From Scarlett Johansson to Jennifer Lopez, 6 artists show you it's never too late to chase your dreams

The 49-year-old Keifer Sutherland, who made his acting debut with a 1983 film called Max Dugan Returns and is best known as 24’s Jack Bauer has announced the release of his debut album, 'Down In A Hole' only now. He even put out his first single from that album. 'Called Not Enough Whiskey', it also has a music video to go with it. While himself being sceptical of the idea of an actor taking up music, he further told the mag. “A lot of actors make records but won’t tour to support them or make videos, and it ends up not being serious. I felt strongly that this was something I wanted to do.” In fact, he’s so serious, he’s going to promote said 11-track album, with a 26-date tour, starting April 11. There are several multi-talented actors like him, who made that switch for creative satisfaction, late into their acting careers. Here’s looking at a few...

Scarlett Johansson

Debuted as an actress in 1994, with North. She has said of herself, “I’m not a songwriter. I’m a vocalist.” In 2006, she sang for Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars, a non-profit collection of songs recorded by Hollywood actors. In 2008, she recorded an album called Anywhere I Lay My Head.. By 2012, she lent vocals to Before My Time for Chasing Ice, which was nommed for Best Song at the Oscars. In February 2015, Johansson formed a band called The Singles. But an LA-based rock band of the same name that had been around longer, got wind of it and sent ScarJo a cease-and-desist notice, asking to stop using their name. As of now, it isn’t clear what her band will be called.

Jennifer Lopez

Her artistic beginnings were thanks to New Kids On The Block, who she was a backup dancer for in 1991. Her first film role came, courtesy My Little Girl in 1986. She would go on to work in several films, judge American Idol and work in a breakout movie called Selena and a dud called Gigli (in no particular order). But it is her musical career, beginning in 1999 with On The 6 and her first hit single If You Had My Love that made her a force to be reckoned with. Several albums later (the last came in 2014), she is considered one of the most powerful voices in Latino music. By 2012, Lopez had sold over 55 million records worldwide.

Hugh Laurie

Dr House has taken piano lessons since age six. He sings and plays piano, guitar, drums, harmonica and saxophone. While he has shown off his musical skills throughout his acting career, which began in the early 80s, it was only with the album, Let Them Talk (2011), that one became aware of the actor’s musical range. His second album, Didn’t It Rain, was released in the UK in May 2013.

Juliette Lewis

The star of several TV films in the late 80s, Lewis found her breakthrough film with 1991’s Cape Fear. Yet, for most of her early career, she was considered more famous for being Brad Pitt’s girlfriend (for all of four years). It would be only as late as 2004 that Lewis would lead a rock band called Juliette And The Licks with herself on vocals, Patty Schemel on drums, Todd Morse on guitar and Paul Ill on bass. The quartet came up with four studio albums and quite a few singles, breaking up in 2009 and reuniting last year. Their next act is scheduled for this May. When she went solo, Lewis released an album entitled Terra Incognita. She has intermittently featured in albums of other artistes as well. As they say, better late than never.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Her acting debut was in a TV film called High in 1987, directed by her father. Her film debut came with 1994’s Shout. One first hears her in the 2000 film Duets, again directed by her father. Here, she sang a rendition of Smokey Robinson’s Crusin’. And while she has sung in films after that, her vocal range became more apparent only more recently, when the actress featured in the TV show Glee in a recurring role as substitute teacher Holly Holiday. She sang covers on the show. Her last recording that we remember was for Coldplay’s A Head Full Of Dreams, singing along with her ex-husband Chris Martin.

Zooey Deschanel

Began acting career in 1999’s Mumford. In 2002 alone, she was seen in five films. In 2001, Deschanel formed If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies, a jazz cabaret act with fellow actress Samantha Shelton and the pair performed around Los Angeles. Then, in 2007, she notably contributed vocals on the album Nighttiming by Jason Schwartzman’s band Coconut Records. In 2008, singer-songwriter M. Ward and Zooey came together as She & Him. Their first album, Volume One came out the same year. In 2010, Volume Two was released.