Say the name Jeff Daniels and music is probably not the first thing that springs to mind.

The acclaimed actor has had a long career on stage (he founded The Purple Rose Theatre Company in his home town of Chelsea, Mich., for which he's written plays), in film ("Ragtime," "Terms Of Endearment," "The Purple Rose Of Cairo") and on television (the critically-acclaimed HBO series, "The Newsroom," for which he received a 2013 Lead Actor Drama Series Emmy for his role as Will McAvoy).

Last year, Daniels reprised his 1994 "Dumb & Dumber" role as Harry Dunne in the Farrelly Brothers' movie comedy sequel "Dumb and Dumber, Too."

Jeff Daniels with The Ben Daniels Band, 8 p.m. May 14, Mauch Chunk Opera House, 14 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe, is an opportunity for fans of the actor to experience another side many may not be aware of, including songs he wrote that are on his most recent CD, "Days Like These."

"Well, it's always kind of been there, but has been secondary. I went to New York in 1976 to be an actor. That's what I was gonna be. That's what I was gonna do," Daniels says during a recent phone interview.

Daniels, 60, who performed in high school and college musicals, decided to pack a guitar and learn how to play in order to pass the time between acting gigs.

"I said, 'I want to learn how to play the guitar, because I have a feeling I'm going to be sitting in my apartment for weeks and months on end waiting for the phone to ring,'" Daniels explains.

"I just thought it would be a useful, creative outlet if nothing else, to keep me sane in the midst of a very insecure business."

Daniels who was in shows at Circle Repertory Company, New York City, met fellow actors who played guitar. Inspired by their proficiency, he was determined to improve his own playing.

Daniels became fascinated with the playwrights he was surrounded by in the New York theater scene and the writing process, which in turn led him to begin wring his own songs.

"The Bottom Line [concert venue] was still around and you could see Doc Watson and Arlo [Guthrie] and Stevie Goodman and others," he says.

"In New York it's a crash course in songwriting and playing, and I just stuck to it thinking the acting career would never last and when it's over if you could walk into a club and play a guitar you might be able to make some money."

Daniels' guitar-playing education was garnered in a hotel room, not a classroom. Since he was often traveling as an actor, the standard route of weekly lessons with an instructor was not an option. He learned to play guitar first via guitar tablature books and then through videos and DVDs.

Daniels once had a Martin signature guitar fashioned after an old 1934 Martin that he had repaired from an arch top to a flat top, using a piece from a 2003 Martin. Daniels played the instrument for 10 years.

The hybrid guitar caught the attention of Dick Boak, Director of Artist Relations for the CF Martin Guitar Company, Nazareth, who designed a limited edition version based on the specifications of Daniels' guitar. Martin sold about 60 of the guitars.

"For me, to have Martin do a custom Jeff Daniels edition guitar, I mean where's the train to heaven? I can die now," Daniels says.

Daniels' musical journey has become a family affair. For this tour, his son Ben's band will back Daniels. Daniels enjoys the input and direction Ben and his band bring to the performances.

"As Arthur Miller, the American playwright, said, 'I look forward to seeing what my work inspires in others' and when the others are your son and his band, it's even more fulfilling," he muses. "It's just thrilling."

This summer, Daniels will be back on set shooting "Allegiant: Part 1" (he's also signed for "Allegiant; Part 2"), the third film in the "Divergent" series. In the meantime, audiences coming to see Daniels in concert can expect good music and lots of audience interaction.

"If they aren't entertained, then we failed miserably, which means they gotta laugh. I'm gonna make' em laugh and then we're gonna move them," says Daniels.

"There's some great musicianship around the songs.The songwriting's there. I talk to them. There's stories. There's some Hollywood stories behind the scenes a little bit. But there's a lot of music and a lot of fun."