For many people, the release of a new movie musical can become a pure form of joy and something to look forward to. However, they don’t always think about all that goes into creating that type of film.
Some films, whether they’re remakes of classic musicals or adaptations of Broadway shows, commonly have a cast of both seasoned musicians and newbies who learn in pre-production.
Opinions about the actual quality of the film aside, the 2019 big screen adaptation of Cats included singers Taylor Swift, Jason Derulo and Jennifer Hudson. Hudson was also cast to portray Aretha Franklin in the 2021 film Respect. All three actors have plenty of experience singing and likely did not have to learn anything new to prepare for their respective roles. An alternate example of this is the film recording of Hamilton, released on Disney+ in 2020. The majority, if not the entirety of the cast, had previous experience on the stage prior to joining Lin Manuel Miranda’s smash hit production.
When it comes to other well-known movie musicals, some of the actors did not have as much experience in music. Examples include Andrew Garfield in Tick, Tick… BOOM! (2021), Bradley Cooper in A Star is Born (2018) and Amanda Seyfried in Mamma Mia! (2008).
Tick, Tick… Boom!, the film adaptation of the off-broadway musical written by Jonathan Larson (Rent), stars Garfield as Larson. Garfield had previous experience on the stage; director Lin Manuel Miranda decided he wanted Garfield for the part after seeing him in 2017 in the revival of Angels of America.
However, Garfield had not sung in any type of production before, so he had to “get (his) voice to the place where I could confidently and passionately sing…” he said in an interview with W Magazine.
All of his hard work paid off, as the film was received incredibly well, earned Garfield the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and has generated a ton of Oscar buzz.
The 2018 remake of the classic 1954 musical A Star is Born was Cooper’s directorial debut in which he also stars in as fictional country artist Jackson Maine opposite Lady Gaga. Cooper underwent months of vocal lessons to prepare for the role, his talents being affirmed by both Gaga and general high acclaim.
“I was blown away by him. He sings from his soul, he sings from his gut. When he sings he’s a storyteller,” Gaga said on The Graham Norton Show.
Gaga took home both the 2019 Oscar for Original Song and 2019 Golden Globe for Best Original Song for “Shallow,” and Cooper walked away with the 2019 British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA, Award for Original Music. He also earned a multitude of Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations.
Prior to starring in Mamma Mia!, Seyfried was largely known for her role as Karen Smith in Mean Girls (2004). Mean Girls is a cult classic film — don’t get me wrong — but the nature of Seyfried’s character was very clueless and meant to fit the stereotype of a “dumb blonde.” Going from that type of role to one like she played in Mamma Mia! that also involved singing was a big jump.
She had taken classical vocal training as a teenager but “for eight years I quit singing and I just sang for myself and it was hard – to train your voice to have that kind of stamina and to condition it to sound classical. It was tough after not doing it for so long,” Seyfried said in an interview with Independent.ie.
Nevertheless, she was able to take her casual singing abilities and train them to be more classical for the film with great success.
Despite the success of these three actors in their vocal training and how it was implemented in their respective films, the issue lies within the lack of well-earned respect for their musical talents. I don’t know about you, but I have never devoted every day of my life for months on end learning a new skill as challenging as singing. However, I can imagine feeling a sense of imposter syndrome and insecurity in my abilities if I was never considered to be a musician in the same way that someone like Lady Gaga or John Legend are.
Having enough confidence to sing in a film after coming out of intense training to learn is no small feat, and actors who do so deserve a lot more praise than they typically receive.
Tate Raub is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Tate know by tweeting her @tatertot1310.
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