Actors who sing, singers who act: Hollywood’s entertainment-industrial complex is strewn with false starts from would-be hyphenates tempted by success in one field to try their luck in another.
Just ask Oscar winner Russell Crowe, whose band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, has yet to hit it big. Or even Eddie Murphy and John Travolta and their vocal stylings from back in the day. Going the other direction, there’s multiplatinum hip-hop artist Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye. After his acclaimed 2021 Super Bowl halftime set, Tesfaye starred as a sleazy L.A. club owner in HBO’s “The Idol.” The series was canceled after one critically maligned season.
But there have been successes in recent years. Migrating from music to acting, a handful of talents such as Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Dwight Yoakam have transfigured their medium from melody to melodrama. And more recently, Oscar nominee Michael Shannon recorded his own vocals to portray country music legend George Jones in the limited series “George & Tammy.”
Which brings us to the current crop of musically gifted actors who this summer earned Emmy nominations for performances that showcase or, in some cases, conceal the range of their talents.
Actor John Hawkes brought his musical talent to one episode of HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country.”
(Michele K. Short / HBO)
John Hawkes in “True Detective: Night Country”
Emmy nods: Supporting actor in a limited series or television movie. Also nominated in the original music and lyrics category for composing the series’ “No Use.”
Backstory: Before he made movies, Hawkes sang and played guitar in an 1980s punk band called Meat Joy, followed by Gangster Folk and King Straggler. He contributed a moody Americana song to the 2010 Ozark Mountains drama “Winter’s Bone,” which cast him in a breakthrough role opposite Jennifer Lawrence.
Proof of musical life: While filming in Reykjavík, Iceland, Hawkes played a local gig attended by “Night Country” creator Issa López. She encouraged Hawkes to add lyrics to an instrumental for the series that came to be known as “No Use.” In Episode 5, Hawkes’ corrupt cop character, Hank, sits on his bed strumming a guitar and singing the forlorn Leonard Cohen-esque tune when Jodie Foster‘s police chief comes to visit. The words bode poorly for Hank while evoking the show’s downbeat vibe: “There is no love / None lost, none found / There is no God / No hallowed ground.”
Singer and Emmy nominee Selena Gomez stars as Mabel in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.”
(Patrick Harbron / Hulu)
Selena Gomez in “Only Murders in the Building”
Emmy nod: Lead actress in a comedy series.
Backstory: When producers tapped the chart-topping Gomez in 2020 to play Mabel, the deadpan millennial awkwardly joined at the podcasting hip with her much older neighbors Charles and Oliver (Steve Martin and Martin Short), it might have looked like a case of stunt casting. But in fact, Gomez knows how to act, having learned her craft as a teenager appearing in the Disney Channel sitcom “Wizards of Waverly Place.” Her 2013 pivot to music immediately resulted in a No. 1 album, followed by dozens of hit singles in which she played the role of pop princess to perfection.
Proof of musical life: None. Gomez neither dances nor sings in Season 3 on “Murders,” even though this season’s plot centers around the making of a musical. Instead, Gomez’s Mabel defers to Emmy-nominated castmate Meryl Streep, who puts her “Mamma Mia!” triumph in the rearview mirror by crooning the heartbreaking ballad “Find the Light.” Gomez does hint at reservoirs of musical talent when it comes to banter: Her timing is impeccable.
Steve Martin, here with Meryl Streep, has long been known for his musical talent, which he got to display in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” this season.
(Patrick Harbron / Hulu)
Steve Martin in “Only Murders in the Building”
Emmy nod: Lead actor in a comedy series
Backstory: At 17, Martin taught himself to play banjo, which later became part of his stand-up comedy shtick. Decades later, Martin played banjo alongside bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs on the entirely serious “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” and more recently teamed with the Grammy-winning Steep Canyon Rangers.
Proof of musical life: There’s no banjo in sight, but Martin shows off his song-and-dance chops in Season 3’s “Death Rattle” musical by performing the tongue-twisting ditty “Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It.” Meanwhile, Martin’s Emmy-nominated co-star Martin Short keeps his considerable singing talents largely under wraps while tapping into the hysteria-prone persona he showcased opposite Jason Alexander in their 2003 L.A. production of “The Producers.”
Donald Glover, star of Prime Video’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” separated his identities by going by Childish Gambino for his musical work.
(David Lee / Prime Video)
Donald Glover in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”
Emmy nods: Lead actor and writing in a drama series
Backstory: Trained in sketch comedy at New York University, Glover separated his musical and acting identities by creating rapper alter ego Childish Gambino in 2009. In between seasons of his Emmy-winning series “Atlanta,” Glover in 2018 released a take-no-prisoners rap track, “This Is America,” which garnered 924 million views and beat out Kendrick Lamar, Drake and Lady Gaga to win four Grammys, including record and song of the year. After filming “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” Glover returned to music and in July released “Bando Stone & the New World,” announced as his final project under the Childish Gambino moniker.
Proof of musical life: None. Glover does not rap and he does not sing in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” since his character, John, is focused on forging a relationship with spy “wife” Jane (Maya Erskine) and killing people. As with “Atlanta,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” presents Glover in a zero-overlap zone where acting is acting and music is music and never the twain shall meet.