Great actors can become anything they want to be. Heroes, villains, even musicians. Some are so convincing, that they even end up fooling the audience.
These 10 + actors did such a good job, fans believed that it was actually them singing in their movies. Prepare to have your bubble burst!
Zac Efron in *High School Musical*.
“In the first movie , after everything was recorded, my voice was not on them,” Efron said in an interview. “I was not really given an explanation. It just kind of happened that way. “
Zac had to fight to get his voice included in High School Musical 2 .
Dennis Quaid in *Great Balls Of Fire*.
In the beginning, actor Dennis Quaid was determined to do his own singing in Great Balls of Fire . After listening to re-recordings of classic songs that Jerry Lee Lewis had made specifically for the film, Quaid decided that he’d let Lewis handle the vocal work.
Marion Cotillard in *La Vie En Rose*.
Marion Cotillard did an incredible job in La Vie en Rose . She even won an Oscar!
In an interview with Graham Norton , Marion says that even though she knew that she wouldn’t be singing in the film, she still took lessons.
Chadwick Boseman in *Get On Up*.
Chadwick certainly looks the part and to his credit, he reportedly did provide very limited vocal work.
But the bulk of the heavy lifting was done by ‘The Godfather of Funk’, Mr. James Brown.
RELATED STORIES
George Clooney in *O Brother, Where Art Though?*.
I absolutely love this scene from O Brother, Where Art Though? . Sadly, it isn’t actually George Clooney who’s providing that sweet honey-soaked country twang.
George admits that he isn’t much of a singer, so production was forced to use a stand-in.
Jamie Foxx in *Ray*.
While it’s true that Jamie Foxx didn’t even attempt to replicate Ray Charles’ singing voice in Ray , he still managed to make his own vital musical contribution.
Jamie’s actually the one playing the piano! Those are some pretty impressive chops.
Matthew Broderick in *The Lion King*.
I can’t say that I’m surprised. Simba’s vocal range in The Lion King is intimidating, to say the least. You’ve gotta give Matthew credit, he gave it a shot:
“I recorded it twice , and they elected not to use my recordings.”
Jonathan Taylor Thomas in *The Lion King*.
JTT was only the speaking voice for young Simba. Whenever he would break out into song, Simba’s vocals were sung by a young man named Jason Weaver.
Reportedly, Weaver turned down Disney’s initial offer of $2 million dollars in lieu of a royalty deal.
Angela Bassett in *What’s Love Got To Do With It?*.
Yet another Oscar-winning performance from an actor who wasn’t actually performing any of the singing parts. Angela Bassett is so convincing as Tina Turner, you’d swear it was actually her vocals. She mimics the legendary pop star to perfection.
Christian Bale in *I’m Not There*.
It seems odd that Christian wouldn’t do his own vocal work, especially when you consider his theatre background (who could forget Newsies ?!).
Still, even though it wasn’t Bale singing , the actor turned in a phenomenal performance as Bob Dylan.
Cate Blanchett in *I’m Not There*.
Cate Blanchett steals the show in I’m Not There . There are moments when you’d swear you were actually watching Dylan, not an actress .
The singing, however, was not done by Blanchett. Which to me feels like a missed opportunity.
Hilary Duff in *The Lizzie McGuire Movie*.
This next one is super meta: Hilary Duff plays her own twin sister in The Lizzie McGuire Movie , and her vocals are performed by Hilary’s real-life sister, Haylie.
Talk about your round-a-bout casting calls. Why they didn’t just have Hilary sing Isabella’s parts is beyond me.
Christopher Plummer in *The Sound Of Music*.
No! Say it isn’t so!? My Nana will be absolutely heartbroken.
Captain Von Trapp wasn’t singing at all. Christopher Plummer’s vocals were dubbed over and the voice we hear is a man by the name of Bill Lee.
Rami Malek in *Bohemian Rhapsody*.
For the majority of the singing parts in Bohemian Rhapshody , the production crew relied heavily on original Queen master tapes. Canadian vocalist Marc Martel also dubbed in some vocals:
“Literally, you could close your eyes and it’s Freddie ,” says King. “And that’s a very tough thing to do.”
Jennifer Lopez in *Selena*.
Jennifer Lopez had to sing in her audition for Selena . Yet for some reason, they decided to not include her voice in the final theatrical cut.
Which is ironic, considering how the film served as a launch point for J Lo’s music career.
