becoming known as a singer. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885/28 "2016-10-29T13:54:32Z")
Jerry Lewis was great in _King of Comedy_. His new one, _Max Rose_, I’d be curious to check out. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885/29 "2016-10-29T15:31:38Z")
Kris Kristoffersen was great as one of the all-time great baddies, Charlie Wade in “Lone Star” ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885/30 "2016-10-29T16:21:50Z")
It occurs to me that, although people are somewhat dubious of singers who want to become actors, and even more dubious of actors who want to become singers, they really quite enjoy genuine acting/singing double threats. That’s why I am always supportive of any young actor who decides to crank out an album. It may be – and almost certainly is going to be – awful, but it’s a great way to get the public used to the idea that you do both. No one will try to cram you into the acting box or the singing box if you are always hopping back and forth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-singers-vs-singing-actors/769885.md?page=1)