Plenty of actors say they’d like to make a record someday. A smaller group actually does it, and some of them keep at it for years while their screen work continues.
The results range from critically respected projects to chart hits and quiet side ventures. These ten actors each put real albums into the world, and the details show how different those paths can be.
Scarlett Johansson
Johansson’s first album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, came out in 2008. It was made up almost entirely of Tom Waits covers, which was an unexpected choice for a film star at the height of her fame. Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio produced it, and that gave the record a hazy, atmospheric sound.
She returned to music in 2009 with Break Up, a collaboration with singer songwriter Pete Yorn. That album leaned toward duets and a softer, folk pop style. Neither project turned her into a full time musician, but both showed she’d approached music seriously.
Hugh Laurie
Many viewers knew Laurie as the sharp tongued lead of House, which ran from 2004 to 2012. Fewer knew he’d played piano for most of his life. In 2011 he released Let Them Talk, an album of New Orleans blues and jazz standards.
The record featured guest appearances from established names in the genre. He followed it with Didn’t It Rain in 2013, which dug further into American roots music. For Laurie, it was a way to pay tribute to a tradition he clearly loved.
Jeff Goldblum
Goldblum has played jazz piano for decades, and he has long led a regular live session in Los Angeles. In 2018 he turned that habit into a record, The Capitol Studio Sessions, recorded with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. It was released on the Decca label.
The album mixes jazz standards with guest vocalists, and it sounds relaxed rather than showy. That fits his screen persona well. It also gave him a musical profile that sits comfortably beside films like Jurassic Park and Thor: Ragnarok.
Bruce Willis
In 1987, while Moonlighting was making him a star, Willis released The Return of Bruno. The album leaned on rhythm and blues and soul covers, and it was playful in tone. A duet with June Pointer, a version of Respect Yourself, climbed into the top five on the Billboard Hot 100.
The record came right as his movie career was about to take off with Die Hard in 1988. He continued to perform blues and harmonica based music in later years. It remains one of the more successful music crossovers by an actor of that era.
Will Smith
Smith started in music before he ever acted. As the Fresh Prince, he and DJ Jazzy Jeff won the first Grammy ever given for rap, for Parents Just Don’t Understand. That background made his move into film and TV a natural second act.
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His solo debut, Big Willie Style, arrived in November 1997, the same year Men in Black reached theaters. Hits like Gettin’ Jiggy wit It made the album a multi platinum success. He has kept returning to music since, though acting has remained his main profession.
Donald Glover
Glover records as Childish Gambino, and he has worked across acting, writing, and music at once. His 2016 album Awaken, My Love! drew on funk and soul, and it included the single Redbone. Two years later, This Is America won Record of the Year at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
In 2024 he released Bando Stone and the New World, which he presented as the final Childish Gambino album. A related film came out alongside it. By then he had already built an acting profile through Atlanta and roles in major franchise films.
Zooey Deschanel
Deschanel formed the duo She & Him with the musician M. Ward, and their debut, Volume One, came out in 2008. The songs mixed vintage pop and country influences, with Deschanel writing much of the material. It earned her credibility as a songwriter beyond her screen roles.
The duo has kept going, releasing several albums including A Very She & Him Christmas in 2011. In 2022 they put out Melt Away, a tribute album of Brian Wilson songs. All of this ran parallel to her TV work on New Girl.
Kevin Bacon
Bacon’s musical outlet is The Bacon Brothers, a band he formed with his brother Michael. Their debut album, Forosoco, was released in 1997. The group plays a mix of rock, folk, and soul, and they’ve toured steadily.
The band isn’t a vanity project that disappeared after one record. They’ve released multiple albums over the years, always alongside Kevin’s acting schedule. For a star known for Footloose and Mystic River, it’s a long running second identity.
Jennifer Lopez
Lopez was already a film actor when she moved into pop. After Selena and Out of Sight, her debut album On the 6 arrived in 1999. Its lead single, If You Had My Love, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
She has continued to alternate between records and screen work for more than two decades. In February 2024 she released This Is Me… Now, an album tied to a Prime Video film called This Is Me… Now: A Love Story. It was a very direct pairing of music and film.
Jared Leto
Leto formed Thirty Seconds to Mars, and the band’s debut album, named after the group, came out in 2002. They broke through further with A Beautiful Lie in 2005, a record that built a large rock audience. He sings and plays in the band while also acting.
He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers Club, honored at the ceremony in 2014. The band continued to release music afterward, including It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day in 2023. Few actors have kept both careers at this level for so long.
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