When Chris Klein‘s Mamma Mia audition tape surfaced in 2010, it became an instant online classic thanks to the American Reunion actor’s hilariously bad voice and weirdly over exuberant performance (plus the revelation that he really loves Mandy Moore).
The clip is so bad that it almost seems like a Van Der Memes-esque spoof, but now Klein has confirmed that it’s just an epically bad audition. “I took a chance — I can’t sing!” Klein admits. “I don’t know why I was in there. But I took a chance! It’s a musical — let’s see if I can give it a shot. And, you know, the way that they put it out there, it gets taken out of context and all that kind of thing. It was really a dreadful audition.”
Though Klein did become the laughing stock of the Internet for a few weeks, he shouldn’t feel too bad. Plenty of A-list actors make atrocious singers — and one even made the final cut for Mamma Mia. Here’s a look at the stars who won’t be guest starring on Glee anytime soon.
Pierce Brosnan
Mamma Mia featured several stars who aren’t known for their singing voice, such as Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried. In Pierce Brosnan‘s case, we now know why. His surprisingly high-pitched performance of “S.O.S” led audiences to break out in laughter.
Drew Barrymore
Considering that Woody Allen didn’t tell the actors in his 1996 film Everyone Says I Love You that they were signing up for a musical, it’s amazing that the singing is halfway decent. The one hitch in the director’s plan was Drew Barrymore, whose voice is so bad it had to be dubbed. “It was outside the limits of human endurance,” Allen explained. “Drew Barrymore sings so badly, deaf people refuse to watch her lips move.” Ouch.
Cameraon Diaz
Cameron Diaz‘s comically bad singing in the My Best Friend’s Wedding karaoke scene wasn’t just acting — she really can’t hold a tune. While you might remember her sultry performance from The Mask, her voice was actually dubbed. “I do not sing,” Diaz explains. “I would not be able to pull off a song. Even if I did it poorly, people would still be, ‘What’s going on? What’s she singing?’ So it’s one thing I won’t even attempt to do.”
George Clooney
For the Coen Brothers’ film O Brother, Where Art Thou? George Clooney underwent weeks of vocal training, only to have his singing voice dubbed by country blues singer Dan Tyminski in the final cut.
Halle Berry
Halle Berry sounded great in the TV movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge — but only because Wendi Williams provided Dandridge’s singing voice. Apparently, she fooled Aretha Franklin, because the icon asked Berry to play her in a biopic. Unfortunately, her terrible voice forced her to “respectfully” turn down the role. “If I could carry a tune, I’d consider it,” she said. “Someone should tell Aretha that I can’t do her justice.”
