23 Surprising Movie Singers

Robert Downey Jr

The Singer: Former hellraiser turned box-office mega-draw Robert Downey Jr.

Best Known For: Smirking and smashing his way through two Iron Man films, propelling himself back to the top of the A-list in the process.

Sounds Like: Someone doing Bruce Springsteen at a karaoke night, with some “moody” piano tinkling thrown in for good measure.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “Give me your body, won’t you give me your sweet soul.”

Typical Amazon Review: “I let go and sink into the complexities that lie at the heart of his music. When it ends, and there is only the tap of rain on my window, I feel as if I have visited with Downey for a while in his own beautifully human universe.”

Jennifer Love Hewitt

The Singer: Chesty former scream queen who recorded the first of her four albums (yes, four) when she was just twelve years old. Aaaaah.

Best Known For: Dodging a hook-handed maniac in I Know What You Did Last Summer and pouting around in that Enrique Iglesias video.

Sounds Like: Sheryl Crow. It’s pretty vapid stuff but she hasn’t got a bad voice on her.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “If I just trust the stillness, somehow it won’t hurt so bad.” You said it Jenny.

Typical Amazon Review: “This is simply one of the best albums I own (out of 62 at the moment, so it IS tough competition) I bought this CD in March and there has not been one day where i haven't played it AT LEAST twice.”

Danny Aiello

The Singer: Gangster-movie regular Danny Aiello, who you might recognise as the titular father from Madonna’s Papa Don’t Preach video.

Best Known For: His role as pizza-vendor Sal Frangione in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing .

Sounds Like: A rat-pack style crooner. You can just imagine him spinning a cane in a hotel lounge…

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “Can’t I pretend that I’m locked in the bend of your embrace?” No Danny, you can’t. Now leave her alone!

Typical Amazon Review: “I am so glad to see that Mr. Aiello is keeping the art of crooning alive and am looking forward to his future CD releases. I highly recommend this CD for anyone who appreciates the great art of crooning.”

Kevin Bacon

The Singer: When he’s taking a break from the day job, Kevin Bacon is one half of The Bacon Brothers, a guitar-toting double act formed with older brother Michael.

Best Known For: Being in so many movies, he can link any two Hollywood actors together in six simple steps. Our personal favourites include Tremors , The River Wild and Mystic River . Just saying…

Sounds Like: A slice of prime Americana. Three Doors Down spring to mind somehow…

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “Candles everywhere…but I don’t like flowers.” Eh?

Typical Amazon Review: “Talk about a quantum leap! The Bacon Brothers have been a decent band from their first album forward, but this new one is at a different level from the others.”

Scarlett Johansson

The Singer: To be quite honest the gorgeous Scarlett could sing us the phone-book and we’d still be mesmerised. Not by her voice you understand…

Best Known For: Her career-making performance in Lost In Translation , in which she plays the sweetly troubled Charlotte.

Sounds Like: Tom Waits, if he were a softly-spoken young woman. Scarlett’s Anywhere I Lay My Head album is a collection of Waits cover versions!

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “When I met you, I didn't know what to do. I was tired , I was hungry, I cried.

Typical Amazon Review: “She has a breathy, light voice that is great in the upper register. Think of her as a growlier Kirsten Dunst."

Kevin Costner

The Singer: Sandy-haired old stager, soon to become Pa Kent in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman movie.

Best Known For: His Oscar-winning turn in Dances With Wolves won him more acclaim, but we’ll always associate him with the thinking man’s weepie, Field Of Dreams .

Sounds Like: Guess what? It’s another middle-aged actor doing a Springsteen impression. Where can we buy the album?

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “I got a radio in my Chevrolet, been playing rock and roll just to stay awake.”

Typical Amazon Review: “A very pleasant individual who asked me what I thought of the music when I handed him a copy of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves to autograph. I admit I was a bit awed that he asked me- a simple fan- for my opinion.”

Christopher Lee

The Singer: Hammer veteran Christopher Lee, otherwise known as cinema’s scariest man. Would you tell him his songs suck? Thought not.

Best Known For: His old-school movie monsters, although a certain audience will probably know him best as either Count Dooku or Saruman.

Sounds Like: He sounds like Christopher Lee. Seriously, the guy is unique.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “Come hither to my bedside. The hour at which I must retire is drawing ever near.”

Typical Amazon Review: “For me, the first thing that comes to mind is his remarkably distinctive voice; a deep baritone that rings with the authority and gravitas that could make a mere mortal man tremble in his shoes.”

Dan Aykroyd

The Singer: Big-screen funnyman Aykroyd, teaming up here with Jim Belushi to deliver an album of “big music”. Nice.

Best Known For: Playing the loveable Ray Stantz in ‘80s mega-hit Ghostbusters . Although his Blues Brothers turn probably runs it close.

