Top 10 Actors with the Worst Singing Voices in a Musical

While there are many films with great songs and talented performers to sing them, some actors end up delivering abysmal performances and embarrassing themselves, as seen in this list, even if it was just in one film.

I will only include film actors, as I haven't seen many stage plays. However, if you can think of a show with poor performances, feel free to add them.

The Top Ten

Pierce Brosnan (Mamma Mia!)

Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born May 16, 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer who became the fifth actor to portray James Bond in the official film series. After leaving school at age sixteen, he began training in commercial illustration at Saint Martin's School of Art in London before studying acting... read more

Pierce Brosnan is notorious for his dismal singing in the film Mamma Mia! Granted, while the movie is terrible and most people in it sing really badly, this guy takes the cake for the worst singing I've ever heard from a film actor.
He has obviously never sung before, because his pitch, notes, and timing are all off, and this is coming from someone not musically inclined. In fact, it was so bad that Brosnan won a Razzie for Worst Actor in 2009. Just stick to Remington Steele and 007, Pierce.

I like Mamma Mia, but Pierce needs to stick to James Bond films.
Russell Crowe (Les Misérables)

Russell Ira Crowe is an actor, film producer, and musician. Although a citizen of New Zealand, he has spent much of his life in Australia and considers himself Australian. He is best known for his role as Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator (2000), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor... read more

Everyone has mixed thoughts on Les Misérables. I personally dislike it, but that's a story for another day. Whatever you think of the film, no one can deny that Russell Crowe was the weakest part, particularly his singing (though his acting was still dull).
I don't even know what everybody in the crew was thinking. When he sings, it's like he's trying to get through it as quickly as possible while having no emotional inflections. Somehow, he also has a band. I don't know much about it, but I hope he doesn't sing.

Superb actor, but not the greatest singer. However, I thought his singing was better than Hugh Jackman's in Les Misérables. I didn't like the movie at all.
Gerard Butler (The Phantom of the Opera)

Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer.
After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s, taking on small roles in productions such as Mrs Brown (1997), the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and Tale of the Mummy (1998).... read more

I think the casting of Gerard Butler was deliberate on Andrew Lloyd Webber's part. He was looking for someone who wasn't really well known. Gerard, although not a trained singer, has a raspy, rocky quality to his voice which fit the part of the Phantom perfectly. A part which is dangerous and has an edge to the character. A classically trained voice wasn't fitting for such a part. Gerard Butler was, in fact, the best choice of actor.

His singing in Phantom of the Opera was cringe-inducing. I haven't seen the stage adaptation for it, but I've heard the music, and the Phantom sounds amazing. I really don't think the producers of the film noticed just how awful this performance was.
I honestly think there was complete miscasting here, because in no way did Butler pull this role off, especially in the singing department.
Russell Brand (Rock of Ages)

Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, radio host, writer, and activist. After starting his career in stand-up comedy and as an MTV presenter, Brand gained fame in 2004 as the host of Big Brother's Big Mouth, a spin-off of the reality television series Big Brother. He later achieved further... read more

The film Rock of Ages ruins many rock classics. But Russell Brand just makes me cringe so hard. He can't sing or act in this film. It's so forced and so dumb. I never want to hear him and Alec Baldwin sing "I Can't Fight This Feeling" ever again as long as I'm living.
Reeve Carney (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark)

I love The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's one of my favorite cult classics. I haven't seen much of the FOX miniseries, but what I have seen is okay at best. However, one scene I did not like at all was the Time Warp sequence, mainly due to Reeve Carney.
He just seemed a bit lifeless in the song, and it's probably the liveliest number, so that's a huge problem. His singing has no emotion. It's bland and really forgettable. Probably not well known, just a personal bias.
Adam Sandler (The Wedding Singer)

Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer. He gained fame as a cast member on Saturday Night Live before transitioning to a successful film career. His movies have grossed over $2 billion at the box office worldwide, and he is known for hits like Billy Madison... read more

