YES! I think Prince would've been a great comedic actor. Everybody who knew him says how funny he was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnqxML1Vwbg

I know I´m in the minority but I have been saying this for years. Prince definitely should´ve given acting a bit more of a chance, or better yet, directors and filmmakers should have offered him more interesting roles than the ones he was offered.

The few movies he did tarnished his reputation as an actor for good but with the right script and role, and proper directions, he could´ve played more roles than the few that we are used to, and besides, he wasn´t really that bad in Purple Rain and UTCM, or in some of his longer promo clips .

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Maybe in a Tarantino movie back in the day when Tarantino was cool, or maybe a cameo on some TV show like he did with New Girl (though he just played himself there).

I think he was funny and unique and disciplined. And with the proper guidance ...who knows?

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Rihanna and Madonna have starred in a bunch of movies, and sometimes even decently ( I like Madonna in Abel Ferrara´s Snake Eyes), so why not Prince?

Prince's own persona was too strong and carefully honed for him to make it as an actor.

Actors need to be able to disappear into a role - so you don't see the actor, you only see the character he or she is playing. With Prince, all you would ever see is Prince.

Also, he'd have to have let someone else do his make-up - and I think we all know that wasn't going to happen.

Genesia said:

Prince's own persona was too strong and carefully honed for him to make it as an actor.

Actors need to be able to disappear into a role - so you don't see the actor, you only see the character he or she is playing. With Prince, all you would ever see is Prince.

Also, he'd have to have let someone else do his make-up - and I think we all know that wasn't going to happen.

There is a valid argument in that, but you can really argue that with anyone. Whitney eventually became Rachel Marron. Bowie was that alien! Janet was the woman in red, and Justice, etc.

It's the mark of a good actor to make themselves disappear into a role.

Addressing KoolEaze: The problem was that his movies are ones he wrote or directed (mostly). They were vanity projects. There were no hardcore characters we could identify with, and UTCM was barely not him.

In general, I think when they had MJ do a cameo as an alien in one of the Men In Black movies, they should have had Prince up there, too. (Hell, George Lucas was in one of the viewers.) Have them both fussin' back and forth about something. It would have been a fun sidestep out of his comfort zone.

I hate Tarantino, but he could have ended up as a small role in some movie as a crime boss, or an elusive figure, or nightclub owner (sort of how Robin Williams dipped into To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar). Hell, he could have even had a voice in a Transformers movie, or a role in Star Wars VII. He could have gotten his feet wet had someone just coaxed him into it.

He said in an interview that he learned he can't direct films. But it would have been a good payday to show up for a week's work on a set and put himself out there as an actor.

TrivialPursuit said:

Genesia said:

Prince's own persona was too strong and carefully honed for him to make it as an actor.

Actors need to be able to disappear into a role - so you don't see the actor, you only see the character he or she is playing. With Prince, all you would ever see is Prince.

Also, he'd have to have let someone else do his make-up - and I think we all know that wasn't going to happen.

There is a valid argument in that, but you can really argue that with anyone. Whitney eventually became Rachel Marron. Bowie was that alien! Janet was the woman in red, and Justice, etc.

It's the mark of a good actor to make themselves disappear into a role.

You don't have to school me on what makes a good actor. I know firsthand.

Bowie made a good alien because he was an alien in real life. None of Whitney's roles required any real acting talent. She didn't have to disappear into anything - she played characters that looked and sounded just like her, with all the skill that requires. I haven't seen any movies Janet Jackson was in, so I won't comment. But she does not have the kind of image/persona/mystique Prince had.

Prince had absolutely zero interest in being anyone but Prince. He was in three films and he played himself in all three. I actually think he did a pretty fair job in Purple Rain. I really admired his willingness to "go there" in several scenes - which was impressive for someone with only minimal training.

You know what would have happened if Prince had become a comedic actor? They would have turned him into a sight gag. Everything would have been about the little guy trying to make it big/get the tall, beautiful girl, etc. And if there is one thing we know Prince did not care for, it was looking like a fool.

Just because a person is naturally funny doesn't mean they'd be any good at playing funny. I know - I play funny on a regular basis.

KoolEaze said:

I know I´m in the minority but I have been saying this for years. Prince definitely should´ve given acting a bit more of a chance, or better yet, directors and filmmakers should have offered him more interesting roles than the ones he was offered.

The few movies he did tarnished his reputation as an actor for good but with the right script and role, and proper directions, he could´ve played more roles than the few that we are used to, and besides, he wasn´t really that bad in Purple Rain and UTCM, or in some of his longer promo clips .

.

Maybe in a Tarantino movie back in the day when Tarantino was cool, or maybe a cameo on some TV show like he did with New Girl (though he just played himself there).

I think he was funny and unique and disciplined. And with the proper guidance ...who knows?

-

Rihanna and Madonna have starred in a bunch of movies, and sometimes even decently ( I like Madonna in Abel Ferrara´s Snake Eyes), so why not Prince?

I agree

KoolEaze said:

I know I´m in the minority but I have been saying this for years. Prince definitely should´ve given acting a bit more of a chance, or better yet, directors and filmmakers should have offered him more interesting roles than the ones he was offered.

