Other than Frank Sinatra, it seems like musicians are generally terrible actors, and actors are soso musicians at best, usually awful, like Johnny Depp. Reminds me of buying peerages in England.
Anyone I missed? I guess there is Elvis, but those were music movies.
Levon Helm was great in Coal Miners Daughter.
I think it's easier for musicians to make the jump to acting since they already have kind of a malleable persona - every song they sing is a different character, so acting just seems like another performance. It's also easier, since not everyone who saw Labyrinth has seen David Bowie perform his music. Actors who decide they want to make music, no matter how earnest (Billy Bob Thorton, Keanu, Johnny Depp, Scarlett Johannsen), are hard to take seriously because it feels like another character - it's hard not to see Black Widow when Scarlett is singing Tom Waits covers.
David Bowie, Harry Connick, Jr., Tom Waits, Dwight Yoakam, Bing Crosby, Mark Wahlberg, all made the jump. Hell, even Gregg Allman wasn't bad in Rush (not so much in Superboy).
Some actors/musicians are able to straddle and do both, like Justin Timberlake, Donald Glover, Jennifer Lopez, but they typically aren't taking themselves too seriously in either medium.
It's funny you mentioned Wahlberg - I forgot he was somewhat of a musician.
And Dwight Yoakam is an excellent actor !
Movie and TV
Film[edit]
Year Title Role
1992 Red Rock West Truck Driver
1995 The Little Death Bobby Lomax
1996 Sling Blade Doyle Hargraves Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1997 Painted Hero Virgil Kidder
1998 The Newton Boys Brentwood Glasscock
1999 The Minus Man Blair
2001 South of Heaven, West of Hell Valentine Casey Also director and writer
2002 Panic Room Raoul
2003 Hollywood Homicide Leroy Wasley
2004 Three Way Herbert Claremont/Clarkson
2005 Wedding Crashers Mr. Kroeger
2005 The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Sheriff Belmont
2006 Bandidas Tyler Jackson
2006 Crank Doc Miles
2008 Two:Thirteen Sandy
2008 Four Christmases Pastor Phil
2009 Crank: High Voltage Doc Miles
2010 Dirty Girl Joseph
2010 The Last Rites of Ransom Pride Reverend Early Pride
2010 Bloodworth Boyd Bloodworth
2015 90 Minutes in Heaven Jon
Television[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1986 Hee Haw Himself Episode: "18.7"
1991 P.S. I Luv U Harlan Justice Episode: "I'd Kill to Direct"
1993 Rhythm & Jam Himself Television movie
1994 Roswell Mac Brazel Television movie
1996 Don't Look Back Skipper Television movie
1997 Ellen The Bag Boy Episode: "The Puppy Episode - Part 2"
1998 King of the Hill Lane Pratley Episode: "Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men"
1998 When Trumpets Fade George Rickman Television movie
2002 Dinner for Five Himself Episode: "1.8"
2011–2013 Wilfred Bruce 3 episodes
2013 To Appomattox George Meade 7 episodes
2014 Under the Dome Lyle Chumley 7 episodes
2016 Drunk History Jesse Benton Episode: "Bar Fights"
2016 Goliath Wendell Corey
Dolly Parton
Clip from 9 to 5 . . . Funny Movie
Also, let's be honest, being a good actor is easier than being a good musician. Remember your lines, know your marks - done. Not that being a great actor isn't impressive and doesn't take talent and time honing the craft, but acting is often intuitive, whereas, you have to actually spend a lot of time mastering an instrument and understanding music.
Sure, Sinatra won an Oscar (when he was willing to do anything to resurrect his career) but would anyone call him a "great" actor? But he's "The Voice". You could drop Robert Mitchum into Manchurian Candidate, and it's just as good (maybe better), but even though Mitchum could sing, he's not 'Ol Blue Eyes. Though I am partial to this album (and his "Thunder Road" is the only song by that name as far as I'm concerned):
Other musicians who were decent actors, at least for what they did (not Oscar winners)-
Willie Nelson
Sammy Davis Jr (I would give him more cred for his tap dancing than singing. I consider tap dancers musicians, kind of)
Mick in Performance?
Lol maybe not . . . Hey that Robert Mitchum calypso record looks rad.
dudley moore was a great comic actor and a talented musician.
You just reminded me Clint Eastwood. He could play and act.
woody allen is a accomplished muscian, plays the clarinet. he even made a documentary abouthis playing.
Glenn Frey was in a bunch of TV, I'm thinking Miami Vice or something like it ?
GnR had a couple of scenes in Clint Eastwood's "Dead Pool" movie...
Then you had actors who tried their hand at music -- like David Soule, Don't Give Up On Me Baby -- & John Travolta, Gonna Let Her in my Life -- yuck 😮 😛 barfy -- those posts jzfunk put up of star trek rock are a howl
Kris Kristofferson handle both very well. Doesn't hurt that he is a certifiable genius...
Steve Martin
He is a Wild and Crazy Guy 
ABB content: Not that great, but Bruce Willis did sit in with the ABB at the Beacon.
Was reminded of another one the other night while watching one of my top 5 favorite Christmas movies, Scrooged :
David Johansen of the New York Dolls, had a mild acting career which included the ghost of Christmas past in Bill Murray's Scrooged.
ABB content: Not that great, but Bruce Willis did sit in with the ABB at the Beacon.
Ha, I was there, 2006 Beacon show I think. Warren introduced him as "Television's Bruce Willis".
(Maybe we stop this line of conversation before someone brings up the time Steven Seagal sat in with the Allmans)
Or Don Johnson 😮 😮
Can't help but bounce back to Ringo, the travails of a renegade cowboy as spoken/sung by Bonanza's Ben Cartwright (Lorne Green)
William Shatner with Henry Rollins and Adrian Belew...
William Shatner with Warren Haynes covering "Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring...
Alice did a pretty good job in John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness.
Please check out following movie - In the Electric Mist
Buddy Guy played as musician and actor, Levon Helm played as an actor.
Alice did a pretty good job in John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness.
Really scary movie --- Carpenter at his best!
Patrick Ewing played the angel of death in that movie, too
Levon Helm was great in Coal Miners Daughter.
And in "The Right Stuff" - RIP John Glenn
Not only did Slingblade have Dwight Yoakam, it also featured Col. Bruce Hampton as a member of his band.
Remember Tom Petty as LuAnn's boyfriend, Lucky, on King of the Hill.
May be a stretch but Jeff Healey was famously in Road House, as the house band at the bar, but he also had a minor speaking part.
Don't know who came 1st, Rick Springfield or Dr. Noah Drake..... 😮
but actor Rick Springfield had several records in the 1980s
none topped the syrupy sap-fest "All I Need" by Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner, another "daytime heart throb" type) tho -- complete w/Tiny Tim vocal effects at the end -- "so bad it's funny" 😮
[Edited on 12/28/2016 by Stephen]
