Rise of the midlife musical crisis! Forget buying a Porsche, these male stars put acting on the backburner to start a band – with VERY varied results
- FEMAIL charts some of the TV and film stars who decided to make music
- READ MORE: FEMAIL reveals successful celebrity age-gap relationships that have stood the test of time (and scrutiny)
In the world of showbusiness, famous faces we see on our screens in acting, presenting and comedy gigs are often multi-talented.
In particular, many highly-regarded male TV and film stars have surprised their fans after making their names in different vocations by reinventing themselves as musicians later on in their careers.
After reaching dizzying heights of success in their own fields, many Hollywood actors, stars of the small screen (and even celebrity chefs) have turned their focus to the world of music.
With some releasing successful studio albums (and some less successful), others have surprised fans with live performances, covering some of the great classics.
For the most part, they have enjoyed successful tours and big-selling albums – but many are aware that their already-large fanbases may have helped them along the way.
In fact, some, including Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr, have even expressed their fears at being labelled ‘celebrity singer-songwriter wannabes’ as they pursue their music dreams.
Here, FEMAIL takes a closer look into some of the music careers of men who have decided to chase their dreams in later life…
Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe, an Oscar-winning actor best known for his roles in Hollywood blockbusters including Gladiator (pictured), A Beautiful Mind and Robin Hood, is just one of several men who made it big in the film and TV industries before branching into the world of music
His acting talents have won him an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and several Golden Globes.
Over the years, Russell Crowe has starred in Hollywood blockbusters including Gladiator (for which he won his Oscar), A Beautiful Mind and Robin Hood.
However, back in 2011 he turned his hand to musicals and played Les Misérables baddie, vengeful police officer Javert. As the role obviously required some singing, Crowe demonstrated his vocals onscreen for the first time – and received mixed reviews.
Crowe, 59 (pictured performing in Australia last month), has been taking his Indoor Garden Party tour around the world
While the Guardian described his performance as ‘the most open [and] human’ of his career, the Independent concluded: ‘Even if he had been given a decent song he couldn’t sing it.’
However, the joke appeared to be on the naysayers, as for the last few years Crowe, 59, has been touring the globe’s music venues, performing as a singer and guitarist.
It’s not the New Zealand-born actor’s first rodeo, having been a founding member of Australian rock band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts in 1992 and releasing several studio albums together.
However in recent years Crowe has gone it alone – and is currently selling out venues across Italy on his Indoor Garden Party tour.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp, who rose to fame starring in indie films, became a household name when he was cast as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise
After decades of starring in indie films, Johnny Depp became a household name when he was cast as Captain Jack Sparrow in The Pirates of the Caribbean.
In recent years, the 59-year-old actor’s career has gone a little quiet, amid allegations from his ex-wife Amber Heard that he had physically abused her during their relationship.
Following a highly-charged, televised court battle in which Depp sued Heard for defamation, the Pirates actor was found not to have abused his ex-wife.
In the wake of (and during) the trial, which was watched around the world, Depp has let of steam by performing onstage in locations around the world.
Depp’s acting career went a little quiet while he was embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with his ex-wife Amber Heard, who had accused him of domestic abuse. While his acting career took a backseat, he teamed up with Jeff Beck to collaborate on the album 18 (pictured performing with Beck in Washington D.C)
While a jury in the US was deliberating over the defamation trial, Depp flew to London where he performed at the Royal Albert Hall with Jeff Beck – and even received a standing ovation.
Depp later collaborated with Beck on the album 18, but while the Royal Albert Hall audience were impressed with Depp’s musical talents, critics weren’t so convinced.
Branding the album ‘a dull display of colossal self-pity’, the Guardian claimed the success of the album and its sell-out shows was likely down to ‘the presence of Depp loyalists coming to view their hero playing alongside Beck’.
As for the two tracks on the album that Depp wrote, critic Michael Hann concluded they were the ‘weakest’ of the lot.
The collaboration is not Depp’s first foray into the world of music, as he actually joined a band before he ever pursued acting.
After dropping out of high school when he was just 15 years old, he joined a band called The Kids, which opened for The Ramones and Iggy Pop.
He again showed his musical side when he was cast as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Tim Burton’s musical production of Sweeney Todd.
Bradley Walsh
Bradley Walsh can do it all: Presenting, comedy and acting, but these days he is perhaps best known as the host of ITV quiz show The Chase
Bradley Walsh can do a little bit of everything, apparently. Best known these days for presenting The Chase on ITV and regularly succumbing to uncontrollable fits of the giggles, he has previously also lent his hand to acting, comedy – and music.
In 2016 the star, 63, released his first studio album Chasing Dreams, which outsold artists including Zayn Malik and Blossoms.
The swing-style album, which featured covers of well-known songs such as Smile and Fly Me to the Moon, was followed by Walsh’s second album, When You’re Smiling, the following year.
In 2016, Walsh released his debut album Chasing Dreams, which outsold Zayn Malik in the UK that year
Speaking to the Guardian about the rip-roaring success of his first album, Walsh remained humble.
He said: ‘I just laughed when I found out, I thought it was hysterical. I am probably the oldest new artist Sony has ever signed.’
Walsh also added that music mogul Simon Cowell congratulated him on his success.
Throughout his career, Walsh dipped his toes into the music world, and was called upon to host a revival of ITV’s variety show Sunday Night At The London Palladium in 2014 – and he had enormous shoes to fill, as the previous host had been the late Sir Bruce Forsyth.
Jeff Goldblum
Jeff Goldblum’s acting career has seen him cast in some of the highest-grossing movies of all time, including Jurassic Park (pictured)
Best known for running from dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park trilogy, Jeff Goldblum has starred in some of the highest-grossing Hollywood films of all time.
