There’s something to be said for sticking to one career once you’ve made it real. For example: Did Brad Pitt really just have a burning desire for a skincare line? Was Lindsay Lohan’s Singing Career Necessary? Should Blake Lively have kept acting instead of trying to be the next Goop? Aside from those questions, there have been a number of musicians who have tried to transition into acting. This is not to say that it has been a good idea for everyone. But in the case of the following ten well-known music makers, acting would have been more than a decent backup if they ever decided to quit their jobs.
10 Mike Jagger
It would of course be perfectly acceptable if Mike Jagger, lead singer of one of the most famous and influential rock bands of all time, rested only on his laurels and puzzled in his spare time. But since 1970, he has also been running as an actor to pretty good reviews. His theater career began in 1970 when he starred in both Australian biopic Ned Kelly (apparently Ian McKellan was previously slated to star) and Nicolas Roeg’s famously debauched Performance, with Jagger in his element as the slightly out of control ex-rocker Turner. He made a brief but stunning appearance in the film crooked, playing a transvestite who performs in a cabaret in 1930s Berlin. His most recent role was as an art dealer in the 2019 crime thriller The burnt orange heresy.
9 David Bowie
The extraordinary, multi-talented David Bowie managed to find the time to appear in more than 30 films, television shows and plays during his storied musical career. His first starring role was in 1976, and like Mick Jagger, he also starred in a Nicolas Roeg film, The man who fell to earth, in which he played an alien trying to return home after a mission on Earth. He made a memorable vampire opposite Catherine Deneuve in the stylish erotic thriller The hungerand a doomed prisoner of war in the same year (1983). Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. In 1986, he entered Muppet history as Goblin King Jareth Labyrinth (in which he also sang), and two years later he was Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ. He played Andy Warhol (Basquiat), Nikola Tesla (The prestige), and even voiced a character in the SpongeBob SquarePants movie. His death from liver cancer at the age of 69 was a blow to the music world, as well as acting.
8 Diana Ross
Diana Ross followed her debut solo album in 1970 with her debut film in 1972: Lady Day sings the blues. It was loosely based on the life of Billie Holiday and earned Ross Best Actress nominations for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. (The soundtrack on which she provided vocals also became a huge hit.) In 1975, she starred in Mahogany, which was not as well received as her previous film, but the music was another hit and Ross even designed her own costumes. It was her third and final film to date The Wiz in 1978, an African-American retelling of The Wizard of Oz, also starring Michael Jackson as The Scarecrow. It was a box office flop, but has since gained a cult following among fans. For an acting career that only equaled three movies, it was an intriguing glimpse of what could have been had Ross gone that artistic route instead.
7 Elvis Presley
Reportedly, Elvis Presley‘s goal was to forge a dramatic career that would imitate that of Brando and James Dean. Whether his rock star persona got in the way or he was just not up to the dramatic roles he craved, audiences never got to know it because he never got the chance. After his debut musical Love me tenderly, Presley was cast in musical after musical. (Although, after upsetting his mother and countless fans when his character entered Love me tenderly died, he vowed never to do this on screen again, which probably further hampered his chances of becoming a serious actor.) He starred in 30 more musicals, paired with many of the starlets of the day, including Ann-Margret, Juliet Prowse, and in his final film role, Mary Tyler Moore. Released in 1969, Change of habit starred Presley as a doctor in a run-down neighborhood who falls in love with Moore, unaware that she is a nun. To achieve the kind of acting career he wanted, Presley probably would have had to jettison his music career altogether, so it probably turned out just fine. But who knows? We could have had another Brando on our hands.
6 Andre 3000
As one half of the influential Southern hip-hop group Outkast, you might assume so Andrew Benjamin (better known as André 3000) had quite a full programme. But from 1995 to present, he has made appearances in a number of TV shows (including Martin, The shieldand his current performance, a starring role on Shipments from Elsewhere) and movies (esp Four brothers, SemiPro, High lifeAnd White noise). He received critical acclaim for his role as Jimi Hendrix in Jimi: Everything is on my side. He’s always been a magnetic performer, both on the music stage and the movie screen, so we hope there’s more to come from him in both areas.
5 Cher
Cher‘s acting career has been so strong that it has sometimes threatened to overshadow her music. Example: hit by the moon. Her portrayal of Loretta Castorini earned her an Oscar for Best Actress (and we got to see her in another fabulous Bob Mackie dress.) Case 2: Silkwood. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award in 1983 as Meryl Streep’s lesbian roommate. third case: Mask. She won the Best Actress award at Cannes for her role in 1985 as the free-spirited mother of a deformed Eric Stoltz. We could go on. She was an absolute charmer as a single mom to Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci Mermaidsshe played one of them The Witches of Eastwickand she held her own against Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Lily Tomlin in Franco Zefferelli’s Tea with Mussolini. She’s basically reached national treasure status at this point, and since she’s still going strong at 76 years old, we hope she’ll bless us with a few more forays into film.
4 Tom waits
Tom waits has had a sparkling career in a number of genres, excelling in jazz, blues and rock, as well as more experimental styles. His trademark hoarse voice, clever lyrics and style have kept him at the forefront of everything he tries. His first film appearance was in 1971 Paradise alley, a wrestling film starring Sylvester Stallone. He appeared in numerous Francis Ford Coppola movies including The outsiders And Mess Fishand has had a long association with Jim Jarmusch, playing one of three eccentric prison escapees on the run in By lawalong with Iggy Pop in the award-winning vignette Coffee and Cigarettes: Somewhere in California (part of the larger movie Coffee and cigarettes), and play a curious hermit The dead do not die. He was hailed as a grizzled prospector in the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggsand has even been a voice The Simpsons. It’s a career any full-time actor would be proud of, let alone just a side job.
3 Dolly Partons
We all know that in terms of music, Dolly Partons is a force of nature, a law unto itself. Along with hundreds of TV appearances, including a short-lived variety show called dollie!, Parton has appeared in 12 films to date. It’s true that the roles she’s played haven’t exactly showcased her a wide range of talents, as most seem pretty close to her onstage persona, if not her real life personality. Along with writing the famous theme song for 9 to 5, she played Doralee Rhodes, the slightly idiotic married secretary whose boss won’t stop sexually harassing her. In The best little whorehouse in Texas, she played Mona Stanglely, who runs a brothel called “The Chicken Ranch”, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for acting while also contributing to the score. And she is at her most charming self Steel magnoliaswho plays Truvy, owner of the local hair salon and purveyor of town gossip.
2 Lenny Kravitz
although Lenny Kravitz made a name for himself in various musical genres, acting is also in his blood, as his mother Roxie Roker, starred in The Jeffersons for ten years. Kravitz began his acting career with cameos starring himself zoolander And The diving bell and the butterfly. But it was his role as a kindly nurse Wonderful in 2009, that marked his real acting debut, earning critical acclaim for his performance as one of the few bright spots in the main character’s life. He played Cinna in the first two hunger games movies and Jennifer Lopez’s ex in the romantic action comedy Shotgun marriage.
1 Flea
Flea helped form the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1983, and is a member of four other supergroups, but somehow managed to find the time to also appear in a host of movies and TV shows for someone who technically the bassist is for five bands. In the mid-1980s, he began taking small roles, with notable appearances in My own private Idaho, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The great Lebowskiand the remake of Psycho. He was packed into the action Baby driverperiod drama Babylonand a Star Wars spin-off Obi Wan Kenobi. While he stays away from leading roles, you know you’re in for a good time when Flea shows up on screen.