Just because of Eight Crazy Nights. The bits in Hotel Transylvania weren't bad, but the ones in Eight Crazy Nights made my ears bleed. They were just as cringey as the film itself. The only reason it's so low is I personally couldn't get through all of Eight Crazy Nights due to fear of losing my sanity, so I'm not going off as much. Still, Adam Sandler could not sing worth a damn in the movie.
Chris Pine (Into the Woods)

Christopher Whitelaw Pine is an American actor. He is best known for playing James T. Kirk in the Star Trek reboot film series, which began in 2009. He also played notable roles such as Will in Unstoppable (2010), Cinderella's Prince in Into the Woods (2014), and Toby Howard in Hell or High Water (2016).... read more

You know, even if Into the Woods isn't a great movie, I enjoyed it, and Agony made me laugh really hard the first time I saw it. But being honest, Chris Pine isn't a great singer. While he has enough energy for it to be entertaining in Agony, it's really noticeable in that other song (was it In The Woods?).
He doesn't have much rhythm or tone, so it's really off-kilter, even in Agony, when the other prince obviously sings so much better. It's especially noticeable because everyone else in this movie sings a thousand times better. It's only a song or two that he sings, but it's still painfully obvious.

Into the Woods was good, but Chris Pine has the cheesiest singing voice.
John Travolta (Grease, Hairspray)

John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer, and singer. He rose to fame in the 1970s after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office hits Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978). Travolta later experienced a resurgence in popularity with roles... read more

I hated the movie Grease for its horrible message, cheesy moments, and sheer stupidity. But John Travolta's singing made me want to bash my head into a wall. He's so focused on the "cool guy" attitude that he doesn't realize how much his singing flips and flops, with the pitch constantly changing depending on the song. He doesn't realize how stupid his singing sounds.
Even though I like Hairspray, he didn't do any better in that, mostly because his bad singing now had to be used as a woman. He also made a Christmas single with Olivia Newton-John one year that everyone knew was garbage. Jeez, you'd think a guy would learn.
Emma Watson (Beauty and the Beast)

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson is a British actress, model, and activist. Born in Paris and brought up in Oxfordshire, Watson attended the Dragon School as a child and trained as an actress at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts.... read more

She can act very well, but she can't sing. She was terrible in Beauty and the Beast.
Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical series)

Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress, singer, and producer. As a child, she appeared in more than 100 television commercials and performed in stage productions. She is best known for her role as Maddie Fitzpatrick on the Disney Channel series "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody... read more

Jesus, were her songs in High School Musical annoying! They were always the preppy "I'm perfect" songs that are just gag-inducing. She's really low because her singing isn't bad on a technical level, it's just annoying.

The Newcomers

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Lee Marvin (Paint Your Wagon)
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Jack Black (School of Rock)

Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black is an American actor, singer, musician, and comedian. His acting career spans various genres, though he is best known for his roles in comedy films. Black is the lead vocalist of the comedic rock duo Tenacious D, which he formed in 1994 with friend Kyle Gass... read more

The Contenders

Julie Walters (Mamma Mia!, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again)

Basically Pierce Brosnan's reason, except her performance in Mamma Mia! is more annoying and less terrible.
Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables, The Greatest Showman)

Hugh Michael Jackman (born October 12, 1968) is an Australian actor, singer, and producer. He achieved global recognition for roles in superhero, period, musical, and romantic films. Jackman is best known for portraying Wolverine in the X-Men film series from 2000 through Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024... read more
Nick Jonas (Les Misérables: 25th Anniversary Concert)

Nicholas Jerry "Nick" Jonas is an American singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as one of the Jonas Brothers, a pop rock band he formed with his brothers Kevin and Joe. In addition to his music career, he has pursued solo projects and acted in television and film, including roles in Jumanji: Welcome... read more
Meryl Streep (Into the Woods, Mamma Mia!, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again)

Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress. Frequently cited in the media as the "best actress of her generation," Streep is renowned for her versatility, ability to fully embody diverse characters, and mastery of various accents... read more
Chris Wood (Supergirl)
Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge!)

Nicole Mary Kidman is an Australian-American actress and film producer. Her breakthrough roles came in the 1989 thriller film Dead Calm and the television miniseries Bangkok Hilton. She has since become one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation.