Musicians in movies

The thread about bands in movies made me think of musicians appearing in acting roles, as non-musical characters.

Allow me to start by mentioning Jello Biafra's appearance as an FBI agent, in the concluding scene of Tapeheads.

Evan Dando at the end of Reality Bites and in Heavy. Chris Isaak in numerous roles (favorite: as assassin/fast-food clown in Married to the Mob. Dean Stockwell: "Some clown just tried to kill me"). Michael Hutchence as Percy Shelley in that Frankenstein-based movie by Roger Corman.

David Bowie in numerous roles.

Robbie Robertson in numerous roles.

Levon Helm in numerous roles.

The twins from Spandau Ballet in The Krays, and individually in numerous roles.

John Taylor in some movie w/ Michael des Barres as well (and Beverly d'Angelo).

Huey Lewis w/ a cameo in Back To The Future.

Art Garfunkel in Carnal Knowledge and others.

Michael Hutchence in Dogs in Space (I think that was the title)

I have an old VHS of Dogs in Space. Strange Australian film. I may have gotten the tape from Ira, if memory serves.

Sam Phillips - Die Hard with a Vengeance
Robyn Hitchcock - remake of Manchurian Candidate
Debbie Harry - Heavy, Videodrome, others
Ian Dury - one of the Crow movies and Roman Polanski's Pirates.
Jenny Lewis - Troop Beverly Hills, Pleasantville
Victoria Williams - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Huey Lewis - Short Cuts
Joe Strummer - Mystery Train, Straight to Hell
Courtney Love - Sid & Nancy, Straight to Hell, People Vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the Moon
John Lydon - Cop Killer
Paul Simonon, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Fee Waybill - Fabulous Stains
Tina Turner - Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
John Mellencamp - Falling From Grace
Dwight Yoakam - Sling Blade, Panic Room
Stiv Bators - Tapeheads
Flea - Suburbia, Big Lebowski
Aimee Mann - Big Lebowski
Michael Penn - Boogie Nights
Richard Hell - Desperately Seeking Susan
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Last Emperor
Mark Kozelek - Almost Famous
Glenn Frey - Jerry Maguire
Kris Kristofferson - too numerous to mention
Bob Geldof - Pink Floyd the Wall (strange to see a musician appearing in a mostly non-musical part in a musical)
Michael Been - The Last Temptation of Christ
Phil Collins - Buster
Lee Ving - Clue
Jane Wiedlin - Clue, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Bonus trivia: the role of Professor Falken in Wargames was originally written with John Lennon in mind



Post Edited (08-06-09 14:05)

Why does everybody leave Bon Jovi off these lists? HATERS!

Tom Waits in Mystery Men.

Thor in Zombie Nightmare and Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare.

Mr. Waits was also in "Down By Law," which is one of my all-time favorite movies. See it!

Debbie Harry in Videodrome

Actually The Man Who Fell to Earth with Bowie is about at the top of my film list.

Quote

[Actually The Man Who Fell to Earth with Bowie is about at the top of my film list./quote]

...

It says more about me than it does about the movie, but I have NEVER made it all the way through that film awake.

I usually call it "The Man Who Fell To Sleep."

...

I guess I should wiki the plot and see how it all turns out.

Oh yeah, and Adam Horowitz starred in a movie in the late 1980s.

erikalbany wrote:

> Oh yeah, and Adam Horowitz starred in a movie in the late
> 1980s.

Lost Angels!

> Lee Ving - Clue


and he murders flea in dudes, too!

Ringo plays Frank in 200 Motels.

Mr. Loaf was also in Fight Club and that trucking movie Black Dog with Patrick Swayze, which also featured Randy Travis.

the late jeff healey was in cocktail with patrick swayze also.
evan dando , debbie harry in a movie called heavy.
debroah harry also in hairspray and tales from the darkside

How about musicians who directed and starred in their movie?

John Mellencamp -- Falling From Grace
Dwight Yoakam -- South of Heaven, West of Hell

Quote

How about musicians who directed and starred in their movie?

David Byrne - True Stories
Prince - Under the Cherry Moon



Post Edited (08-06-09 13:45)

Jack White - Cold Mountain
Carl Perkins - Into the Night (he & Bowie kill each other, I believe)
Ringo Starr - Caveman
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Mystery Train
Edie Brickell - Born on the Fourth of July
Alicja Trout - Superstarlet A.D.
Bjork - Dancer in the Dark
Most of Pearl Jam - Singles
Keith Richards - Pirates of the Caribbean 3
Danielle Dax - In the Company of Wolves

The Untouchables in "Repo Man"



Post Edited (08-06-09 15:31)

> Why does everybody leave Bon Jovi off these lists? HATERS!

To lift a line from Bogart: "I don't have Bon Jovi. If I ever thought about him, I might."

