Crank up the volume and check out the best times musicians acted in movies. How many talents do these people have? It’s unfair, we tell ya!
Zendaya - Spider-Man: Far From Home
While she came up as a teenybopper Disney Channel and bubblegum pop star,Zendayahas grown up into becoming a sincere, sensitive screen performer. Wanna see what we mean? All you need to do is check her out as MJ, Peter Parker’s love interest, inSpider-Man: Far From Home.
She banters with starTom Hollandlike they’re the millennial update of Hollywood duos past. And frankly, the best parts of the special effects-saturated superhero movie ain’t the web-slinging. It’s whenever we see Zendaya and Holland fall more and more in awkward, endearing love.
Eminem - 8 Mile
Marshall “Eminem” Matherswon an Oscar for “Lose Yourself,” the head-nodding hip-hop anthem at the center of his gritty biopic,8 Mile. But if you ask us, he was still snubbed at the ceremony. Because this performance is Best Actor-award worthy.
Sure, he’s playing a fictionalized version of himself. And sure, he’s retelling his own life story about a working class Detroit boy who proves himself as a fierce rapper. But that doesn’t mean he’s not authentic and captivating onscreen. Need more proof? Check out his hilarious cameo inJudd Apatow’sFunny People.
Hailee Steinfeld - The Edge of Seventeen
Let’s start with a fact:Hailee Steinfeldis the queen of pop bops.
Her tunes turn top 40 on their head while still being car-stereo-crankable. Take a listen to “Back to Life” and attempt to get it unstuck from your head. Where were we? Oh right –The Edge of Seventeen.
The movie is sweet and funny, just like Steinfeld’s performance. It’s a coming of age high school comedy that Steinfeld anchors with mega charm. If you’ve ever felt like an outcast in high school (aka everyone), you will love Steinfeld inThe Edge of Seventeen.
Will Smith - Men in Black
Now this is a story all about how clean rap godWill Smithbecame a dang movie star. After tearing up the charts with joints like “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” and tearing up the airwaves withThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith set his sights on the silver screen.
InMen in Black, he’s just. So. Good.
He pops off one-liners, plays expertly with costarTommy Lee Jones, and runs down the quickest aliens on foot. Matter of fact, we’ll let Smith sum his performance up with a quote from the movie itself: “I make this look good.”
Mark Wahlberg - Boogie Nights
Don’t judgeMark Wahlberg’s musical talents from the scene where he sings “The Touch” inBoogie Nights. That scene, like the rest of his work in the epic about the adult film industry, is painfully, hilariously vulnerable. But did you remember that Wahlberg broke through as a genuine musician?
His name was Marky Mark. He had a Funky Bunch. And they gave us “Good Vibrations.” That song, a huge hit in the 90s, showed off Wahlberg’s appeal and potential – and, TBH, his dope shirtless bod. FromBoogie Nightson, he transitioned to movie star impeccably.
Tupac Shakur - Juice
Much has been said about hip-hop pioneerTupac Shakur. He changed the rap game in the 1990s before tragically being murdered in a case that’s still unsolved. But here’s a fun fact you may not have known:
He was also a classically trained Shakespearean actor.
Shakur put his thespian background on display in several excellent 1990s films. But no performance showed his strength as an actor more thanJuice, the Harlem-set crime drama about power and corruption that feels an awful lot like a Shakespearean tragedy. Shakur is straight up unbelievable in the flick.
Bette Midler - Hocus Pocus
When it was first released in 1993, critics hatedHocus Pocus. It has a shockingly low 33% on Rotten Tomatoes.
However – and we’re gonna try and be polite here – the critics were dumb and wrong.Hocus Pocusrules. And it rules in huge part because ofBette Midler’s committed performance.
Many of The Divine Miss M’s best known songs, like “Wind Beneath My Wings,” come from her best known movies, likeBeaches. But inHocus Pocus, Midler gets to put aside her divinity, put in weird teeth, and just chew the heck out of her role as an evil witch.
Madonna - A League of Their Own
In a movie full of wildly fun performances, the Material Girl stands above the rest.Madonnaabsolutely clobbers her screen time inA League of Their Own, turning her supporting role as “All the Way” Mae into a grand slam.
There’s no crying in baseball. But there is “recording a great pop tune to serve as the movie’s theme song while also being really good as an actor in the movie” in baseball. Madonna recorded “This Used to Be My Playground” for the film. It will, ironically, make you cry.
Yasiin Bey - 16 Blocks
He may have changed his name, but that doesn’t change the quality of his performances.Yasiin Bey, the artist formerly known asMos Def, took his brand of smooth, socially conscious hip-hop and translated it into excellent screen performances. In16 Blocks, he even held his own againstBruce Willis.
The underrated action-drama features Willis as a tired veteran cop tasked with taking care of Bey’s wiry, talkative witness. As they uncover a conspiracy of corruption, Willis must transport Bey – you guessed it – 16 blocks. Bey commands the screen with equal parts manic energy and quiet authenticity.
Prince - Purple Rain
Just look at this guy. Look at his hair. His enchanting look. His goshdarn motorcycle. How couldPrincebe anything but a movie star?
Oh – it’s because he’s an incredible musician, who’s given us timeless songs like “Kiss” and “Raspberry Beret”? Got it. Unfair, but got it.
InPurple Rain, Prince fused these two personas together, making an undeniable classic of 1980s cinema. The film is downright drenched with cool. Prince plays The Kid, a troubled but brilliant musician perfecting a revolutionary funk-rock sound in Minneapolis. Come for the dope concert performances, stay for Prince’s simmering intensity.
