# Actors that can't sing
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 28, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611 "2009-07-28T22:55:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/1 "2009-07-28T22:55:17Z")
One thing I’ve noticed, especially in TV shows that suddenly have a musical episode, is that pretty much all successful actors also have pretty good singing voices. Anyone have any examples of well known actors that are horrible singers? Youtube links even better!
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### Author:  [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/2 "2009-07-28T22:59:47Z")
Sarah Chalke, while not awful, was the weakest link in the Scrubs musical episode.
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### Author:  [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/3 "2009-07-28T23:08:01Z")
In seeing the recent movie Mama Mia, I couldn’t help thinking that Pierce Brosnan’s singing sounded like an embarrassed frog moaning in pain.
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### Author:  [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/4 "2009-07-28T23:08:40Z")
Allison Hannigan was the weakest on Buffy.
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### Author:  [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/5 "2009-07-28T23:09:41Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#):
>
> Sarah Chalke, while not awful, was the weakest link in the Scrubs musical episode.
But [Dr. Kelso](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiyDQUswtSA) can definitely hold a tune!
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### Author:  [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/6 "2009-07-28T23:12:38Z")
The only musical episode I can remember clearly is the Buffy one (Once More With Feeling)…The only _good_ singers in it were Tony Head, James Marsters and Amber Benson - while nobody else was terrible, the rest were pretty weak - I’ll Never Tell is my favourite song on the soundtrack, but the best that can be said about Nick Brendan and Emma Caulfield’s singing is that they’re not painful to listen to. Alyson Hannigan has said she insisted her singing parts be minimal, because she’s not much of a singer.
Speaking of Buffyverse actors, David Boreanaz is a lousy singer - and has no problem with proving that on screen.
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### Author:  [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/7 "2009-07-28T23:21:02Z")
Can’t access You Tube…but see if you can find Lee Marvin singing in “Paint Your Wagon.”
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### Author:  [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/8 "2009-07-28T23:36:13Z")
Never saw it but I remember hearing that Drew Barrymore got out of singing in Woody Allen’s musical “Everyone Says I Love You” because she said she’s such a lousy singer:
> **[Everyone Says I Love You (1996) - Trivia - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116242/trivia/)**
>
> Everyone Says I Love You (1996) - Trivia on IMDb: Cameos, Mistakes, Spoilers and more...
Hm, also notes that Goldie Hawn sang so well that they had her tone it down. 😃
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### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/9 "2009-07-28T23:39:37Z")
Supposedly George Clooney tried to do the singing in _O Brother Where Are Thou_ himself, but was so bad that he personally supervised the destruction of the recordings.
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### Author:  [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/10 "2009-07-29T00:08:30Z")
I wouldn’t call her well-known now, but she was at the time: Dawn Wells. On the Mosquitoes episode of Gilligan, the three women formed a singing trio to be the opening act for the featured rock group. Tina Louise and Natalie Schaefer sang for themselves, but DW had to lipsynch. It was painfully obvious, but she freely admitted that it would have been far more painful if she had sung for herself.
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### Author:  [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/11 "2009-07-29T00:10:27Z")
> [@garygnu](#):
>
> Supposedly George Clooney tried to do the singing in _O Brother Where Are Thou_ himself, but was so bad that he personally supervised the destruction of the recordings.
Apparently he’s tone deaf, but I could just be making that up.
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### Author:  [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/12 "2009-07-29T00:21:41Z")
Rex Harrison in _My Fair Lady_ is one of the classic examples of a great actor who can’t sing. But his way of speaking the lyrics has so defined the character of Henry Higgins that it’s difficult for me to imagine an actor actually singing them!
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### Author:  [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/13 "2009-07-29T00:23:37Z")
> [@PetW](#):
>
> But [Dr. Kelso](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiyDQUswtSA) can definitely hold a tune!
And the Janitor was a surprise, too!
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/14 "2009-07-29T00:42:30Z")
> [@Tengu](#):
>
> Alyson Hannigan has said she insisted her singing parts be minimal, because she’s not much of a singer.
Michelle Trachtenberg did too. It was also her idea to have Dawn perform an extended dance number because while she couldn’t sing, she could dance.
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### Author:  [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/15 "2009-07-29T02:35:27Z")
Cameron Diaz can’t sing to save herself.
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### Author:  [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/16 "2009-07-29T02:42:43Z")
> [@Icarus](#):
>
> In seeing the recent movie Mama Mia, I couldn’t help thinking that Pierce Brosnan’s singing sounded like an embarrassed frog moaning in pain.
This is what I came to post.
Ruined the movie for me it did.
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/17 "2009-07-29T02:44:07Z")
Lee Marvin and Rex Harrison are taken? Okay, I’m stuck making a sexist comment.
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#):
>
> Sarah Chalke, while not awful, was the weakest link in the Scrubs musical episode.
She sang? _rimshot_
Okay, it wasn’t THAT sexist, but I came up in the 50s and 60s and standards for sexy/sexist comments were lower. That’s why we needed the rimshots.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/18 "2009-07-29T04:37:33Z")
Stephen Fry says he’s tone deaf and can’t sing worth a lick. IIRC all of the lines he’s had to sing on _A Bit of Fry and Laurie_ and _Jeeves & Wooster_ he just speaks instead - which is funny.
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### Author:  [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/19 "2009-07-29T05:16:01Z")
> [@Tengu](#):
>
> Speaking of Buffyverse actors, David Boreanaz is a lousy singer - and has no problem with proving that on screen.
Which is why all the scenes of Angel singing are hilarious!
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### Author:  [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-cant-sing/504611/20 "2009-07-29T05:16:02Z")
I will never understand why people cast Meryl Streep in singing roles. Sure Pierce Brosnan was bad in Mama Mia, but shouldn’t the lead in a musical at least know how to sing?
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