Actors' Hidden Talents That Wound Up Playing A Huge Part In The Movie

Actors do a lot. As early as the Silent Era and the subsequent Golden Age of Hollywood, stars not only acted in pictures, but also danced and sang their way through them as well. Some actors will shed tons of weight, take weapons training, or even learn a new language to land a role. Some actors — think the Marx Brothers or Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's crew — develop comedic timing so unique it becomes their own brand. In other words, the folks acting out stories on screens both big and small are clearly a talented bunch.

All of these unique skills make performances memorable, and most folks aren't shocked to learn their favorite actor can also tap dance a little bit. However, they may be surprised to find out that said actor owns a high dive. So, in the spirit of learning more about all the different ways actors make our favorite movies great, check out this list on actor's hidden talents. It's truly surprising to learn what tricks actors have hidden up their sleeves. It's even more surprising to learn all the different ways these tricks have impacted their movies.

Daniel Kaluuya first made waves with mass audiences as Chris Washington in 2017's "Get Out." Director Jordan Peele's debut film not only became an instant classic upon release, but also made Kaluuya an A-lister seemingly overnight — and for good reason. Kaluuya shines in the role as Chris. He's vulnerable, subtly funny, and just enough of an everyman to make audiences believe he might not make it until the credits roll.

He's also a master of his own tear ducts — in fact, it's this skill that landed Kaluuya the role as Chris. In his appearance on First We Feast's "Hot Ones" — a show in which celebrities eat progressively hotter wings and answer questions about their lives and careers — Kaluuya explained his ability to cry on command. He confirmed that during his audition for "Get Out," he performed the Sunken Place scene five times. In each run through, he teared up and his tears fell in the same path across his face. If that's not some kind of an acting superpower, what is?

Kaluuya's control over his own waterworks is also responsible for one of the film's most iconic images: the shot of Chris trapped in the sunken place, his eyes welling with tears as his hands remain plastered to the couch. It's riveting stuff, and an enormous credit to Kaluuya's acting talent.

Steve McQueen, aka "The King of Cool," aka Wilt Chamberlain's competition for the World Sex Record, loved cars. However, his appreciation went beyond simple aesthetics. By most accounts he was an absolute gearhead — in fact, regional paper The OC Register even dubbed McQueen "The King of the Hollywood Gearheads." Considering how many movies McQueen starred in where his character operated a classic car — think the 1968 Ford Mustang GT from "Bullitt" or the Porsche 917 in "Le Mans" — it may not be surprising to hear that McQueen loved, worked on, and raced cars in real life.

However, this secondary skill set did impact one of his most famous films, "The Thomas Crown Affair." Famously, in one scene, McQueen's wealthy Thomas Crown drives Faye Dunaway's Vicki Anderson around in a custom Meyers Manx dune buggy. According to Petrolicious, the Manx was supposed to be outfitted with a standard Volkswagen engine. However, McQueen the car be customized with a more powerful Chevrolet Corvair engine. Without getting too into the greasy weeds of auto mechanics, this decision gave the car more speed and allowed McQueen to better rip around the beach in the iconic scene from the film. 

With his unmistakable voice, singular delivery, and a cadence so unique he gives Jeff Goldblum a run for his money, there's no mistaking the one and only Christopher Walken. While Walken's status as Hollywood's most lovable weirdo may make the idea of him having a hidden talent a bit of a far-fetched proposition, he does have one skill many fans might still find astounding. What skill could it possibly be? The answer: lion taming.

Yes, lion taming. In a 2021 interview with The Guardian, Walken revealed he spent a summer as a lion tamer when he was 16. He worked for a circus, and called the experience of working with Sheba the lion "blissful." While a laundry list of Walken's other talents might have cropped up on screen over the years — including his ability to sing, dance, deliver jokes with effortless comedic timing, and even cook — lion taming has yet to make an appearance. A note to producers everywhere: Please make the Walken lion taming movie happen. 

In recent years, Tom Cruise has become something of a real-life Wile E. Coyote. Each new project he takes on seems designed to see if he's capable of walking over the edge of a cliff without looking down. Unlike his Looney Tunes counterpart, though, Cruise never blinks. In the last decade or so, he's done everything on screen from run down the face of the world's tallest building to scuba dive to fly jets and helicopters. He's also done a lot of it in real life, too.

While being a daredevil isn't necessarily a hidden talent, Cruise has quietly been amassing licenses and certifications to ensure he can do his own stunts on screen. During a 2022 appearance on "The Late Late Show with James Cordon," Cordon asked Cruise to name all of his licenses. The list includes: a commercial airplane license, jets, helicopters, motorcycles, boats, parachutes, and a scuba diving license for good measure. That's a ton of applications and certification tests to squeeze between some fairly grueling shooting schedules. But like Wile E. Coyote, Cruise just keeps right on going. The silver screen has been enriched by his obsessive talents and interests. Whether he's flying jets in "Top Gun: Maverick" or crashing helicopters in "Mission Impossible: Fallout," it's always entertaining. Cheers to you, Maverick.

Jason Statham, all growls and an ongoing penchant for punching dudes in the face, is one of the great action stars working today. Seriously, does anybody else pull off ridiculous scenarios as well as Statham? He's utterly believable in everything from the "Crank" movies to the "Fast and Furious" franchise to "Death Race."

Statham's grace in precarious scenarios may be a side effect of his time as professional diver. Per LADbible, he even competed in the 1990 English Commonwealth Games, an international competition that's really only a few rungs down from the Olympics in terms of skill and competition. While Statham hasn't done a ton of diving on screen, he did get the opportunity to show off his skills in 2018's "The Meg." 

In the film, Statham plays a rescue diver named Jonas Tyler. Naturally, Tyler has a checkered past that haunts him, but he eventually winds up redeeming himself by helping a group of scientists fend off an enormous megalodon shark. In a New York Times "Anatomy of Scene" video segment, director Jon Turteltaub explained that Statham's strong swimming ability really helped with the shoot, which required the actor to be the water for long periods of time. Not many people ever get the opportunity to compete in international contests, and even fewer than turn around to star in blockbuster franchises. It's testament to Statham that he's managed both.

Will Smith — the international superstar, rapper, and funnyman — wields enough talent to stock a warehouse retailer. Even with his plethora of showman skills, fans may be surprised to learn Mr. Smith does have a hidden talent of his own: he's a Rubik's Cube wiz. Smith honed his puzzle solving speed on the set of 2006's smash hit "The Pursuit of Happyness."

"The Pursuit of Happyness" recounts the real life story of Chris Gardener (via BBC News). In the 1980s, Gardner overcame homelessness and poverty by independently studying to become a stockbroker, all while raising a toddler. The movie is extremely uplifting, and Smith's performance earned him a Best Actor Nomination at the 2006 Oscars. In one iconic scene, Smith as Gardener solves a Rubik's Cube in under two minutes while riding in cab, an unconventional plan to get the attention of a potential employer. 

In a 2007 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Rubik's Cube prodigy Tyson Mao — the world record holder for solving the puzzle blindfolded — told the Tribune he'd been brought to set to fake the scene (via BuzzFeed). He went on to explain that Smith insisted on doing the scene for real. In the end, Mao worked with Smith for ten hours until Smith could solve a Rubik's cube from "any configuration." It goes to show just how far the man who gave us "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" will go to deliver for his audience.