Another huge title to the 70-year-old actor’s name is apocalypse blockbuster Independence Day.
However, Goldblum is also a pretty skilled jazz pianist and has played with his own jazz ensemble, the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
In 2018, Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra released an album called The Capitol Studios Sessions, which jumped to Number 1 in the US Jazz Album Chart.
While Goldblum has long played the piano alongside acting (for more than 30 years) it is only later in life that he has carved out a second career as a jazz pianist in his new guise.
He attributes his foray into making jazz music with an impromptu piano performance on The Graham Norton Show in 2017 (pictured)
In fact, these days he is just as much known to some fans as for his piano playing as his acting.
Speaking to the Evening Standard earlier this year, he revealed how he has tried to combine his musical talents with his acting roles throughout his time in music.
He said a turning point came during an appearance on the Graham Norton Show in 2017 when he offered to play accompanying piano for musician Gregory Porter’s performance.
Goldblum explained to the publication how he ensured he found time to practise playing the piano while filming.
‘I have a piano in my hotel room and an electric keyboard in my trailer so, when there’s a moment or two, I’m practising and playing,’ he said.
He also explained that, while he had his heart set on acting from a young age, he kept up the piano because, ‘I just love music’.
Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie made his name in the US taking on roles including Greg House, the loveable rogue, painkiller-addicted genius doctor
In 2011, Laurie released his debut album, Let Them Talk, which became the biggest-selling blues album in the UK that year (pictured performing in Islington)
Best known for playing loveable rogue genius doctor House in the 2000s drama and making up 50% of beloved comedy duo Fry and Laurie, few of Hugh Laurie’s fans knew he also possessed musical talents.
The actor, 63, released his first blues album, Let Them Talk, in 2011, which became one of the biggest-selling albums of the genre in the UK that year.
The 15-track album even featured some surprise guests – including the legendary Tom Jones on ‘Baby, Please Make a Change’.
Two years later, Laurie released his second studio album, Didn’t It Rain, and during promotional tours for the record, discussed his surprise that his debut album had done so well.
However in an interview with the Guardian, Laurie revealed he didn’t read the reviews of Let Them Talk as he wanted to protect himself – which meant he also didn’t see any of the positive feedback it had received.
Laurie also revealed he was under no illusions that many people who went to see him perform onstage likely bought their tickets because he was already a big name.
He said: ‘I know that it did all right, and I was surprised by it. When people buy a ticket, that I sort of understand, it says my name on it and they’ve watched the television show, and they think: ‘Ah well, if nothing else, we’ll see the bloke off the TV’.’
Robert Downey Jr
After several years of struggling with addiction issues, Robert Downey Jr turned his career around and became a household name as Tony Stark in Ironman
Robert Downey Jr’s career has certainly had its ups and downs after the star rose to fame as part of the so-called Brat Pack in the 1980s, before a very public battle with addiction and even a spell in jail.
However, many may not know that the actor, best known for his role as Tony Stark in Ironman, released a blues album in 2004, the year after he got sober following a court-ordered rehabilitation programme.
The Futurist, a 10-track album of songs largely written by Downey Jr himself, received mixed reviews in which some of his lyrics were labelled ‘obtuse’ but other critics said there was a ‘moody musicality’ to some of the tracks.
One of the album’s tracks, Broken, features at the end of 2005 film in which the actor starred alongside Val Kilmer, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
When the Guardian interviewed the actor in 2005 at a London Hotel, he was labelled potentially ‘self-important’ because of the number of brooding portraits of himself which accompanied the debut album.
However, described as ‘reasonably friendly’ during the interaction, the actor revealed a heightened awareness of being seen as another actor-turned musician.
He told the publication that while he was recording the album at a studio in his friend’s house, he could ‘feel the resentment’ from the sound engineers and was wary of being labelled ‘a celebrity wannabe singer-songwriter banging out tracks’.
Following the release of The Futurist, he said he wasn’t going to give up acting, but wanted to make more music after realising his talents.
‘There’s no stopping the human spirit once you decide to dispel a belief you have about your own inabilities,’ he said.
James Martin
Best known as a beloved TV chef who has been on our screens since the days of Ready Steady Cook, many are surprised to know James Martin also performs in a band (pictured on This Morning)
James Martin has been a beloved TV chef on our screens for decades after starting out as a competitive young kitchen whizz on the BBC’s Ready, Steady, Cook.
He went on to present Saturday Kitchen on the BBC for a decade, from 2006-2016, and later moved over to ITV where he presents Saturday Morning with James Martin from his home in Hampshire.
When he’s not presenting cooking shows, the proud Yorkshireman spends his time at his restaurants, The Kitchen at Chewton Glen, James Martin Manchester and newly-acquired James Martin at The Lygon Arms in the picturesque town of Broadway in The Cotswolds.
During the summer months, Martin can be found touring the UK at food festivals, as well as CarFest (he is a self-confessed petrolhead).
The celebrity chef has performed with The James Martin Band at summer food festivals around the UK
In recent years and to the surprise of many fans of his cookery, Martin has also treated festivalgoers to musical performances with his group, the James Martin Band.
For the most part the band performs covers of hits including Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ and Gimme Shelter, by the Rolling Stones.
Back in 2016 during his live cookery tour, the Manchester Evening News reviewed his performance in the city, in which he gave the audience an impromptu cover of Oasis’s Live Forever while on the Gallagher’s home turf.
Describing the performance as ‘unexpected’, critic Dianne Bourne wrote how the chef admitted he had spent nine weeks learning how to play the guitar so he could ‘give something back to the fans’.
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