EMMY FRIEND OF YOURS

Those annual EMMY Awards are coming this Sunday.  So to celebrate, our questions this time are about TV/movie actors who also sing (or at least attempt to sing).  We’re not counting William Shatner here, who has actually released several albums or Archie Bunker aka Carroll O’Connor, who actually had a hit single (# 43 in 1972) singing (with co-star Gene Stapleton aka Edith Bunker) the theme song for their smash TV series “All In The Family”.  Their song was called “Those Were The Days”, which was the original title of the TV series until it was changed.  We’re also not asking any questions about actress/singer Gwyneth Paltrow, who has sung in at least one of her movies and is married to Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin.  Nor will we be asking about Anne Hathaway, who won an Academy Award earlier this year for her singing/acting in “Les Miserables”. 

Now, this quiz may be slightly harder than others in the past as several of these actor/singers may not have made the charts.  But not to worry.   There’ll be plenty of clues to guide you through it.  So, here we go.    

QUESTIONS

1.  This actress/singer has co-starred in several Woody Allen films, including “Match Point” (2005), “Scoop” (2006) and ”Vicki Christina Barcelona” (2008).  She’s also portrayed the Marvel comic book character Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanoff) in “Ironman 2”, “The Avengers” and the upcoming “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”,  due for release next year.  She was also married to Canadian actor (but NOT singer) Ryan Reynolds from September 2008 until December of 2010 (their divorce was finalized in 2011).  Her latest film is writer/director/star Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s “Don Jon”.  Who is she?         

      

2.  “Hannah Montana” was the first TV starring role for this actress/singer.  At this years MTV Awards, she made headlines around the world by ‘twerking’ fellow singer Robin Thicke.  In fact, she’s made headlines for a great many things lately (including cutting her hair and appearing naked in her new video).  She’s the daughter of a famous actor/singer, who co-starred with her in “Hannah Montana” on the Disney channel.  Can you name this actress/singer with a controversial lifestyle?           

                

3.  George Lucas cast this Scottish actor/singer as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the three “Star Wars” prequels.  He first came to film fame starring in 1996’s ”Trainspotting”.  He’s also appeared on stage in “Guys And Dolls” and “”Othello”.  In 1997, he was ranked # 36 on Empire Magazine’s list of “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time”.  In 2009, he co-starred with Tom Hanks in “Angels and Demons”, the sequel to “The Da Vinci Code”.  Last year, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for ‘Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical” for the film, “Salmon Fishing In The Yemen”.  Who is this actos/singer/Jedi Knight?    

                   

4.  He’s Ironman.  That should give it away immediately.  But he’s also a singer.  His career has certainly had its ups and downs (HINT ALERT).  He says he’s filmed his last Ironman movie, but he will be back as Tony Stark aka Iron Man for another “Avengers” film in 2015.  He had a serious drug habit for many years, but eventually cleaned himself up and got his career back on track and soared to new heights, including recording a musical CD.  So who is he already?          

    

5.  She sings the opening theme to her current hit TV series and she’s been singing almost as long as she’s been acting.  Her sister stars in the hit TV series “Bones”.  She had a major role in 2005’s “The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy”.  You didn’t see it?  I didn’t think so.  This actress/singer co-starred with Canada’s Jim Carrey as a singer/adorable elfin like person in 2008’s “Yes Man”.  The following year, she co-starred with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in “(500) Days of Summer”.  She’s starred in her own TV series (as a character named Jess) since 2011.  She has an unforgettable name, but in case you’re stumped, her first name begins with the last letter of the alphabet.  Can you guess the name of this singer/actress?                   

     

ANSWERS

1.  Scarlett Ingrid Johansson is a fine, fine, mighty fine actress/singer.  She’s released two CD’s, including 2008’s “Anywhere I Lay My Head” and “Break Up”.  While still married in 2010, husband Ryan Reynolds was named “Sexiest Man Alive” by People Magazine while Scarlett was named “Babe of The Year” by GQ Magazine.  Previously she’d been voted “Sexiest Woman Alive” by Esquire Magazine in 2006 and “Sexiest Celebrity” by Playboy in ’07.  Her movie career includes, “The Horse Whisperer” (1998), “Lost In Translation” (2003), “A Love Song For Bobby Long” (2004), “The Island” (2005), “He’s Just Not That Into You” (2009), “We Bought A Zoo” (2011) and “Hitchcock” (2012).  In 2014, her films will include “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, “Lucy”, “Chef” and the following year (2015) there’ll be a new Avengers film titled, “The Avengers – Age of Ultron” in which she’ll continue as the character of ‘The Black Widow’.  Scarlett won a Tony Award for ‘Best Performance By A Featured Actress In A Play’ for the 2010 Broadway revival of playwright Arthur Miller’s “A View From The Bridge”.  She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May of 2012.      

2.  Once you’ve seen that image of Miley Cyrus ‘twerking’ on the 2013 MTV Awards, you can never get it out of your head.  This former Disney channel star has done everything in her power to prove she’s no longer the sweet, innocent “Hannah Montana”.  Whether her acting/singing career continues to be successful is still to be decided.  These days, she’s concentrating on music and/or creating controversy with whatever she does.  Good luck with that Miley.             

3.  Ewan McGregor has appeared in such British musical theatre productions as “Guys And Dolls” (playing Sky Masterson – the role that Marlon Brando played in the movie version) and “Othello”, in which he played Iago.  He starred as Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi all three of the second set of “Star Wars” movies – “The Phantom Menace”, “Attack Of The Clones” and “Revenge Of The Sith” (and he didn’t sing in any of those).  In 2001, he co-starred in “Moulin Rouge” and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ‘Best Actor Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy”.  Upcoming films include “Son Of A Gun” and “Jane Got A Gun” (do I detect a theme here?).  Both are scheduled for release in 2014.        

4.  It’s Robert Downey Jr.  His latest singing CD is called “The Futurist” and if you remember, in an episode of Ally McBeal, Robert sang, and quite well too,with Sting, who’s not a bad actor himself, having starred in the films “Quadrophenia” (1979) and “Dune” (1984), among many others.  Downey’s next films will be “Chef” and “The Judge”, both scheduled to be released in 2014 and in 2015, the highly anticipated sequel to “The Avengers” titled “The Avengers – Age of Ultron”.   

    

5.  Zooey Deschanel stars in the TV series “New Girl”, in which she sings the opening theme.  Her first film role was in the 1999 film, “Mumford” (not to be confused with the award winning British group Mumford and Sons).  On TV, she’s guest starred in Kirstie Alley’s “Veronica’s Closet”, “Frasier”, “Weeds” and on her real life sisters’ show, “Bones” as a distant relation.  Since 2007, Zooey has performed with M. Ward as She and Him.  Their first album together, “Volume One”, was released in 2008 with “Volume Two” coming out in 2010.  2011 saw the release of “A Very She and Him Christmas” CD and “Volume Three” was released this year (2013).  In 2011, Zooey sang the U.S. national anthem at the beginning of Game 4 of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals in Arlington Stadium.  Zooey has also voiced several characters for “The Simpsons”.  She was briefly married for two years and the couples’ divorce was finalized in December 2012.  Zooey’s TV series “New Girl” is now in its third season.