Which Celebrities Have Taken the Leap From Acting to Singing?

Actors and actresses making the leap from movie acting to singing is not a new phenomenon in Hollywood.  In fact, there was a time when actors and actresses who could sing well were the mainstay of the Hollywood set. 

Today, howeevr, that is not the case.  However, there are still celebrity singers who can wow an audience with their voice and bring across a character as well. 

One of the most notable celebrity singing roles in movies lately has been Gwyneth Paltrow in ‘Country Strong.’  Paltrow has sung in movies before, but her singing in ‘Country Strong’ has certainly cemented her standing as one of the best celebrity singer/actors in modern Hollywood.  In fact, she even took to the stage at the latest CMA awards to perform her song, putting her toe to toe with some of country music’s greatest performers.

Another notable celebrity singer is Jeff Bridges, and his role in ‘Crazy Heart.’  The movie showcases a down and out country singer, which Bridges is able to pull off quite well.  However, very surprisingly for some, his singing performance during the movie was excellent.  In fact, his singing was so good that many fans did not realize it was actually him performing the songs.  

Another great actor who is in demand in Hollywood right now is Christian Kane.  Known primarily for his role as the villain Lindsey in the ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ spin-off TV show ‘Angel,’ he has recently risen even higher in his role as ‘Leverage’s’ bad-ass character Eliot Spencer.  Christian is often featured singing in his TV shows and movie roles due to his smoldering voice and considerable talent playing the acoustic guitar.  Christian has his own southern rock-country band ‘Kane,’ which performs worldwide to a loyal audience of so-called "Kaniacs."

These are only three of the top celebrity actors-turned singers who have wowed audiences.  There are many others with plenty of vocal ability.