Maggie Gyllenhaal didn't let a lack of professional training keep her from singing live in her latest movie, "Happy Endings."
The 27-year-old actress, who plays a singer in a bar band, refused to pre-record her songs.
"There's nothing alive happening in the scene" when someone lip-synchs, she told reporters recently, according to AP Radio.
Gyllenhaal called the role the "roughest, scariest acting ever," but said she's more natural singing on screen than acting.
"It's easier to be awake and alive and really in the moment singing," she said. "It was like a gift handed to me because you have to breathe, you have to respond to the sounds coming out of your mouth."
Written and directed by Don Roos, "Happy Endings" follows the romantic and family relationships of a large group of characters. The comic drama has an ensemble cast including Lisa Kudrow, Laura Dern, Tom Arnold, Bobby Cannavale and Steve Coogan.
Gyllenhaal's screen credits include "Secretary" and "Mona Lisa Smile." She co-starred with her brother, Jake Gyllenhaal, in the 2001 film "Donnie Darko."