See the Cast of “Song Sung Blue” Side-by-Side with the Real-Life Musicians They Play
- - See the Cast of “Song Sung Blue” Side-by-Side with the Real-Life Musicians They Play
Francesca GarianoDecember 27, 2025 at 9:00 AM
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Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman in 'Song Sung Blue' (2025) ; Musical duo Lightning & Thunder performing in Chicago in 1999.
Song Sung Blue brings the real love story of husband-wife Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder to life.
Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman star as Claire and Mike Sardina, who performed as Lightning & Thunder for nearly two decades. The new film, which hit theaters on Dec. 25, is a musical drama based on the 2008 documentary Song Sung Blue by Greg Kohs that followed the journey of the Milwaukee-based band. The movie depicts Claire and Mike during the early-days of the band, tracking their success and their relationship.
Ahead of the movie’s release, Jackman publicly sang his Song Sung Blue costar’s praises on several occasions. At the Gotham Awards’ 35th annual awards ceremony in New York City in December 2025, he declared — while standing next to Hudson — that her performance in the movie is Oscar-worthy.
"Kate Hudson is not only one of the great stars of our business, she is a consummate actor," Jackman said onstage. "I believe this time she is going to get an Oscar."
As for the awards buzz, Hudson told PEOPLE in November 2025, “Honestly, it's really just exciting. It's very exciting and that's it.”
“You never know with these things,” she added. “I've been around now long enough to know just to enjoy that people are really loving the movie. And just, you know, show up to where they tell me to go.”
With Song Sung Blue now in theaters, see the film’s cast side-by-side with their real-life counterparts.
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Hugh Jackman as Mike Sardina
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Hugh Jackman in 'Song Sung Blue' (2025) ; Mike Sardina in 1999.
Jackman stars as Mike “Lightning” Sardina, a Neil Diamond impersonator and a member of the musical duo Lightning & Thunder with his wife, Claire. Mike and Claire performed as the group Lightning & Thunder for more than 17 years, and were married for 12. The Vietnam veteran died unexpectedly in July 2006 at the age of 55.
Though Jackman is no stranger to song and dance, both in film and onstage, he told the Los Angeles Times in November 2025, “I had to lose Hugh Jackman to be Mike.”
“How does Mike find himself within his love of Neil? It took me a second to find him and lose my shtick, because I’m a performer too,” he continued.
Jackman himself never sang before an audition after college and didn’t intend for his career to be so tied to musical theater. He found similarity between his career path and Mike’s, explaining, “His dream was always huge but this was not how he thought it was going to go. It was that ‘one plus one equals three’ thing where, all of a sudden, they found themselves being the next big thing.”
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Kate Hudson as Claire Sardina
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Kate Hudson in 'Song Sung Blue' (2025) ; Claire Sardina in 1999.
Hudson stars as Claire Sardina in the movie, rounding out the musical duo as Thunder. Though her husband died nearly two decades ago, Claire still lives in Milwaukee and has been supportive of the movie. She attended the Milwaukee premiere on Dec. 2 and the New York City premiere on Dec. 11, posing on the red carpet alongside Hudson.
Though Hudson may be best-known for leading several beloved romantic comedies, she told the Los Angeles Times that she wasn’t intimidated by the role of Claire. Hudson, who was raised by her mom Goldie Hawn and her longtime partner Kurt Russell, explained, “When you grow up with storytellers, you forget the camera’s there.”
“You’re not thinking about anything glamorous,” she added. “You’re looking at the role and what it needs. It’s what you long for as a performer. It allows you to almost leave your body.”
While Claire and her children, Rachel and Dayna, were supportive of the movie, Hudson told the publication that she tried to not let too much outside influence affect her performance choices. She explained, “You want to make a choice in a film because it’s the right choice for the character, not because you’re trying to mimic something.”
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Ella Anderson as Rachel Cartwright
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Ella Anderson in 'Song Sung Blue' (2025) ; Rachel Cartwright attends the "Song Sung Blue" Premiere on December 11, 2025 in New York City.
Ella Anderson portrays Claire’s daughter — and Mike’s stepdaughter — Rachel Cartwright in the film.
Anderson spoke to PEOPLE on the red carpet at the Song Sung Blue premiere at AFI Fest in Los Angeles in October 2025 about her preparation for her role as Claire’s daughter.
"I personally did so much work on my end because as soon as I read the script, I just had a hunger for who this girl is, and I think I could feel that from Hugh, that he did that [too],” Anderson explained. “I could feel that from Kate — that she absolutely had been doing that for months and months leading up.”
Anderson also revealed that before the movie, she wasn’t an avid Neil Diamond listener. However, the movie made her change her tune on the legendary artist.
"But I have always loved the way that his music brings together a crowd and in doing the film, I discovered a lot of great songs of his — and he certainly is on my playlist now,” she explained.
Anderson credits her newfound appreciation for his music to his infectious tunes as well as "the way that Claire and Mike reimagined his songs that enthralled all of Milwaukee."
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Jim Belushi as Tom D’Amato
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Jim Belushi in 'Song Sung Blue' (2025).
Jim Belushi plays Tom D’Amato, Lightning & Thunder's manager, in the film. D’Amato’s daughter, Beth D'Amato, shared a touching message on Instagram about what her dad would have thought of the movie, writing, “The film is wonderful, full of heart and inspiration. And to say that my dad would have been thrilled beyond belief for Lightning & Thunder is the understatement of the century.”
Belushi told PEOPLE at AFI Fest that it was the movie’s writer and director, Craig Brewer, that drew him to Song Sung Blue. On the red carpet, he explained, "He has the soul of a musician. I did one thing with him before, and I just love the connection with him.”
He also called his costars Hudson and Jackman "absolute thoroughbreds," adding, "Katie Hudson is a lioness of an actress in this. I think she deserves a lot of attention. And Hugh is just a natural.”
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Fisher Stevens as Dr. Dave Watson
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Fisher Stevens in 'Song Sung Blue' (2025).
Fisher Stevens plays Dr. Dave Watson, co-manager of Lightning & Thunder, in the movie.
Stevens spoke to HeyUGuys in November 2025 at the Song Sung Blue premiere about bringing the real story of Claire and Mike Sardina to life based on the 2008 documentary about the duo.
“It’s really interesting how Craig [Brewer] took that documentary and was able to craft this script,” Stevens explained. “He took it into a different place and I thought it was so smart the way he did it. Hugh is obviously very different from Mike [Sardina], but I just love what everybody did with it. The documentary is wonderful, but it’s its own thing. Craig made it his own thing, Hugh made it his own thing and Kate made it her own thing.”
He added, “My guy, Dave, he’s a big, older gentleman and I look nothing like him and it didn’t matter. I got the sentiment, everybody got the sentiment.”
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Michael Imperioli as Mark Shurilla
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Michael Imperioli in 'Song Sung Blue' (2025).
Michael Imperioli portrays Mark Shurilla in the movie, a local Buddy Holly impersonator in Milwaukee. Shurilla, a legend in the Milwaukee music scene, died in May 2012 at the age of 64, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Imperioli celebrated the movie on Instagram in November 2025 by sharing the trailer for the film. In the caption, he reflected on the project, writing in part, “Very proud to have played a part of this beautiful story.”
on People
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