Sounds Like: If you’ve seen Blues Brothers you should have a fairly good idea of what to expect here…Big Jim more than measures up to his brother in the singing stakes.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “A long time ago, I loved and lost, Mr. Blues walks up and says, ‘I’m your boss.’”

Typical Amazon Review: “Cheap at twice the price; buy anything with the name Aykroyd on it. He's a dyed in the wool bluesman.”

Alyssa Milano

The Singer: Milano has recorded an impressive four studio albums in a music career that began when she was just seventeen. Granted, said albums were only commercially released in Japan, but still…

Best Known For: Playing Arnie’s daughter in Commando , and coming over all witchy for TV’s Charmed .

Sounds Like: A cross between The Buggles and Blondie. And not in a good way.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “I couldn’t find my own way, couldn’t tell the night from the day.” Gee, adolescence sure is tough…

Typical Amazon Review: “I am a big fan of Alyssa Milano and listen to her CD everyday!! It really helps me to come down if I get upset about something!!”

Jeff Bridges

The Singer: One of the less surprising entries on this list given Bridges’ superlative performance as Crazy Heart ’s Bad Blake. The man has quite the singing voice!

Best Known For: Depending on your age, take your pick from Kevin Flynn, The Dude or Rooster Cogburn.

Sounds Like: Somewhere in between Eric Clapton and Michael McDonald. We prefer him as Bad Blake to be honest.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “I’m looking at the Earth from a million miles away, I see a tiny speck of dust, twinkling little spot of floating light.” Woah, that’s deep man.

Typical Amazon Review: “Jeff Bridges is somethin' else! All human and, yet, distinctly transcendent. He ploughs through fields of human hurt and draws together healing for dirty souls.”

Jeff Daniels

The Singer: Daniels songs are supposedly written to mark key moments in his life, with two albums in the bag so far. One of these is called Grandfather’s Hat . For some reason, this makes us smile.

Best Known For: Let’s be honest, it’s when he gets his tongue frozen in Dumb & Dumber isn’t it?

Sounds Like: Your run of the mill country and western crooner. He’s got some nice bluegrass guitar skills though.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “You were there when I was falling, you were there when I fell in love.” It’s not quite “you had me at hello,” but it’s not bad…

Typical Amazon Review: “We heard Jeff Daniels sing and tell jokes, in our home town. So we wanted to order this CD since we bought a different one at the Show. He is an awesome entertainer!!”

Corey Feldman

The Singer: Former child-actor turned New Jack Swing practitioner. Jesus that looks an unappealing combination when you see it written down…

Best Known For: His ‘80s heyday, in which he starred in seminal coming-of-age movie Stand By Me , and teen vampire classic The Lost Boys .

Sounds Like: Third album Former Child Star sees Feldman descend into thrash metal shoutiness. Seek out the audio samples on Amazon. It truly is awful.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “I feel like a shark, cause I don’t look too cool when I dive on my rug.” Obviously this would only work in a film about mental decline…

Typical Amazon Review: “Help me I think i need a shower, I have been soiled! Where's my mommy, I need a hug, the bad man wont stop wailing!”

Edward Furlong

The Singer: One-time Terminator prey turned drug-addled police-baiter.

Best Known For: His role as John Connor is certainly the most iconic, although his performance in American History X is probably the best on his CV.

Sounds Like: It sounds like someone taking a blowtorch to Kermit’s nether-regions. He can’t sing for shit.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “Dreaming of kissing you and holding you tight, nothing else matters when you’re near me.”

Typical Amazon Review: “My daughter who was 11 at the time...cried on Christmas morning when she opened this CD of Edward Furlong…her tears of joy were PRICELESS!!!”

Robert Mitchum

The Singer: Strong silent type with exactly the sort of laid-back, baritone singing voice you’d expect from his laconic screen presence.

Best Known For: His terrifying performance as The Preacher in The Night of the Hunter . He’s the scariest man of God we’ve ever seen!

Sounds Like: A bargain basement Johnny Cash.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: "I may be losing face but that’s all well and good…it’s my face.” Who’s going to argue?

Typical Amazon Review: “A side of Robert Mitchum you've seldom seen. My mother-in-law rocks the house with this. A must listen for all fans.”

Jack Palance

The Singer: Coal-miner, boxer, actor…singer? Is there anything this man can’t do?

Best Known For: Either his Oscar-winning turn in City Slickers , or as cold-blooded gunslinger Jack Wilson in Shane .

Sounds Like: A watered down Jerry Lee Lewis. If we’re being generous…

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “You said you were leaving tomorrow, today would be our last day, I said there would be no sorrow, and laughed when you walked away.”

Typical Amazon Review: “Nobody's going to confuse Palance with Pavarotti, but if you like your vocals a little rough around the edges, give this a try.”

Julie Delpy

The Singer: Ethereal French beauty Julie Delp, and her ethereally beautiful singing voice.

Best Known For: The Three Colours trilogy as well as Richard Linklater’s Sunset and Sunrise films.

