On the heels of a comment in the "Pop" thread about the failure of actor/musicians, here's a thought: are there any good acting (movie or TV)performances by people who are known PRIMARILY as musicians that come to mind?
I haven't seen all of it, but I was impressed by Eminem in 8 Mile, for what I saw.
I'll second Mike's choice, from the thread in Movies, about Mandy Moore. She was really good in Saved!, which was a pretty funny flick.
He didn't do much "acting" but Mark Kozelek, of the Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon, had a few funny lines and didn't distract from the proceedings as the bass player in Almost Famous.
One of the first musicians to spring to mind is John Doe who has made a heck of a career for himself as a character actor and has turned in consistently good performances.
A personal favorite is Loudon Wainwright III whose most recent high profile gig was Big Fish, but is probably better known for TV work including an early recurring role on M*A*S*H, which figured hilariously in his song "Synchronicity."
The Band's Levon Helm received a lot of well-deserved praise for his role as Loretta Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter
I feel like I should include Marshall Crenshaw even though I thought his Buddy Holly in La Bamba was only so-so. It's more interesting to note that his first claim to fame was playing John Lennon in the original Beatlemania! if memory serves.
For me, the hands down the single greatest performance of a musician in an acting role are the multiple jazz musicians who appeared in the film 'Round Midnight in general and the late, great tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon in particular. 'Round Midnight is the greatest film about jazz ever made and one of the greatest films about music ever made and Dexter Gordon's beautiful, nuanced performance is something I will always treasure.
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More good calls! Tom Waits was also the only redeeming feature of Braham Stoker's Dracula, turned in small but quality performances in Rumble Fish, The Outsiders, The Fisher King, and was one of the very best things about the great and often overlooked Down By Law.
DBL brings to mind John Lurie who is certainly not a household name for his band the Lounge Lizards, or for his roles in Paris, Texas, Wild at Heart, and the excellent Strangers In Paradise, but both the band and his performances are worthy of praise.
And don't forget Lyle Lovett's wonderful part in The Player.
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quote:Originally posted by LinnTate: More good calls! Tom Waits was also the only redeeming feature of _Braham Stoker's Dracula_, turned in small but quality performances in _Rumble Fish_, _The Outsiders_, _The Fisher King_, and was one of the very best things about the great and often overlooked _Down By Law_.
DBL brings to mind _John Lurie_ who is certainly not a household name for his band the Lounge Lizards, or for his roles in _Paris, Texas_, _Wild at Heart_, and the excellent _Strangers In Paradise_, but both the band and his performances are worthy of praise.
And don't forget Lyle Lovett's wonderful part in _The Player_.
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You have a mind like a steel trap...how in the heel can u remember all that.Or do u hav eall this written down and u are just referencing your notepad?Hahaha...
Who could forget Ringo Starr's breathtaking perfomance in 1981's "Caveman"? Megatron wept, laughed and wept some more. It's unbelievable that Ringo was snubbed by the Academy.
Also, Iggy Pop was a hoot as a drunken redneck in the Jim Jarmusch western "Dead Man".
I can't really say Jack Black is a musician first.
But... my nomination would be Tupac Shakur in Gridlock'd. Tupac normally wasn't much of an actor but he was terrific in this movie (which also happened to be an excellent movie on its own)
Very few people have seen it but I would strongly recommend finding a copy (more than likely on VHS) and giving it a view. It also has Tim Roth.
Black was a successful actor long before The D. He was on Mr. Show in the mid nineties and I don't think D formed until at least 2000. Next we're gonna talk about Robert Downey Jr., Bruce Willis, and William Shatner...all great musicians turned actors. Of course if you want to split hairs, Alanis Morisette was on one season of You Can't Do That On Television and Christina Aguilera was on The New Micky Mouse Club in the mid-eighties so would that make them actors turned musicians? What about Natalie Imbruglia and Kylie's job on Neighbors?
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Björk's performance in Dancer in the Dark. For my money, that was one of the best performances I've seen from any actor. I think a testament to that is that even a lot of people that hate her music loved her performance.
It's just a shame that Lars von Trier was such a huge ass that she put her off acting ever again. Bastard.
