Top 20 Moments We Found Out an Actor Was a Great Dancer

For decades, men everywhere have been trying to figure out what it would take to woo Michelle Pfeiffer. It turns out the answer is an enthusiastic dance montage. Well, at least that’s what seems to work on her character in 2007’s “I Could Never Be Your Woman.” As she stands off to the side, Paul Rudd breaks out all his moves for a dance style melange that many probably didn’t think he was capable of. From country line to breakdancing, Rudd does it all - and although it’s played for laughs, you can tell that he’s got some rhythm in those bones. A rhythm he showed off for Jon Stewart as well.

Depending on your age and movie-watching history, when you found out Antonio Banderas could dance might differ slightly from other folks. The Spanish actor has shown off his abilities on the dance floor on multiple occasions, including “The Mask of Zorro” and “Take the Lead.” But before he was seducing Catherine Zeta-Jones and tangoing with Katya Virshilas, Banderas was waltzing with Madonna in the 1996 musical “Evita.” Banderas isn’t a trained dancer, and as he once said, “It’s a myth that everyone from Spain knows how to dance.” Well, it might be a myth, but it’s one that he’s lived up to on multiple occasions.

In 2018’s “A Star Is Born,” Bradley Cooper showed us he can sing, but it was earlier in the decade that we found out he can also dance. It started with the awesome dance competition scene in “Silver Linings Playbook.” Although his and Jennifer Lawrence’s characters only score a 5 out of 10 for their routine, they won all of our hearts with their spirited, original choreography. The following year, in 2013, we learned that his “Playbook” moves weren’t a fluke as he boogied down to Donna Summer in “American Hustle.”

In the early ‘80s, Richard Gere showed us that he could literally sweep women off their feet - or at least lift them off and carry them away. But it wasn’t until much later in his career that we learned he could move his feet with a surprising amount of grace and rhythm. The moment that made Gere a dancer came in the 2002 musical, “Chicago.” The dancing abilities of many of the film’s stars caught people off guard, but none more so than Gere when he broke out his tap shoes for a solo dance number. And we have to imagine it was his performance in this film that landed him the role in “Shall We Dance” a couple years later.

Being a great dancer and a great improviser don’t necessarily have anything to do with each other, but sometimes the two come together to create one perfect moment. And that’s what happened on the Season 5 episode of “Scrubs,” “My Half-Acre.” As Donald Faison confirmed on his podcast with Zach Braff, “Fake Doctors, Real Friends” - that now iconic dance he does to Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” - that was all improvised on the spot. And all done on the first take as well. So, for all of you who only know it as the default “Fortnite” dance, know that they took it from Faison’s performance.

While it might’ve been a surprise to fans when they saw Patrick Swayze’s performance in “Dirty Dancing,” it certainly wasn’t a surprise to his family and friends. Swayze’s mother Patsy was a ​​dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor. Naturally, Patrick had studied dance from a young age, taking it so far as to even move to New York in the ‘70s to finish his formal training. So, while “Dirty Dancing” was when we all found out he was a dancer, for Swayze, the film was just his first opportunity to really show the population at large one of the things he’d been training for his whole life.

For those paying attention, Ryan Gosling’s dancing abilities have been on full display since he was a kid. Whether it’s in one of the many stage shows you can now find videos of online, or even back in his “Mickey Mouse Club” days, Gosling has been moving and grooving. However, since he exploded onto our movie screens, dancing wasn’t one of his talents most of us were aware of. That is, until 2016’s Best Picture-winning - oops, Best Picture-nominated - “La La Land.” Now we all know that Ryan Gosling is a great dancer.

When Charlize Theron hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2014, she confirmed to the world that she can’t sing. Well, at least there’s one thing this beautiful and talented woman can’t do, because we know she can act like a champ and we’ve also seen that she can dance. The year before her “SNL” confession, we saw her waltz around the Oscar stage with Channing Tatum while Seth MacFarlane sang a song. But over a decade before that, just a few years into her film career, Theron gave us a taste of her moves in a solo dance around the house in “The Astronaut’s Wife.” And twenty years later she gave the world a taste of her tango in “Long Shot.”

And speaking of Charlize Theron’s Oscar dance partner, before he was a famous movie star, Channing Tatum was known for his abilities on the dance floor. Well, actually it was more of a stage, and the dancing also involved the removal of his clothes as a stripper, a skill and life experience he would put to direct use years later in Steven Soderbergh’s great 2012 film, “Magic Mike.” However, it was six years prior that his moves were first put on display up on the silver screen in “Step Up.” Tatum grooves all over the movie, showing off his ability to both freestyle and work with choreography.

Jenna Ortega’s unusual and intense dance as Wednesday Addams brilliantly showed the many facets of her creepy character. Although not formally trained, Ortega came up with all of the moves herself. She based her research on actors, singers and dancers from the past, including Siouxsie Sioux, Bob Fosse, goth kids in the ‘80s, and the first Wednesday, Lisa Loring. Her character’s blank face and laser intense focus really put the emphasis on the clean, graceful moves. The creepy, kooky routine is so much fun that it has since inspired many TikTok recreations, including one from Lady Gaga.

Since making her film debut in the early ‘90s, Penélope Cruz has always filled the screen with beauty and glamor - to go along with her huge talent as an actor. But in 2004’s “Noel,” she filled the screen with her sultry and seductive salsa dance moves in an attempt to draw Paul Walker into her arms. And it worked! The film itself didn’t perform very well at the box office, but those who did pay to see it certainly got their money’s worth as far as Cruz’s dancing is concerned.

