Some completely missed the mark
The late Chadwick Boseman gave an incredible performance in the 2020 film 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.' Even more incredible was his dedication to learning the trumpet for the role, despite having no previous experience with the instrument.
In 2004, Samuel Jackson played the role of a weary blues singer in the film 'Black Snake Moan.' Jackson trained for six or seven hours a day over seven months to learn the blues guitar.
The 2012 movie 'A Late Quartet' boasts an all-star cast playing a string quartet that has been performing together for decades. Catherine Keener learned to play the viola for her role in the film.
'The Brothers Bloom' (2008) is a unique film that pushes the leading actors to connect with their eccentric sides. Weisz's character has many skills and flits between hobbies. Weisz successfully learned how to play the piano for the role. She also learned how to passably play the banjo, the violin, and the accordion!
Keira Knightley got the role of an Indie musician in 2014's 'Begin Again' despite having no musical experience. She worked with a vocal coach and learned the guitar from scratch. She ended up wowing audiences and critics with her performance.
Christopher Walken also had to undergo some serious training for his role as the celloist. While he didn't become a master, he did have to learn enough to make it convincing. It's much harder to fake it with a string instrument!
The young British actor Taron Egerton took on a mammoth task in portraying the great Elton John in the 2019 biopic 'Rocketman.' He was already a talented singer but had to learn how to play piano for the role.
Rami Malek won an Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the 2018 movie 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' He had little to no musical experience, but he was determined not to fake it. He dedicated himself to giving the most authentic possible performance, for what was really the role of a lifetime.
The school concert scene in the 2002 film 'About a Boy' is perhaps one of the cringiest moments in cinematic history. Although Hugh Grant didn't leave us with an impression of musical prowess, he did learn to play the guitar for that scene!
Ryan Gosling had no formal training prior to working on the movie 'La La Land' (2016), but he was excited to take on the challenge of learning to play jazz piano. It took three months of intensive training to be ready for production.
Dennis Quaid played Jerry Lee Lewis, also known as "The Killer," in 'Great Balls of Fire!' (1989). Lewis is considered one of the first rock n' roll bad boys in history. Quaid had to learn to play the piano for the role, and he had the best teacher.
Reese Witherspoon also had to train for four months to learn how to play a unique instrument: the autoharp. She also had to learn to sing, and recorded an entire album. She described it as "the most challenging, horrifying experience" of her life.
Ever the method actor, Christian Bale learned how to play the drums for a single scene in 2015's 'The Big Short.' He plays an eccentric financial genius who is shown letting out some steam with his drum kit. Bale said he did a two-week crash course.
The 2018 film 'A Star is Born' was the third remake of the 1937 classic. Director and star Bradley Cooper had a serious challenge in making the music as memorable as that of his predecessors. Beyoncé was originally meant to be part of the production, but after she dropped out, Cooper took on some of the extra musical responsibility himself.
Robert Downey Jr. played silent film legend Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 biopic 'Chaplin.' Not only did he learn to play the violin for the role, he learned to play it left-handed just like Chaplin did.
Adrien Brody went to hell and back to play the virtuoso Wladyslaw Szpilman in Roman Polansky's harrowing drama 'The Pianist' (2002). Brody practiced the piano for four hours a day, starved himself, and lived in solitary confinement, to truly embody the Holocaust-era artist.
Nicolas Cage said that he had no musical talent before taking on the lead role in 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' (2001). As the title suggests, he was required to play the unique string instrument. Cage worked with the movie's musical director and apparently had an aptitude for the mandolin. It's the only film in which he has ever played an instrument.
Sources: (Insider) (Classic FM) (What Culture) (Vulture) (Little White Lies)
See also: Actors who've been fired from major movie and TV show roles
Joaquin Phoenix made for an incredibly convincing Johnny Cash in the 2005 film 'Walk the Line.' However, it didn't come easy. It's rumored that both he and co-star Reese Witherspoon nearly quit due to the difficulty in reaching their musical goals. Phoenix had to learn, unlearn, and then relearn how to play the guitar to mimic Cash's unique style.
Boseman's co-stars said that their hotel started to sound like a music school. They'd arrive back from filming every evening and hear Boseman practicing in his room, which inspired them to practice too, even though they were exhausted!
He learned to play both the piano and the guitar, and he trained as a singer for the first time ever as well. He even joined Lady Gaga on stage at Glastonbury before filming as his first test!
Elton John said no one had ever performed his music as well as Egerton, and they went on to do a few live duets together.
Malek began flying to London for singing and piano lessons a year before the movie was even greenlit for production. He achieved his goal and was able to play 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on the piano, without having to use a cut-away to another pianist's hands.
Jerry Lee Lewis himself was on set all the time helping out with the musical training. According to Quaid, he was leaning over his shoulder the entire time saying "You're getting it wrong, son!"
Not to be outdone, co-star Jude Law also learned how to play the saxophone!
'The Talented Mr. Ripley' (1999) had a stellar young cast who were up for a challenge. Leading man Matt Damon learned how to play the piano for his role. It was just many of the things on his to-do list for the demanding job, including losing 30 lbs (14 kilos) and covering his body in pale makeup for every scene.
Sean Penn plays a fictional jazz guitarist in Woody Allen's 1999 film 'Sweet and Lowdown.' While his performance on the guitar didn't blow anyone's socks off, it was definitely passable!
Tom Cruise likes to go all-in for his movie roles. In 'Interview with the Vampire' (1994) he even learned to play the piano for one moody scene. It took him five weeks to perfect his sonata with the help of celebrity piano teacher, Margie Balter.
Before 'La La Land' (2018), Gosling learned to play the ukulele for a romantic scene in the movie 'Blue Valentine' in 2010. The idea of being serenaded by Ryan Gosling on the ukulele would send anyone into a fluster, but if you're looking for a heart-warming romance, it's better to stick with 'The Notebook' (2004.)
Bill Murray didn't quite manage to master Rachmaninov’s ‘Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini.' He did, however, manage to learn enough to be able to film the wide shots for his piano-playing scenes in 'Groundhog Day' (1993). The close-ups showed a more accomplished pianist's hands.
In the early days of cinema, if you wanted to be a star then you had to have the triple threat: acting, dancing, and singing. Musical numbers were commonplace in the movies of the 20th century, so most actors had some serious musical talent. These days, you can get by on acting skills alone, which makes it all the more challenging when a role requires an actor to play an instrument. Many of the top stars in Hollywood today have taken on roles without having a clue what they're doing, and they must learn to play the piano or guitar like a pro within a matter of months (or weeks!).
Click through the gallery to see which famous actors learned how to play an instrument from scratch for a big role.
Actors who learned to play a new instrument for a movie
Find out which stars developed some impressive musical skills on the fly
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In the early days of cinema, if you wanted to be a star then you had to have the triple threat: acting, dancing, and singing. Musical numbers were commonplace in the movies of the 20th century, so most actors had some serious musical talent. These days, you can get by on acting skills alone, which makes it all the more challenging when a role requires an actor to play an instrument. Many of the top stars in Hollywood today have taken on roles without having a clue what they're doing, and they must learn to play the piano or guitar like a pro within a matter of months (or weeks!).
Click through the gallery to see which famous actors learned how to play an instrument from scratch for a big role.