Top 10 Actors Who Learned to Dance for a Role

“Fosse/Verdon” (2019)

For someone without a background in dance, Michelle Williams has sure taken on some dance-heavy roles in her career. Going back to 2014 when Williams took on the role of Sally Bowles in a Broadway revival production of “Cabaret”. And speaking of “Cabaret”, you might be familiar with the fact that the beloved movie - based on the play - was directed by the great Bob Fosse. This connects to Williams’ next big dance role, which came five years later in the “Fosse/Verdon” miniseries - in which she played the titular actress and dancer, Gwen Verdon. As dancer Dana Moore said of Williams, “She came into this with very little understanding of Fosse style”, but she “worked very, very hard”, and became “a dancer”.

“Get On Up” (2014)

Chadwick Boseman did some of his own singing in the 2014 James Brown biopic, “Get On Up”, but when it came to the dancing - Boseman did it all. While the “Black Panther” actor had studied writing, directing and acting - professional dancing wasn’t in his wheelhouse. However, after many 5-hour-long practices leading up to filming, his wheelhouse eventually added another room; a room called ‘dance like James Brown’. It seems only appropriate that Boseman would’ve had to work that hard to portray the performer they called the “hardest working man in showbusiness”.

“Red Sparrow” (2018)

For those who haven’t seen “Red Sparrow” and are thinking, ‘hey, there’s no dancing in spy movies’. Well, this one is an espionage film about a Russian spy who was formerly a ballerina - so that’s where the dancing comes in. Jennifer Lawrence had never previously done professional ballet, so learning to move like one was definitely going to take some work. And by work, we mean 4 hours a day, 5 days a week - or 3 hours a day, 6 days a week, depending on who you ask. Needless to say, it was a lot of hours and a lot of days. Though she did most of the dancing, she did have a professional dance double for some parts.

“Anchors Aweigh” (1945)

Frank Sinatra is one of the most popular entertainers the world has ever known and he is famous for a lot of things - including his voice, his mob ties and his blue eyes. But one thing the ‘Chairman of the Board’ was never famous for, was his dancing. But that didn’t stop him from taking on the role of Clarence "Brooklyn" Doolittle in the musical comedy “Anchors Aweigh”, opposite dancing icon Gene Kelly. Not only did he star opposite him, Sinatra had a major dance number alongside Kelly in the film. He trained for 8 weeks and filmed 72 takes to get the number right!

“Chicago” (2022)

While Catherine Zeta-Jones did have some formal dance training in her past, her “Chicago” co-star Renée Zellweger did not. Not that you’d know it after having seen her dance her way through multiple high energy numbers and right into a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Sure, she was a little rough around the edges, but director Rob Marshall liked that, saying “I like them. It's like Roxie's living a fantasy. I didn't want her to be a polished technician.” And if we’re talking “Chicago,” we need to give some props to Richard Gere as well, for his impressive tap dance scene that he trained for three months to be able to master.

“Honey” (2003)

You might’ve forgotten that, before she was dancing in “Sin City”, Jessica Alba was dancing in “Honey”. According to Bille Woodruff, the director of the 2003 film, Beyoncé was originally set for the lead role - but her touring schedule forced her to turn it down. The role then went to Alba instead. Though she obviously didn’t bring the same background in dance that Beyoncé would’ve - but she worked hard to get it right. We’re talking, 3 ½ months of training. “I took beginner’s ballet and beginner’s jazz,” Albs said in an interview, “and then I had to learn how to do hip-hop”.

“Singin' in the Rain” (1952)

It is by far one of the greatest movie musicals of all time. But as much fun as audiences have had watching it for over 70 years, “Singin' in the Rain” wasn’t always that much fun to make - especially for Debbie Reynolds who wasn’t a trained dancer. Working with the great Gene Kelly was probably exciting for Reynolds at first, but it turned out that he allegedly wasn’t the kindest or most encouraging co-star. By her own account, things were so bad it brought Reynolds to tears. She is famously quoted as saying that, “‘Singin' in the Rain’ and childbirth were the two hardest things I ever had to do in my life.”

“Hail, Caesar!” (2016)

Yes, you read that right… Channing Tatum. And yes, like you, we all saw “Step Up” and “Magic Mike” and like you… we all know this guy is a great dancer. But, he isn’t a tap dancer! In the 2016 Coen brothers film “Hail, Caesar!”, Tatum had to tap dance. As he told Vulture, “I didn't think tap-dancing was going to be easy, but I also had no idea how hard it was actually going to be.” But he worked at it and he practiced for 3 months, and in the end he did the 6-minute scene in the movie without a double.

“Footloose” (1984)

Before they got to Kevin Bacon, the makers of “Footloose” had a few other actors in mind. They wanted Tom Cruise because of his pantsless dance in “Risky Business” - but his schedule didn’t work. They also liked Rob Lowe because he could dance, but he ultimately couldn’t take it because he was still recovering from an injury. They eventually got around to Kevin Bacon, who has admitted he wasn’t a trained dancer and that he honestly didn’t realize it was a dance movie when he took the part. He learned pretty quickly though, and he put in the work with a choreographer and did gymnastics to get ready. And while he did do most of the dancing, he also had a stunt, dance and 2 gymnastics doubles for the famous warehouse scene.

“Black Swan” (2010)

While most of the actors on this list got their respective roles with no dance training on their resumes, Natalie Portman was a little different. When she was a kid, Portman trained in modern dance as well as ballet at the American Theater Dance Workshop. However, it wasn't something she had seriously pursued into adulthood. So, when it came time to play ballet dancer Nina Sayers in “Black Swan,” she had a lot of training to do. Her preparation wasn’t limited to dance. Portman trained to get her body to look like a professional ballet dancer. She got there by doing cross-training, swimming and ballet for 5 hours a day for six months leading up to the filming.