For many years, Hugh Jackman was best known as the tough, mutant fighter, Wolverine. Nobody expected the blade-handed hero to also have dancing feet. Before “X-Men” launched him into stardom, Jackman spent much of his early career singing and dancing on stage. He showed off his skills at the occasional awards show, including a number from his starring role in Broadway’s “The Boy from Oz.” Despite that, many of his fans were stunned when he sashayed onto the screen as P. T. Barnum in the dazzling film musical, “The Greatest Showman.” His leading man moves in this romantic musical are truly the greatest show.

Few people knew that Kate Hudson was a spectacular dancer, until she took to the runway in the film musical “Nine.” As the Vogue fashion journalist Stephanie, Hudson performs the stylish number “Cinema Italiano.” The dazzling black-and-white sequence has a music video vibe and Hudson is the star. She makes the high-energy moves look stylishly simple as she takes over the screen. Just a few years later, Hudson would continue to show off her dance skills in the hit TV series, “Glee.” As dance instructor Cassandra July, her choreography continued to exude confidence and glamor. And let’s not forget about her “pushing it” in 2011’s “Something Borrowed.”

Christian Bale is an actor usually associated with grim characters and dramatic performances. However, this former Batman has a film history sprinkled with serious shuffling skills. Bale first donned his dancing shoes for the silver screen while playing a teenage newsboy in the Disney musical, “Newsies.” Next, his nimble feet were spotlighted in the 1993 drama, “Swing Kids.” In later years, Bale would sneak the occasional dance move into roles like serial killer Patrick Bateman in “American Psycho.” Taika Waititi even seriously considered giving Gorr the God Butcher a celebratory dance sequence in “Thor: Love and Thunder.” Sadly, the Butcher boogie bops didn’t make it into the film schedule.

Although Amy Adams started her arts career as a dancer, she didn’t get to really showcase her skills on screen until she became a princess. As Giselle in “Enchanted,” Adams’s dance background can be seen in each graceful arm gesture. She fully embraces musical theater as she frolics about in “Happy Working Song” and twirls through Central Park in “That’s How You Know.” It’s in the final ballroom dance, however, where Adams’s grace gets to shine. As she and Patrick Dempsey float across the ballroom, her inner ballerina truly comes to life.

Throughout his film career, Sam Rockwell’s never been shy about cutting a rug. He loves to throw in a few well-placed dance moves to enhance his characters. It’s a frequent enough occurrence that fans look forward to his little spectacle in whatever film he’s in. One of the first of these delightful moments is his smooth villain routine in the spy comedy, “Charlie’s Angels.” As Eric Knox, he displays his full joy in being the bad guy with some clever footwork. It’s also easy to remember his quick-footed expo entrance as Justin Hammer in “Iron Man 2.” As you rewatch some of those earlier films, be sure to notice his less obvious character boogies.

Catherine Zeta-Jones’s character, Elena, in “The Mask of Zorro” is well remembered for a very vigorous sword fight. However, as previously alluded to, she and co-star Antonio Banderas showed off their on-screen chemistry with a sizzling Paso Doble. Before she started making films, Zeta-Jones performed as a child in the West End and studied musical theater. After her turn as Zorro’s romantic interest, her dancing skills continued to serve her well. Her fierce numbers as the merry murderess Velma Kelly in “Chicago” earned her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. A spirited dancer indeed.

Although Zoe Saldaña trained in her early years as a dancer, she chose not to pursue her ballet dreams. Luckily, she was able to live them out in her debut feature, “Center Stage.” Saldaña showed off her talent playing an aspiring ballerina in this teen drama. Although she hasn’t taken on another dancer role, the actress managed some pretty impressive hip hop moves while dancing to “Scrubs” on “Lip Sync Battle.” Gamora’s graceful and fierce fighting in “Guardians of the Galaxy” also clearly reflects the dancer within.

Not everyone knows that Tom Holland started his career on a West End stage in “Billy Elliot: The Musical.” As a preteen, he fully embraced the ballet and gymnastics training for his acting and singing debut. These spins and flips eventually helped him score the role of everyone’s favorite friendly neighborhood superhero. Once the world knew him as Spider-Man, he stunned audiences with his “Lip Sync Battle” against co-star Zendaya. Holland began by demonstrating his best Gene Kelly moves to “Singin’ in the Rain.” Soon enough, he traded suit for corset and channeled his inner Rihanna in order to make the biggest splash of them all!

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Tom Hiddleston, “Alan Carr: Chatty Man” (2009-16)
This Actor Can Bust Out Some Marvel-ous Moves

Salma Hayek, “From Dusk till Dawn” (1996)
Hayek’s Dance Is So Seductive, You Almost Forget About the Snake

Daniel Craig, Belvedere Vodka Commercial
Thank You, Taika Waititi for This Dancing Daniel Craig

Mads Mikkelsen, “Another Round” (2020)
A Drunken Dance of Pure Delight

Christopher Walken has always been an instantly recognizable actor. His distinctive speech pattern and intense characters always steal the show. So, it’s no wonder Fatboy Slim decided to feature him as a solo act in the 2001 music video “Weapon of Choice.” Walken wasn’t known for his dancing skills, but he blew everyone away with his smooth grooving. It’s three minutes of non-stop talent delivered with Walken’s nonchalant intensity. At first it’s hard to believe that this is the same actor who played drug lord Frank White in “King of New York.” Then, again, it really shouldn’t be all that surprising. It’s Christopher Walken!