‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’: Teaching Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård to Sing and Dance ‘Was Like Rocket Science’

The original Mamma Mia! was a cultural sensation when it was released in 2008. While certainly rough around the edges, there was just something about the campy fun of watching these big-name actors sing and dance to the best of their ability to ABBA’s greatest hits that charmed audiences like no other.

Firmly a cult favorite movie, it finally got itself a sequel/prequel a decade later. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again might have been set up for failure, but many consider it to be even better than the original. Shockingly enough, this was almost not the case, as several of the seasoned lead actors reportedly struggled to keep up with the demands of the job.

The second film followed up on things teased in the original

The original Mamma Mia! followed Amanda Seyfried‘s Sophie as she tried to uncover the truth about her parentage. Her mother, Meryl Streep’s Donna, had slept with a trio of men within the same month many years ago, one of whom was likely to be her father. By inviting all three to her upcoming wedding at her mother’s island hotel, she hopes to figure out which of them she’s related to. Hilarity, drama, and songs ensued.

The sequel opens five years after the events of the first movie, seeing Sophie take on the responsibilities of running her mother’s hotel after her death. Struggling with the many hurdles of reopening the business all while the strain of being apart from her husband causes them more and more grief, the film cuts between the present storyline and glimpses of that fateful month decades ago. Through it all, both Sophie and the audience come to understand her mother better as she gains the confidence to carry on at the hotel and repair her relationships with the people most important to her, including her grandmother Ruby (played by none other than Cher).

Apparently, the three male leads had a tough time singing and dancing correctly

One would assume that being able to sing and dance well would be a crucial part of getting cast in a musical, but one would be wrong. While it’s hard to tell in either of the finished films (mostly due to the exceptional work of editors, VFX artists, the cinematographer, and various others behind the camera), a close rewatch will reveal just how goofy some of the actors look.

This isn’t just the opinion of viewers, either; most of the cast and crew agree! In a recent talk with Vulture (and reported on by Insider), various people involved with the two movies commented on how they felt about them all these years later. Of note, just about everyone had something to say about the three male leads and their musical abilities – namely, that they barely had any.

“Watch it again, and you’ll see how much they all suck,” said director Ol Parker, referring to Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård. They played the three candidates to be Sophie’s father in both movies, meaning they got a lot of screen time throughout each to strut their nonexistent stuff. The director went on to say that things got so bad that, for at least one scene, they were forced to digitally replace Skarsgård’s mouth because he was singing off-beat.

According to the director, their inability to do things right added to the fun of the movie

When it came to coordinating the musical numbers, actor Christine Baranski, who played Sophie’s aunt Tanya, said it was like teaching them rocket science. Overall, just about everyone involved with the films was completely at a loss as to why actors who actually could sing and dance weren’t hired as the leads. This includes the men themselves, with Skarsgård admitting that he and the others obviously weren’t chosen for their musical ability, likening the whole thing to a “community theater project.”

That said, it’s hard to argue the movies didn’t end up as a ton of dumb fun. According to director Parker, this can be attributed to how inexperienced many of the leads were at doing musicals. “Part of the fun is watching these guys make absolute twats of themselves with complete abandon,” he said.

In a way, this attitude is reflective of the films themselves—not for everyone, but if you can give in to the fiction and really like ABBA, you’ll have a great time.