Sounds Like: A slightly less soulful Nina Simone.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “You’re the one saying I need some serious, serious fixing, but who the hell are you to tell me what to do?”

Typical Amazon Review: “Julie Delpy is amazing and her music is semi-hypnotic. I am easily dazzled by Europeans and hints of accents.”

Crispin Glover

The Singer: Glover’s music is a predictably bizarre collection of assorted oddities, including a falsetto rendition of Charles Manson’s I’ll Never Say Never To Always and the excellently named Clowny Clown Clown .

Best Known For: Playing nerdy peeping-tom George McFly in Back To The Future .

Sounds Like: The Pixies, if they’d forgotten how to write music and were reduced to discordant wailing.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “I was walking on the ground, I didn’t make a sound when I turned around and I saw a clown.” Are you listening Pixar?

Typical Amazon Review: “Yes, this CD is ‘weird’ but it's not weird just for shock value. It's supposed to make you think. PLEASE take the time to really listen to it, it does have a message. It helps if you read the back of the CD.”

Ryan Gosling

The Singer: Gosling and his buddy Zach Shields are Dead Man’s Bones, whose self-titled album is a feature-length collaboration with the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir. Groovy.

Best Known For: Hi award-baiting performances in independent dramas, most recently in the wonderful Blue Valentine .

Sounds Like: They don’t sound too dissimilar to Seattle-based folksters Fleet Foxes, with a touch of Arcade Fire in there too. We like!

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “My suitcase is packed with all your heartbeats, so I walk to their sound.” Sounds like something a villain might say in a children’s horror movie.

Typical Amazon Review: “Imagine yourself in a old, spooky house. The smell of a fading beauty's perfume mixed with old wood tingle your nostrils as you creak up the old stairs. Suddenly, you hear the echo of a children's choir that makes your blood freeze.”

Richard Harris

The Singer: Legendary hellraiser, feted actor, and occasional musician Richard Harris. A man with many strings to his bow.

Best Known For: Too many to choose from, but his performance in Cromwell springs to mind, as does his turn as the grizzled English Bob in Unforgiven .

Sounds Like: Some of Harris’s more melancholic vocals have a hint of Guy Garvey about them.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “If you must leave my life, consider every part…be sure you have your heart”

Typical Amazon Review: “Movie-like and haunting ... never anything like it sonically before or after that I've heard.”

Milla Jovovich

The Singer: Jovovich has carved out a successful secondary career as a singer of Ukranian folk songs, into which she injects some more modern pop sensibilities. That might sound awful, but it’s actually not that bad!

Best Known For: Blowing away zombies in the splatter-tastic Resident Evil series.

Sounds Like: She’s been compared to the likes of Tori Amos and Kate Bush. That might be stretching it a little in terms of quality, but there are certainly similarities.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “I don’t know how to speak to you, I don’t know how to trust you, I don’t know how to live for you, I don’t know how to love you.” Sounds like the relationship’s in trouble to us…

Typical Amazon Review: “In a time where almost anything can be called "music", here is a CD that definitely is much more than that!”

Minnie Driver

The Singer: Driver is no fly-by-night music enthusiast. She used to be in a band named Puff, Rocks & Brown. Those are drug references! She must be a proper musician then…

Best Known For: Simpering sweetly opposite Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting .

Sounds Like: Her whimsical, breathy vocals sound a little like Zero 7. Remember them?

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “Is this a lasting treasure or just a moment pleasure? Can I believe the magic of your sight?”

Typical Amazon Review: “This is the second time I bought this album. I lost the original in a house fire and I like it so much I had to replace it.”

Steven Seagal

The Singer: Ponytail-sporting martial arts enthusiast Steven Seagal, who enjoys playing a guitar lick nearly as much as he does cracking a windpipe.

Best Known For: Playing counter-terrorist expert Casey Ryback in Under Siege , and squaring off against Gary Busey.

Sounds Like: He probably wouldn’t thank us for this, but Songs From The Crystal Cave sounds remarkably like John Mayer!

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “I was invisible, untouchable…would you call my name?”

Typical Amazon Review: “To the sounds of Mr.Seagal I was able to shed my weight and began taking daily showers. I now entertain several women per week, sometimes even several per day. I am making over $5000 a week stuffing envelopes from home.”

Jason Schwartzman

The Singer: Impressively-eyebrowed indie darling Schwartzman has an impressive musical background, having played drums for Phantom Planet before founding solo-project Coconut Records. Great name…

Best Known For: Playing precocious teen Max Fischer in Wes Anderson’s Rushmore .

Sounds Like: Breezy, sun-kissed pop-rock, not a million miles away from Weezer.

Lyric That Could Be Dialogue: “I don’t ever want to hear you say anything, ‘cause you’ve been nighttiming baby. It’s starting to show.”

Typical Amazon Review: “This album was in more ways than one amazing… Nighttiming is a feel good album that gives me tingles every time I listen to it.

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.