Hollywood has given rise to many musicians turned actors. Journeying way back to 1927, Al Jolson kicked things off with his role in The Jazz Singer, then came the likes of Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, making it seem like near-enough every famous musician wanted to try their hand at acting. After this, it just became the norm for an iconic musician to venture into the grownup world of make pretend.
Of course, there are cases of musicians trying their hand at being a thespian and failing, only to never return. However, the good outweighs the bad here. So, here’s our pick of the top 5 performances of musicians turned actors.
5. Eminem in 8 Mile (2002)
When it comes to the substantial list of musicians turned actors, famed Detroit rapper Eminem is somewhat of an anomaly. By the time 8 Mile hit movie theaters in 2002, he was a superstar – not just in the rap world, but across music altogether. He had taken a genre of music that was previously niche and made it widely attractive to the masses, incorporating elements of pop and hiphop as well as serving up a satirical social commentary that resonated with people of all ages. However, as big of a star as he’d become, when he first stepped in front of the lens, people were skeptical. Yet, he proved a lot of naysayers wrong.
8 Mile is a loose exploration of Eminem’s early life in Detroit, struggling to make ends meet while he attempts to launch a career in rap. While not an official biopic, portraying a fictional character named Jimmy Smith aka B-Rabbit, his quiet yet raw and visceral performance lets the viewer know how personal this story is to him. Eminem received widespread praise for his role, however, he never embarked on a full-blown career as an actor. Instead, he tends to pop up in cameos, typically as himself in comedy films like Funny People, and zany oddballs in films like Happy Gilmore 2. However, judging by his understated yet striking rendition in 8 Mile, it’s hard to imagine if he tried full-scale drama again, he’d fail. Perhaps his performance is so compelling as it was close to his heart, or perhaps he simply has a natural talent for acting, just one he isn’t keen to build upon. Either way, his performance is nothing short of stellar.
4. Cher in Moonstruck (1987)
Grammy Award-winning singer Cher first demonstrated her capabilities as an actress in Mike Nichols‘ Silkwood – a dramatic rendition that led to her first ever Oscar nomination. However, she wouldn’t take home the gold until 1988 thanks to her magnetic performance in Moonstruck (1987), a role that perfectly showcased why musicians turned actors can bring such unexpected depth to the screen. In Norman Jewison‘s now-iconic romantic comedy, Cher portrays Loretta Castorini, a realistic Italian-American widow in Brooklyn who gets engaged to a safe, dependable man she doesn’t really love. The picture is elevated from typical romcom fair with an underscore of drama as Loretta is pulled into a passionate affair that rouses her from years of emotional lethargy when her fiancé asks her to invite his estranged brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage) to their wedding.
Moonstruck allowed Cher to really branch out, exuding sheer nuance as the picture charts her transformation from a woman confined to a life of routine and practicality into someone who rediscovers love, desire, and her own vitality. What makes her performance so remarkable is how she completely subverted her glamorous public image. Jewison deliberately ‘understated’ her appearance, giving Loretta mousy hair and frumpy clothes that masked Cher’s natural, world-famous charisma. What this did was allow for a stunning metamorphosis as the character sheds her emotional constraints – symbolically mirrored when she undergoes a makeover at the salon. In this Oscar-winning role, Cher deftly inhabited Loretta’s journey from drudgery to self-discovery with such authenticity that audiences forgot they were watching a pop icon, seeing instead a fully realized woman breaking free from the shackles of expectation and routine.
3. Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights (1997)
Today, many may forget that Mark Wahlberg kickstarted his career in show business in music, under the name Marky Mark. With his younger years marred by delinquency and even a criminal record, he changed his life around with music, and then uplifted it yet again with acting. Despite now regretting the part, his leading role in the raunchy yet soulful Boogie Nights is the one that propelled him from B-list celebrity status to A-list superstar territory.
In Paul Thomas Anderson‘s daring flick, Wahlberg portrays Eddie Adams, a young man lost in life who finds his calling in the adult entertainment industry. As he builds a tight-knit crew of friends and associates, money and fame come his way, but so does plenty of trials and tribulations. Although Wahlberg has delivered many iconic roles since Boogie Nights, it is this one that serves as the transcending piece of work that matured him as an artist. Biographical by no means, his riveting performance makes you feel that he was deeply resonating with his character – a troubled man who finds fame and doesn’t quite know how to navigate it. To that, the role of Eddie Adams is perhaps Wahlberg’s most vulnerable of his entire career, with eccentric and unhinged moments that cement him as an extremely multi-faceted actor.
2. Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born (2018)
Before she became a global pop sensation, Lady Gaga actually graced the screen in one of the most acclaimed TV series of all time, The Sopranos. However, her role was blink-and-you’ll-miss-it. It then took her over a decade to venture into acting again when Robert Rodriguez sought her out to her to star in Machete Kills. Five years later, she found herself leading an Oscar-winning movie, taking home a shiny gold trophy of her own for Best Original Song, and a nod for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
In Bradley Cooper‘s directorial debut, A Star Is Born, audiences were graced with a remake they didn’t know they needed until it landed in their laps. The story follows Ally (Gaga), a struggling singer-songwriter who is found by country rock hero Jackson Maine at a drag bar. As they strike a bond, Jackson’s struggles with addiction and depression send their whirlwind romance into complicated territory as they each try to lift the other up while fighting their own deeply personal demons and turmoils. Gaga’s unvarnished, sensitive performance converted what could have been another celebrity vanity endeavour into a fascinating character study, demonstrating that musicians turned actors can quite often bring an authenticity that even trained and seasoned thespians find difficult to attain. To portray Ally’s transformation from anxious waitress to self-assured artist, Gaga abandoned her avant-garde character, demonstrating not only her acting prowess but also her capacity to portray real emotional depth.
1. Dean Martin in Rio Bravo (1959)
Having already established himself as a top-notch crooner and entertainer, Dean Martin proved that musicians turned actors could deliver powerhouse dramatic performances with his role as Dude in Howard Hawks‘ Rio Bravo (1959). Martin portrayed a once-respected deputy sheriff whose life had spiralled into alcoholism and disgrace, only to find redemption when his old friend Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) gives him a chance to reclaim his badge and self-respect while defending their town against a powerful rancher’s gang. Martin’s performance is beyond noteworthy because he delivered extensive dialogue parts with the ease of a skilled actor, holding his own against seasoned Western veterans like John Wayne and Walter Brennan.
Hawks let the plot develop slowly, emphasising character relationships and interactions over fast-paced action. This strategy would later serve as an inspiration for filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, who cites Rio Bravo as one of his favourite films and calls it one of the best ‘hangout films’ ever produced. To think that a musician carried the weight of such a seminal piece of art is impressive to say the least.
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