The great thing about movies with famous voices is that we let ourselves think we’re actually watching singers. It’s nice to get swept away by performances. But, every so often, we really think these actors have amazing voices when, in fact, they are only doing what they’re paid to do–act.
Here are 10 times when we saw terrific performances by actors we thought were really singing.
1. Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody
Malek, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal, practiced Mercury’s mannerisms and speech patterns until he could do them naturally. But he couldn’t nail the singing voice.
In the scenes where we all thought Malek sang, master tapes were used, as well as new recordings by Canadian Christian rock singer Marc Martel, who has a near identical voice.
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
2. Jennifer Lopez as Selena in Selena
Lopez is a singer and her audition included singing.
But she couldn’t be convincing as Selena without lip-syncing to actual recordings of the late star.
Photo Credit: Q Productions
3. Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf in La Vie En Rose
Cotillard, who won a Best Actress Oscar, took voice lessons to prepare for the role but wasn’t believable enough to sing in place of Piaf.
Photo Credit: Legende Films
4. George Clooney as Everett in O Brother Where Art Thou
Filmmakers assumed Clooney could sing like his famous mother Rosemary Clooney.
They ended up bringing in Dan Tyminski to do the vocals and George had no problem with lip-syncing.
Photo Credit: Touchstone/Disney
5. Hilary Duff as Lizzie and Isabella in The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Even though Duff plays both Lizzie and Isabella, her sister Haley provided the vocals for Isabella.
Photo Credit: Disney
6. Christopher Plummer as Captain Von Trapp in Sound of Music
He sang on the beginnings and ends of the songs but the rest was filled in with actor Bill Lee’s vocals.
Lee also sang for characters in Cinderella, Peter Pan and Mary Poppins.
Photo Credit: Disney
7. Wendy Makkenna as Sister Mary Robert in the Sister Act movies
Andrea Robinson is the voice we hear in Sister Act.
She also sang for Ariel on “Athena’s Song” in The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning.
Photo Credit: Touchstone/Disney
8. Rebecca Ferguson as Jenny Lind in The Greatest Showman
Loren Allred, a former contestant on The Voice in 2012, provided the vocals for the tear-jerking ballad “Never Enough.”
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
9. Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady
Marni Nixon was the voice you heard when Eliza sang.
Nixon got to play Doolittle in the 1964 revival in New York.
Photo Credit: Warner Bros.
10. Deborah Kerr as Anna Leonowens in The King and I
Marni Nixon also provided the vocals for Kerr’s performance for which she only received $420.
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
The voices behind these iconic movie performances are fantastic. So glad the decision was made to use the best vocals available for them. They wouldn’t be the same with anything less than stellar.
Got any movies you love where the actors tricked you? Let us know in the comments!