The few movies he did tarnished his reputation as an actor for good but with the right script and role, and proper directions, he could´ve played more roles than the few that we are used to, and besides, he wasn´t really that bad in Purple Rain and UTCM, or in some of his longer promo clips .

.

Maybe in a Tarantino movie back in the day when Tarantino was cool, or maybe a cameo on some TV show like he did with New Girl (though he just played himself there).

I think he was funny and unique and disciplined. And with the proper guidance ...who knows?

-

Rihanna and Madonna have starred in a bunch of movies, and sometimes even decently ( I like Madonna in Abel Ferrara´s Snake Eyes), so why not Prince?

Worst example EVER. Madonna stinks as an actor. Full stop.

Genesia said:

Worst example EVER. Madonna stinks as an actor. Full stop.

The best thing about EVITA was her singing. Those voice lessons paid off for that and for Ray of Light.


And yeah, I wish she had more talent in acting. She's certainly photogenic. But she can rarely act her way out of a bag. The original stage Eva Peron agreed, recently:

She had some charisma in Desperately Seeking Susan and I liked her in a League of their own (it was a broad Italian_american slutty stereotype, but it worked) . But playing real human emotions--no capacity whatsoever. Prince at least had some convincing tears in PR and I alwasy liked that understated moment between him and his dad in PR when his dad asks if he has a girffriend.

TrivialPursuit said:

Genesia said:

Worst example EVER. Madonna stinks as an actor. Full stop.

The best thing about EVITA was her singing. Those voice lessons paid off for that and for Ray of Light.


And yeah, I wish she had more talent in acting. She's certainly photogenic. But she can rarely act her way out of a bag. The original stage Eva Peron agreed, recently:

Genesia said:

Genesia said:

Genesia said:

KoolEaze said:

I know I´m in the minority but I have been saying this for years. Prince definitely should´ve given acting a bit more of a chance, or better yet, directors and filmmakers should have offered him more interesting roles than the ones he was offered.

The few movies he did tarnished his reputation as an actor for good but with the right script and role, and proper directions, he could´ve played more roles than the few that we are used to, and besides, he wasn´t really that bad in Purple Rain and UTCM, or in some of his longer promo clips .

.

Maybe in a Tarantino movie back in the day when Tarantino was cool, or maybe a cameo on some TV show like he did with New Girl (though he just played himself there).

I think he was funny and unique and disciplined. And with the proper guidance ...who knows?

-

Rihanna and Madonna have starred in a bunch of movies, and sometimes even decently ( I like Madonna in Abel Ferrara´s Snake Eyes), so why not Prince?

Worst example EVER. Madonna stinks as an actor. Full stop.

I understand that your standards are pretty high because you are a real actress but when I think of Madonna´s or Prince´s acting I don´t really compare them to professional actors in the true sense of acting.

There are so many people these days who pass as "actors" who are, in my opininon, probably less talented than Madonna and Prince, and yet they still star in many movies and some of them are really successful. Mark Wahlberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake etc. come to mind, and, most of all, people like Dwayne the Rock Johnson.

A friend of mine told me the other day that Dwayne Johnson was the highest paid actor of 2017.

I think Dwayne Johnson, or Vin Diesel, or John Cena are not actors per se by any stretch of the imagination yet they still pass as "actors".

And I must admit that every single one of those celebrities I mentioned above, including Madonna, has starred in at least two movies, or even more, that I enjoyed watching.

.

So, with this being said, I truly believe that Prince should have starred in more movies , and more TV shows, than he did.

His appearance on the Muppets Show was hilarious and I still enjoy watching it but that´s probably a bad example because he plays more or less himself there.

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Madonna´s acting must be cringeworthy to you and I can see why but I really liked her in a couple of movies.

And she´s starred in more than 20 movies so far.

And I can count the movies that Prince starred in on one hand, so.....I really would´ve loved to see him in more movies and TV shows, but it´s all futile now anyway.

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I liked Madonna in this movie :

Acting even of the minimalistic variety (in other words--playing everyman type roles) still requires a certain amount of adherence to the script and to universal relatable realities. Prince could have been a better actor if he had been wiling to just be a regular guy in regular scenarios..He couldn't be a rock star sex machine/pimp huckster in every role.. He was going to have to take off the damn makeup and heels and just strip his performances down to their most basic core unless he just wanted to play the character in the Fifth Element for the rest of his life. Of course, it meant he would have to listen to directors but it went beyond that. He would have to play an everyman version of himlsef. . Will, Tom and Denzel are doing more than just being themselves. they have created screen personas that are based on their personalities to some degree but are also digestible, malleable, and hughly accessible.

luv2tha99s said:

Genesia said:

Prince's own persona was too strong and carefully honed for him to make it as an actor.

Actors need to be able to disappear into a role - so you don't see the actor, you only see the character he or she is playing. With Prince, all you would ever see is Prince.

Also, he'd have to have let someone else do his make-up - and I think we all know that wasn't going to happen.

Bullshit. There are actor like Daniel Day Lewis who are good enough to disappear but most Hollywood projects require their stars to be THEMSELVES for the project to be successful. Will Smith is Will Smith. Denzel is Denzel. Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise. Prince just needed to cultivate more relationships with producers and filmakers then he would have had his pick of projects. His standoffishness and control freak tendencies mostly contributed to his lack of a film career not the fact that he couldn't disappear into a role.