An actor who can also dance and sing is called a triple threat. Well, I don't know if Kate Hudson, Don Johnson, Raul Esparza, and Robert Downey Jr. can waltz - but they sure can sing! And sing very well. These four thespians have distinguished themselves with a tune in ways that enchanted their fans and made brand new fans for them too. They applied their dramatic flair and ability to communicate a lyric, and it's a formula that works for them. Just as many singers have crossed over into acting - think Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and Lady Gaga, to cite just a few - some actors have done the opposite by opting to sing. They really do have solid vocal chops.
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Kate Hudson
Hudson, the Academy Award-nominated daughter of actress Goldie Hawn, can sing exquisitely. Per nbc.com, the network gushed about her singing prowess. "As [The] Voice fans found out during her stellar live performance on the Season 25 finale, Hudson can sing! And not just in an occasional, amateur sort of way: We're talking some serious all-pro vocal pipes, the kind that sound right at home on an actual album (like 2024's Glorious, Hudson's studio debut)."
She has also performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and at the Grand Ole Opry last year for a holiday special called Little Big Town's Christmas at the Opry. Hearing Hudson sing is a not-to-be-missed treat!
Don Johnson
The former Miami Vice heartthrob has a great voice. He displayed it full-throttle on a song called "Heartbeat, the title track from his freshman album in 1986. It boasted quite an array of musicians, such as Bonnie Raitt, Dweezil Zappa, Willie Nelson, Dickey Betts, Ron Wood, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. But it was Johnson himself who definitely stole the show.
In 1986, the Los Angeles Times noted, "He's a creditable, mainstream pop-rock singer whose borderline tenor/baritone voice combines some of the appealing, if melancholy romanticism of Jackson Browne with the Everyman anxiousness of Glenn Frey...Johnson has solid pitch and acceptable control."
He told the outlet, "This record is really important to me. That's why I was willing to take a healthy and thriving career and jeopardize it by doing something that I wasn't known for . . . " Now 75, he still turns up from time to time. Johnson was recently on an episode of the drama, Doctor Odyssey, on ABC.
Raul Esparza
You may recall Raul Esparza from his long-running role on seasons 14 to 19 on Law & Order: SVU as Rafael Barba. He also made his mark on Broadway. His credits on the Great White Way are impressive, as indicated on his web site. But the actor's powerhouse singing voice is what knocked me off my chair. Esparza sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the Kennedy Center in 2011 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11. He leaves every particle of emotion that he has on the stage. A genuinely stunning and noteworthy performance from one of the actors who can sing.
Robert Downey Jr.
What can you say about Academy Award-winner Robert Downey Jr.? He can do just about anything. And sing like a seasoned pro! I found a YouTube video of Downey doing "Driven to Tears" with Sting. He kills it, just absolutely nails it. It's not only his singing, it's the cool stage presence, the dominance he has over the song, and his innate charisma. Put it all together and you have something amazing. Downey earned his place in this group of actors who can sing.