Thought of a few more:

Anthony Kiedis - Point Blank

Tom Waits - Bram Stoker's Dracula

Gene Simmons has been in a few, the names of which I can't remember

Roger Daltrey - McVicar

johnny cash, "pride of jesse hallam"...
dave pirner, "reality bites"...
didn't henry rollins play a cop in several different movies?

Actually half of Seattle seemed to appear in Singles (Tad has what is probably the Best Cameo Appearance Of All Time as well).

Ramones - Rock'n'Roll High School (yeah I mentioned them in the "other" thread, but since they "act" in it as well...)

Lemmy - Eat the Rich

Paul McCartney - Eat the Rich, Give My Regards To Broad Street

Beatles - Help, Hard Day's Night, Magical Mystery Tour

Spencer Davis Group - The Ghost Goes Gear

Mick Jagger - Performance, Ned Kelly, Freejack

Paul Jones - Privlege (okay, perhaps not strictly a "non-musical" role, but still...)

Elvis Costello, the Pogues - Straight To Hell

Grace Jones - A View To a Kill, Conan the Destoyer



Post Edited (08-07-09 00:21)

Also:

Ringo Starr, Spike Milligan, John Lennon, Yoko Ono - The Magic Christian

Ringo plays Youngman Grand in the movie. The movie also features Thunderclap Newman’s 'Something in the Air' and several songs by Badfinger. And there is a cameo by Raquel Welch.

Lyle Lovett - The Player, Short Cuts
Tim McGraw - Friday Night Lights
Meat Loaf - Rocky Horror, Roadie
Vic Chesnutt - Sling Blade

> the late jeff healey was in cocktail with patrick swayze also.

I think that movie was called Road House. Swayze plays a bouncer at a honky-tonk club, right?

Lee Ving also played the strip joint owner in Flashdance and the cable TV installer in The Wild Life. He's had a few other movie roles, but those are the only ones I remember seeing him in (other than The Decline of Western Civilization).

it was "roadhouse", John Doe played a bartender, one of his many roles including:
salvador
Boogie Nights
great balls of Fire
pure country
slam dance
border radio
sugar town (with DesBares and Taylor)

Claire Grogan in Gregory's Girl ( ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh)
Cherie Currie in Foxes

Roy Orbison in Fastest Guitar in the West

Daltrey has been in several films as well (and on CSI!).

He also had a recurring role as one of the immortals on the Highlander TV series. I seem to recall thinking he was pretty good.

Daltrey had a recurring role on Highlander too.

Whoops, Toland beat me to it.



Post Edited (08-07-09 12:03)

What does that say about the both of us?

At least I didn't mention Daltrey's tenure on Sliders. Oh, damn.

Jello Biafra, Tav Falco - Highway 61

Lee Ving - The Taking of Beverly Hills - the man was the goto character actor of low budget 80's movies, whodathunk there were that many Fear fans.

Paul Williams - Muppet Movie, Smokey and the Bandit

They say great minds think alike. I suppose ours do too.

willie nelson in "half baked"

Smithereens - Class At Nuke 'em High
Southern Culture on The Skids - I Know What You Did Last Summer (or was it I Still Know.....)
The Angels (Angel City to you guys) - Holy Smoke
Crime & The City Solution / Nick & The Nad Seeds - Wings Of Desire
Anthony Kiedis & Flea & Henry Rollins - The Chase
Just About Eveyone - Straight To Hell

Joan Jett - Light of Day
Claire Grogan - Comfort and Joy (and Red Dwarf, but that's TV)
Iggy Pop - Crybaby, Dead Man, English translation of Persepolis
Howard Devoto - 24 Hour Party People
Ice T - Trespass, etc.
Ice Cube - Trespass, Boyz N the Hood, Three Kings, etc. etc.
Queen Latifah - Chicago, etc. etc.
Sonny Bono - Hairspray
Tom Petty - The Postman (my all time favorite inexplicable cameo)

"Howard Devoto - 24 Hour Party People"
And Vini Reilly

""Howard Devoto - 24 Hour Party People"
And Vini Reilly"

Let's not forget Mark E. Smith, along with an Inspiral Carpet/Happy Monday or two. Plus the "real" Tony Wilson.

Sting - Quadrophenia, Dune, Brimstone & Treacle, Stormy Monday
Marianne Faithfull - Hamlet, Marie Antoinette

Another musician actor/director:
Wayne Coyne - Christmas on Mars

Somehow lost in the outpouring above is the movie "Breakfast on Pluto." Gavin Friday makes a pretty good showing as a musician, but even more striking (and unexpected) is Bryan Ferry. I saw the film with Dave Schulps and he did not know it was Ferry playing a murderous creep until I mentioned it afterwards.