20 actors who tried their hand at a career in music

Bruce Willis has released multiple albums and even taken his talents to Broadway throughout his career. His legacy will be his action films, but true Willis fans will also remember him for his contributions to music. 

Tyra Banks has tried nearly everything in entertainment since starting as a model, including music. But as Banks said years ago in her book, Perfect Is Boring, she didn’t want to be a musician, she just wanted to perform, so it’s not surprising things didn’t take off in that area.

In the mid-2000s, Brie Larson was trying to become a pop star. Given she had a bit of a career at Disney, it’s surprising the network didn’t capitalize on her different talents more. Things worked out for Larson in the end, though. Just ask her Oscar. 

Eddie Murphy didn’t just write and record one musical album, he wrote and recorded three. His debut album is certified gold, so it wasn’t a total bust, but comedy is clearly his best avenue. 

A surprising number of people in the Gossip Girl cast have had careers in music. Penn Badgley is the lead singer of the band MOTHXR. He hasn’t been nearly as successful with his band as he has been in acting, but it still shows he’s a multi-faceted performer. 

Leighton Meester is another former Gossip Girl star who’s dipped her toes in music. Her most famous credit was as a featured artist in the song “Good Girls Go Bad” by Cobra Starship, but she also had some hits from her movie Country Strong. 

Timothée Chalamet is a great singer, but his most significant contributions to music have been the result of his failed rap career. After not making it as an emcee, he lent his semi-talent to a couple of iconic SNL skits. 

Timothée Chalamet’s good friend Zendaya had a short-lived music career, too. She released a self-titled album in 2013 and collaborated with Labrinth on some tracks for Euphoria. The actress has said she’d like to try making music again someday, but she’s not sure she could ever be a pop star. 

Ansel Elgort gave an earnest shot at a music career, but things never quite panned out. He got to show off his singing voice in Spielberg’s West Side Story, though, and that’s not a bad consolation prize. 

Tom Felton first started releasing music at the height of his Harry Potter fame. He never released a full album, but he made plenty of EPs. After taking a major break, Felton got back into the music scene in 2021. 

Anyone who was shocked by Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” at the 2024 Oscars clearly didn’t know that he’s no stranger to music. Gosling’s career began with The Mickey Mouse Club, and he was part of a band for a few years in the late 2000s. 

If you’d like to hear Robert Downey Jr. performing some soft rock and jazz, listen to his 2004 album The Futurist. It seems that the album was more of a passion project than anything else, but what a gift that it exists. 

Jada Pinkett Smith talks a lot about being close with Tupac it seems that her relationship to music is by association only, but she’s actually quite musical herself. Smith was part of a metal band called Wicked Wisdom in the early to mid-2000s. 

Jeremy Renner has been involved with music on and off throughout his career. He used to be part of a band called Sons of Ben, and he’s been in several soundtracks. Just a few years ago, he released his first-ever EP.

Scarlett Johansson has released a musical album in the past, but it didn’t perform very well. She did sing in the movie Sing, though, and at one time, she was attached to a remake of the movie-musical Little Shop of Horrors. 

Nick Jonas isn’t the only person in his marriage with musical talent. His wife, Priyanka Chopra, has written songs in the past. She has no interest in being a touring artist because, as she’s shared, the lifestyle is a lot to handle. 

If you don’t think you’ve ever heard Jennifer Love Hewitt sing, think again. The actress’ vocals are featured on the 1989 hit “Toy Soldiers.” Hewitt has also recorded four studio albums, but her music career hasn’t been active since the early 2010s. 

Emmy Rossum is a fantastic soprano with legitimate training who showed her chops in the 2004 film adaptation of Phantom of the Opera. She’s been singing since she was a kid, but she hasn’t done it much professionally since starring in Shameless. 

Keanu Reeves is part of the band Dogstar. They were active from the mid-90s to the early 2000s, and after breaking up, they reunited during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing Reeves perform live music, there’s still a chance it could be realized. 

Before Idris Elba was a successful actor, he was a busy DJ. He still DJs occasionally and raps, and he’s collaborated with some big artists like Jay-Z and Madonna.