Separating the Grammy-Worthy from the Razzie-Ready
Singers need to be, by design, dramatic.
They need to sell the emotion of a song, and tell a story through their vocals.
So, it feels like a natural progression to move from singing to acting. But who really transitioned past the novelty / one-off stage?
In creating this list, I’m using the criteria that:
- The artists needed to start out as a recording artist first, so folks who started out in musicals don’t count.
- The artist needed to be in more than one movie / show / play.
- The artist should be playing someone other than a musician in said movie / show / play, if possible.
With the rules established: Let’s play.
PROPER ACTORS:
David Bowie
He played all manner of characters in a compelling, believable way without always resorting to singing.
The Evidence:
- The Hunger
- The Man Who Fell To Earth
- The Last Temptation Of Christ
- The Prestige
- Labyrinth
Barbra Streisand
Possibly the platonic ideal of this article:
As she always thought of herself as an actress that could sing.
Her performances in Funny Girl, The Owl and the Pussycat, What’s Up Doc?, The Way We Were, A Star Is Born, and Yentl are all really strong.
Elvis Presley
Yes, a bunch of his roles are goofy, and he almost always sang.
But Love Me Tender, Viva Las Vegas, Jailhouse Rock, and Charro! contain legit performances.
Frank Sinatra
He didn’t start out great.
But he killed it in From Here to Eternity, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Man With The Golden Arm.
Will Smith
He moved from hip-hop:
To wonderful turns in films like Six Degrees of Separation, Men In Black, Ali, Concussion, and King Richard.
Ice Cube
He’s been really strong in a few things (Boyz In The Hood, Friday, Three Kings, 21 Jump Street.)
But Cube always seems to be playing a variation of himself. On the fence on this one.
Cher
Wonderful in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Silkwood, Mask, and Moonstruck.
(And I know some folks love Mermaids… but it’s not my jam).
Sting
This one is right on the edge.
He is pretty great in Dune, Plenty, and Stormy Monday, but only OK in The Bride and is just playing a funny version of himself in Only Murders in the Building.
I’ll allow it in the end.
(Bonus points for his dialogue-free cameo in Baron Munchausen).
Kris Kristofferson
Pulls in great turns in:
- Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
- Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
- A Star Is Born
- Heaven’s Gate
- Lone Star
- and Blade.
Mark Wahlberg
He’s mostly not a good actor.
But has managed a few good-to-great performances in The Basketball Diaries, Boogie Nights, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, The Departed, The Other Guys, The Fighter, and Pain And Gain.
Janelle Monae
Fantastic in Hidden Figures, Moonlight, and Antebellum.
But I kind of hated her performance in Glass Onion (not her fault – that role was terribly written).
MAYBE PROPER?
These folks have been really good in a couple things, but still might be a fluke:
Mary J. Blige
Great in Mudbound and The Umbrella Academy, but…
Madonna
Liked her in Desperately Seeking Susan, Dick Tracy, A League of Their Own, and Evita.
But she has also been so, so bad in a bunch of other projects – I’m on the fence.
Eminem
Great in 8 Mile, but he was playing himself and hasn’t done anything else.
Lady Gaga
Great in A Star Is Born, but: some of those other performances? Woof…
Courtney Love
Amazing in The People vs. Larry Flint but she’s just done teeny parts in other films.
Queen Latifah
To be fair, I’ve not seen a lot of her films.
But she’s been in a LOT of them, so she must be doing something right, yeah?
Jennifer Hudson
Knocked it out of the park in Dreamgirls.
But I’m not seeing much else where she really brings the heat. Can be convinced on this one, too.
Dolly Parton
She is a National Treasure and An Angel Sent From Heaven.
But I’m not sure if she really ever acts like anything but a veiled version of herself. Willing to be convinced otherwise…
Justin Timberlake
Anything good other than The Social Network?
MAYBE Southland Tales (maybe).
Tom Waits
Are his performances in the Jim Jarmusch movies enough?
I loved him in the Coppola version of Dracula, but he’s another one that seems to be kind of playing himself.
Mariah Carey
Really good in Precious, but…
Looking at her other movies, I’m not seeing anything else here.
I have ZERO doubt that I’m missing a good number of other folks here.
Please add them in the comments – and let me know where I went wrong.
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Good piece! I’m a little confused on the “no musical” rule though: Are you saying their film career couldn’t start with musicals, or their acting career? Because Streisand started her career (that is, the popular part of it) with a Broadway musical before her success in non-musical parts.
I was thinking of their acting career – she released albums before she was on Broadway, so I consider her a singer first. Had she debuted on Broadway, I would have disqualified her.
If Marky Mark is mostly not a good actor that’s still a whole let better than his rapping.
Some others for consideration;
Meat Loaf. He did appear in Hair and other shows before he made it as a singer but he was already in various bands before and as he was appearing on stage so I think he qualifies. I didn’t realise his filmography was so extensive. I only recall seeing him in Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club, both of which he was fine in. Given I’ve never heard of a lot of the films and TV shows he appeared in those may be exceptions.
Mick Jagger – Performance is ok, playing a rock star so not much of a stretch. Ned Kelly and Freejack? Let’s just say i can see why he didn’t act more.
Steven Van Zandt – much more convincing. Inspired casting of someone with no previous acting experience for The Sopranos.
I thought a lot of Mr. Loaf & Mr. Jagger, but wasn’t blown away with their film output.
Totally forgot about Van Zandt – great catch!
Oh, boy. I went through a Little Steven phase. Did you see Blinded by the Light? The protagonist’s girlfriend handing out Free Nelson Mandela leaflets? That’s me. So painfully earnest, I had to look away, the cringe. These albums were my world: Freedom: No Compromise by Little Steven, Street Fighting Days by Simple Minds(even though you can’t karaoke any of the songs), and In the Studio w/The Special AKA. As for The Sopranos, I came for Steven Van Zandt and stayed for the pathos. I’m absolutely sure the release of Mandela thrilled Van Zandt but the whole “Little Steven” persona was built around his imprisonment. There’s a big ten year gap between album releases. David Chase did a good thing. Van Zandt was my idol adjacent.
I’d add Bjork. She hasn’t done many movies (I can think of only three) but she got excellent reviews in all of them. She was heartbreaking in Dancer In The Dark. So much so that I can’t ever watch it again.
Yes! Total brain-fart on my part.
I like this. I think you have most everybody placed where they belong. Here are some thoughts-
Tom Waits is decent as a reclusive inventor in Mystery Men, an underrated super-hero send up from the late 90s.
Carrie Underwood’s acting abilities were left out of the conversation, and perhaps it’s for the best.
Does Bing Crosby count, and if so, how do we feel about his acting chops?
Sting does a great job on the voice-over for the animated version of himself in the classic Simpsons episode, “Radio Bart”, where Bart falls into a well.
Shows his humorous side and willingness to laugh at himself, something we don’t usually get from Der Stingenhoffer.
In both 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias, Dolly Parton is excellent. I’m not sure how she gets past her looks and accent when she is on screen. Her persona is iconic and hard to get out of your head when she’s acting, but that is not her fault. But let’s just skip past Rhinestone, or the case for Dolly gets diluted very quickly.
I was on the fence about Crosby – I never got the sense he was really playing unique characters in his many movies.
BTW – big props to mt for the amazing formatting he provides. These articles look awesome.
❤
You’re ignoring singers who act on tv like Reba McIntire and Brandy Norwood. Mary J Blige is also good on the show Ghost from the Power series on Starz. The Power series also has 50 Cent and Method Man in prominent roles.
Halle and Chloe Bailey (of Chloe x Halle) both act in tv and movies too.