Oscar Isaac Probably Deserves an Honorary Grammy For Trying to Play Tears For Fears’ ‘Shout’ on Bagpipe on ‘Tonight Show’

Oscar Isaac is game for playing around. Though the actor has earned plenty of accolades for his dramatic roles in films such as Body Of Lies, Drive, Inside Llewyn Davis, Dune and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, when he popped in to The Tonight Show on Monday (Oct. 20) Isaac came to mess around.

Ostensibly promoting his role as Dr. Victor Frankenstein in director Guillermo del Toro’s eagerly anticipated remake of one of the all-time classic monster tales, Isaac once again showed off his musical chops at host Jimmy Fallon’s request. Playing the Random Instrument Challenge game, Isaac couldn’t help but score a point after Fallon nearly blew it playing a piccolo trumpet version of the Halloween classic “Monster Mash.”

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Isaac seemed daunted when he picked the 1984 Tears for Fears Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Shout,” then crestfallen when he learned he had to play it on a bagpipe. “Oh no,” Isaac lamented, not even sure where the mouthpiece was at first. His resulting performance sounded more like a whine of a British ambulance than a chart-topping pop song, with Roots drummer Questlove jokingly guessing Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”

After Fallon did a surprisingly admirable job playing Steppenwolf’s rocking road anthem “Born to Be Wild” on the harp, Isaac gave it another shot by plucking out Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” on a stand-up bass, with Quest immediately sussing that one out.

Fallon also recalled that last time Isaac was on her played an original called “The Hippopotamus Song” and during a commercial break Roots drummer Questlove gave the actor’s oldest son, Eugene, a drum lesson.

When they got home, a Questlove-branded drum kit was waiting for them, which spawned a love of drumming in Eugene, as well as inspiring Eugene’s younger brother, six-year-old Mads, to jump behind the kit. Which is why last year Isaac and Mads formed a band, which the kindergartener dubbed “Fleece.” Their seven-song debut EP cover features an adorable Mads in a vest, white shirt and drawn-on goatee and mustache, with dad right next to him in a tank top and long blonde wig.

Mads is the singer and drummer for the group, whose songs he has given names including: “Hi-Hat Man,” “Fat Daddy,” “Be in Love with Me,” “Downtown Time,” “Lucky Dude on Fire” and the kick-off track, “Damn Tour.” After playing the recorded version of the lo-fi funk jam, Isaac hopped up to strum an acoustic guitar and perform “Damn Tour” with the Roots. “I’m gonna drum til the rain, it drops/ I’m gonna drop, I’mma man it up/ I’mma drop ’cause I just can’t stop,” the actor sang.

Though Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has been made into countless movies over the decades, Isaac said there has never been a del Toro version, which he described as an “incredible, passionate, high-melodrama opera” that is a parallel biography of the lauded director’s life. Describing how the director didn’t want a naturalistic, “small stuff” take on the good/bad doctor, Isaac said del Toro wanted his version of the mad scientist to be more rock star than moody, interior Bunsen (slow) burner.

“‘He’s not a scientist, he’s an artist. He needs to be expressive,’” Isaac said del Toro told him about the doctor who molds a creature into co-star Jacob Elordi’s take on one of cinema’s most complicated, oft-repeated, monsters. “‘So I want you to be, like, freakin’ Mick Jagger,’” were del Toro’s directions said Isaac, as Fallon easily fell into his signature wriggly Jagger impression. Once he was fitted with high-heeled boots, Isaac said he ran to check out some archival Prince footage for further inspiration as well.

“I watched some videos of him,” Isaac said of the late Prince. “I couldn’t help it.”

Frankenstein is in select theaters now and will stream on Netflix on Nov. 7.

Check out Isaac on The Tonight Show below.