I'm talking about people that are mostly known for something else but who have also tried acting in movies on occasion.

My vote would go to David Bowie. He really takes acting seriously and does a fantastic job, in my opinion. Very versatile and believable. If he hadn't prioritized his career in music I'm sure he would have had an excellent one in the movie business.

A few examples of other "non-actor actors" of various quality:

Jennifer Lopez
Mos Def
Ice Cube
Angie Everhart
Michael Moore
David Cronenberg
Eminem
Jon Bon Jovi

i liked it when jesse jackson did that skit, "the question is moot" on SNL years ago. he was actually really funny.

I loved David Bowie in the Labyrinth...one of my favorite movies

I'd say Will Smith, but he's really crossed over to being an actor that occasionally puts out an album these days.

Mos Def was so funny in Italian Job ("I had a bad experience. And I'm the one who's deaf."), he looks like my little brother only black ( can I say that?) I think we're going to see 16 Blocks sometime this weekend (unless I'm stuck watching Ultra Violet )

Jack White

i thought kim gordon was the only engaging thing in gus van zant's movie "last days". well, that and the man sex.

EskomoKisses said:

LMFAO, I was cracking up when I heard him drop that.

retina said:

Tom Cruise.

i thought tupac was good in "gridloc'd" and "juice"

tyrese in "babyboy"

Meatloaf

retina said:

Good choice!



Cher was amazing in Moonstruck.

Nikki23 said:

Thanks. It was that fantastic video you sent me that made me think of his movie career and consequently of starting this thread.



True.

Bjork was amazing.

Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) in 'The Big Lebowski' (as one of the nihilists) & 'The Chase'

Best line in Big Lebowski:

'Give us ze money, Lebowski! Or else we'll cut off your dschjohnson and maybe stomp on it! Ja!'

Anx said:

Well, I wouldn't even check it out for that person's sake since you already made me waste a couple of hours on watching "Waiting for Guffman".

Okay, okay, it wasn't terrible but it wasn't all that funny either. I think Christopher Guest was excellent and quite believable but the rest of the cast is so-so and has been recycled too many times now. That Jewish guy with glasses is completely unfunny in my opinion. And the whole show that basically took up half the movie was too good to be funny but too bad to be enjoyable. As usual with their later movies, I think the end sequence that tells the story of what happened to them later on was one of the most interesting and funny parts.

I can see why you thought it was hilarious though since you apparently have more insight into the world of theatre and therefore can chuckle at the in-jokes. But the thing is that I laughed a lot at Spinal Tap even though I don't have all that much insight into that world either, so they should have been able to make this one funny to outsiders too, I think.

CarrieMpls said:

Yeah, but according to Von Trier she wasn't even acting, she was living that part, which eventually became almost unbearable for the rest of the cast and crew.

retina said:

Yeah, she had plenty to say about him too. lol.

CarrieMpls said:

I'm sure she did. An authoritarian Danish director doesn't mix very well with an eccentric Icelandic pop princess. Anyone could have seen that coming.

CarrieMpls said:

co-Bjork.

retina said:

I love that video and it's freaky how they got someone who looked so like him when he was young.

Nikki23 said:

Did they? The angle looked so weird that I thought at first that they'd created a three-dimensional computer image from an actual picture of his face, but the quality of the clip was so bad that it was difficult to tell for sure.

retina said:

Yeah maybe it was a computer image ,you could be right. I should look up how the video was made.

Mos Def was actually acting before he was rapping.

But my vote would go to...Will Smith.

ChristopherTracyParade said:

I never said he wasn't.

So many talented musical performers are also gifted actors, so the line's pretty much blurred. I mean, look at Cher - I love her acting more than her singing.

My vote goes to Patricia Hearst. What a trouper! lol

retina said:

Well, you listed him along with other rappers so I was just making a point. Relax.

Stax said:

"This is Bob. Bob has bitch tits"

jerseykrs said:

I am so looking forward to the 2nd one...and I suppose while I'm at it I could add Mark Walberg to this list

no one has said dwight yoakum yet!!

he constantly surprises me with any film work he does
take off that cowboy hat and he disappears into any roll he plays

emm said:

I haven't seen any of Yoakum's films, but for some reason your post reminded me that Tom Waits is a pretty damn good actor.

retina said:

i just thought it was one of the best examples of improv i've ever seen. none of that was scripted. it was all made up on the spot. the plot was scripted, sure - but the dialog, and where they took the scenes? that was all created as you're watching them do it. i think that's pretty brilliant. but to each their own.