Hidden Talents

I am a Broadway musical aficionado. I know more about some actors than is probably healthy. I know composers, show tunes out the wazoo, playwrights, locations, and occasionally some dates of when all these things happened. I am not 100% correct on all of them. Which is why I am a fan and not a historian. It's been a few years (more than I'd like to admit) since I've been an active theatre person and I have forgotten a lot of information along the way.

The other day I was flipping channels and got stuck on a crime procedural show because of a familiar face. I couldn't place his name and it was driving me nuts. Finally, two episodes later I looked it up on IMDB. The person: Mandy Patinkin. I was SO ashamed of my theatre loving self. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten his name. I used to obsess over his voice. And then my next question was, what is he doing on a show where he never sings? Of course, the answer is that he's making a living. This is his office job. I can think of a few other performers who also have "day jobs" in television where they never sing. Not a note. For example, Private Practice has both Audra McDonald and Taye Diggs. Both of them are non-musical physicians. Norbert Leo Butz recently did a stint on a short lived series called The Deep End as a lothario lawyer.
Eric Millegan was Zack Addy on Bones for many years and only sang once. For a beautiful minute.
And then there is GLEE. Glee is a flawed show that I enjoy so much. It's a showcase for show people, musical show people, to do what they do best. They sing. And occasionally they have episodes where I hate the content but the musical numbers are where the heart is. True love. And it's been an excellent showcase for so many traditional theatre people. Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Kristin Chenowith, Idina Menzel, and many others. I'm looking forward to Glee's producers getting a clue and remembering that even if you have a stellar cast, amazing song list, and huge budget, you still need a sturdy, interesting plot line. Not just themes.

But to come back to the original point, how many people do you know that work 9-5 at a job where their true talents never come into play? People live out their dreams somewhere other than work in America and that seems like a tragedy to me. I understand it though, as a secretary I enjoy my job and my coworkers, but I don't revel in the work.

Who do you know that really shines at something they do for a hobby?