So, was thinking about this the other day. It seems like a huge amount of actors have tried to take their shot at music, and a lot of popular musicians have gotten into acting? Who has has achieved the most in their "second career"?
I think what I'm looking for is a combination of longevity and credibility in their second career. Not one big hit, or one great role.
And the ground rules are that they became famous for one thing first, and then made a move. I mean, Courtney Love had a role in Sid and Nancy before she hit with Hole, but she didn't get famous for acting, I wouldn't consider her a famous actor that transitioned to music. I don't want to hear about some student film that Bob Dylan was in.
Let's take Elvis out of it, undoubtedly the biggest movie star that also came out of music, both because he's so far and away above, and he was never really considered much of an "actor" and his movies were still based around his music. And let's take out the Monkees that were actors (Dolenz and Jones) because that's just too blurry.
The list is kind of thin. I'm not sure anyone achieved real greatness in their second pursuit.
I'm thinking the leaders in music to acting would be...
Frank Sinatra - He has a few bonafide classic non-musical films to his acting resume, which I can't think of for others (The Manchurian Candidate, From Here to Eternity, Oceans Eleven)
Ice Cube - his starring roles don't include many classics, but you can't deny the guy has had maybe the most successful career in movies not based around music
Rick Springfield - His quality of acting output is not good, but he's been a working actor for decades now
The one that got me thinking about this was Madonna. I was thinking about how she was actually quite good in supporting roles (Dick Tracy, Desperately Seeking Susan, League of their Own) but was a miserable failure in lead roles (outside of Evita, which doesn't count for this because it's a music movie). I wonder if she'd been less intent on becoming a huge movie star she wouldn't have had a long credible acting career in supporting roles.
I'm having a harder time thinking of long term music careers for actors. There are some pretty big hits along the way, and many vanity bands, but not thinking of many that had a legitimate career in music. Isn't Zoey Deschanel in some kind of credible outfit?
I think what I'm looking for is a combination of longevity and credibility in their second career. Not one big hit, or one great role.
And the ground rules are that they became famous for one thing first, and then made a move. I mean, Courtney Love had a role in Sid and Nancy before she hit with Hole, but she didn't get famous for acting, I wouldn't consider her a famous actor that transitioned to music. I don't want to hear about some student film that Bob Dylan was in.
Let's take Elvis out of it, undoubtedly the biggest movie star that also came out of music, both because he's so far and away above, and he was never really considered much of an "actor" and his movies were still based around his music. And let's take out the Monkees that were actors (Dolenz and Jones) because that's just too blurry.
The list is kind of thin. I'm not sure anyone achieved real greatness in their second pursuit.
I'm thinking the leaders in music to acting would be...
Frank Sinatra - He has a few bonafide classic non-musical films to his acting resume, which I can't think of for others (The Manchurian Candidate, From Here to Eternity, Oceans Eleven)
Ice Cube - his starring roles don't include many classics, but you can't deny the guy has had maybe the most successful career in movies not based around music
Rick Springfield - His quality of acting output is not good, but he's been a working actor for decades now
The one that got me thinking about this was Madonna. I was thinking about how she was actually quite good in supporting roles (Dick Tracy, Desperately Seeking Susan, League of their Own) but was a miserable failure in lead roles (outside of Evita, which doesn't count for this because it's a music movie). I wonder if she'd been less intent on becoming a huge movie star she wouldn't have had a long credible acting career in supporting roles.
I'm having a harder time thinking of long term music careers for actors. There are some pretty big hits along the way, and many vanity bands, but not thinking of many that had a legitimate career in music. Isn't Zoey Deschanel in some kind of credible outfit?