From Tom Hiddleston to Reese Witherspoon, Stars Who've Played Country Music Legends on the Big Screen

Channeling a country artist is more than hair and makeup

By Jennifer Dill Nov 03, 2016 7:00 PMTags
Tom Hiddleston, I Saw the Light, Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams, Reese Witherspoon, Walk the LineSony Pictures Classics; TriStar Pictures; 20th Century Fox

What do Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Lange have in common?

Aside from being major stars with rabid fan bases, that is. 

Today, the answer is that all three are among the Hollywood set who've played country music legends on the big screen. Reese did her own singing and won an Oscar for her role as June Carter (soon-to-be Carter Cash) in Walk the Line opposite Joaquin Phoenix, who channeled Johnny Cash's musical mannerisms down to a tee and, like Reese, went through rigorous vocal training to be able to handle the Man in Black's repertoire.

Twentieth Century Fox

Speaking of which, that's Hiddleston's actual voice, too, in I Saw the Light, the British actor brushing up on his guitar and yodeling skills to play the revered Hank Williams, who left his forever-mark on the country world before dying tragically at only 29 on New Year's Day in 1953.

And while Lange didn't do her own vocals while playing Patsy Cline in Sweet Dreams, she still scored an Oscar nomination for her touching portrayal of the doomed legend in the 1985 film. 

In fact, award nominations and rave reviews tend to abound when actors suit up to play real-life country stars—perhaps because, just like the songs suggest, the living is hard, the feelings are raw and the journey is full of highs and lows. Meaty stuff for any ambitious thesp!

Check out more stars who've played country artists on the big screen right here.

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Stars Go Country Onscreen