+Actors Who Play Musicians
Some of my favorite actors are those who show off their multiple talents by playing musicians. I am more of a film nerd than I am a music person, however I love it when the two genres marry. I just wrote this article for Frugal Zeitgeist and thought it might be fun to share with you guys over here on TRF. Enjoy!
Some of the best roles out there for actors are playing musicians– especially in biopics. You may have heard the recent news about Robert Pattinson and Penn Badgley fighting for the role of Jeff Buckley in an upcoming film and there’s good reason they weren’t willing to throw in the towel so quickly. Actors who play musicians in films are often nominated for Oscars.
Audiences love films about musicians because they’re often already fans of the stars and the music. More often than not it seems a lot of musicians have a lot of drama within their lives, making for seriously compelling movies. Let’s take a look at some of the best actors playing musicians of the past few years.
A list of some of the best +Actors Playing Musicians:
Jeff Bridges
You may know him as ‘the dude’, but Jeff Bridges recently made a buzz in Hollywood for his performance in Crazy Heart. The film revolves around an alcoholic musician who’s broken down by life. The film got Jeff Bridges an academy award and let to him recording his own album: Jeff Bridges self titled album.
Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx had been around for some time but no one knew of his capability as a dramatic actor until they witnessed his portrayal of Ray Charles in the movie Ray. Audiences, who normally associated him with comedic roles, were stunned by his beautiful performance and musical talent. So much so, that Foxx won an Oscar.
Beyoncé & Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls
Fans of the musical were excited to see Dreamgirls hit the silver screen. Especially because it starred pop icon Beyonce and resilient singer Jennifer Hudson. The film was a thinly veiled version of the story of Diane Ross and the Supremes, and surprisingly Jennifer Hudson was the one to stand out in the performance. In fact, Jennifer Hudson is one of the few to win academy award for a film debut !
Gary Busey
People forget that despite the fact that Gary Busey has been in more than 100 films, he has done some decent work. His portrayal of Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story moved a lot of people. The Buddy Holly Story even won an Oscar for best score adaptation.
Kristen Stewart & Dakota Fanning
The two young actresses had fun rocking out in their portrayal of the girl rock band The Runaways. This wasn’t their first gig together, the two also star in the Twilight film series. Different kinds of people have begun to take them seriously for their acting in the rock drama than the teen flicks. They seemed to take the task pretty seriously as well when Kristen Stewart and Dakota fanning prepared for roles by watching hours of old footage and just practicing their musical skills.
+Actors Playing Musicians
+Actors Playing Musicians
If you’re sick of the drug addiction, alcoholism and infidelity of these musicians or you just enjoy a good mockery of the genre, why not check out Walk Hard? It’s a hilarious depiction of how some of these films can be slightly formulaic.
