Entertainment
8 Best Acting Debuts For a Musician
As with television stars of the past who tried to be taken seriously in major films, popular music artists who leap into acting face risk. Some musicians lean into their established personas, while others make great efforts to put aside their iconic image to play a fleshed-out character. Oftentimes, the ones who succeed the most prove to be the biggest surprises of them all.
While legends such as Cher and Barbra Streisand have built award-winning careers both in film and music, this list focuses on the best acting debuts of any artist in the past few decades. Musical performance cameos do not count in this case. These are the films that launched second careers for the music industry’s brightest stars.
8
Bad Bunny
‘Bullet Train’
Since arriving on the hip-hop scene in the early 2010s, the self-proclaimed “King of Latin Trap” has surprised audiences across all genres. Bad Bunny’s monumental success in bringing Spanish‑language rap to the mainstream has extended to everything from participating as a wrestler in WWE to headlining this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. Movies always seemed destined for him, and the Brad Pitt-led action comedy Bullet Train fulfilled just that.
Bullet Train sees Bad Bunny play the role of Wolf, just one of several assassins along the brutal Tokyo ride seeking revenge against the Ladybug (Pitt), triggered by the Hornet’s poisoning of his cartel crew. Packed with a tragic backstory and an insane fight sequence with Pitt, the rapper’s on-screen presence never feels like a debut. Bad Bunny plays his killer role straight without disrupting the absurdly dark comedic tone. Director David Leitch praised the star for his dedication to Bullet Train’s dangerous stunts.
“He came like a consummate professional. I think a lot of those guys are. That’s how they get so successful. I mean, his work ethic is off the charts, and he came and trained with us for three weeks to work on the fighting, and then we had to shoot that whole, non-verbal story that I wanted to tell visually. Wanted to build up the expectation of this character and obviously rip the rug out.”
7
Ice-T
‘New Jack City’
A pioneer in the hood movie genre of the ‘90s, New Jack City took the Warner Bros.-produced gangster pictures of the ‘30s and modernized them for urban audiences. Director Mario Van Peebles changed the perception of crime lords who were usually romanticized in such classics as Superfly and Scarface by revealing the true harm they were causing to the community. A film like this did not scream for a straight-laced hero with a badge to take on Wesley Snipes’ charismatic crack lord. It needed someone real to deliver the truth, which Ice-T did better than anyone else in this film.
Though Snipes is New Jack City’s breakout performer, Ice-T’s role as Detective Scotty Appleton was an ideal role model for young people. The future Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star sees through the lies and deception of Nino’s empire as he infiltrates the gang to break them up from within. His rebellious image rarely gets softened until he endures the tragedy of the drug victim Pookie (Chris Rock), whom he fails to save. Even then, the rapper perfected the ideal cop who fights for the victims on the street.
6
Will Smith
‘Where the Day Takes You’
Will Smith went from kid-friendly rapper to the sitcom star of NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and eventually became one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Groundbreaking hits such as Independence Day and Men in Black cemented his leading man status as the go-to actor for movies about saving the world. Before he could battle aliens, robots, and drug dealers, however, Smith surprised his fans in his small role as a homeless teen in 1992’s Where the Day Takes You.
The little-seen ensemble drama starring Sean Astin, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Alyssa Milano features Smith as the paraplegic Manny who hangs around a gang of runaway youths led by their father figure (Dermot Mulroney). Gone is the baggy neon urban wear of Smith’s Fresh Prince days; he is stripped of his winning charm. Smith fully embodies the Hollywood street hustle as a destitute youth embedded in a makeshift homeless family, never once trying to stand out from the pack. Though not as provocative as his next controversial role as a gay con artist in Six Degrees of Separation, Where the Day Takes You showcased Smith’s textured acting versatility which would pay off decades later with his Oscar win for King Richard.
5
Madonna
‘Desperately Seeking Susan’
The quirky 1985 romantic comedy by Susan Seidelman came in the early days of Madonna’s rise from nightclub singer to an MTV household staple. In her debut motion picture, aside from a musical cameo in Vision Quest, the Material Girl takes on the title role of a hip loner whose personals in a New York tabloid publication catch the attention of a dissatisfied New Jersey housewife (Rosanna Arquette). Suffering amnesia and adopting the tabloid writer’s persona, the housewife ultimately crosses paths with the real Susan, and the real trouble begins.
Desperately Seeking Susan allowed Madonna to break out with a larger audience that may not have had a subscription to MTV in 1985. Donning her trademark fashion and accessories, the ‘80s pop queen embodies the hip Bohemian lifestyle of New York City and acts as the imaginary carefree hero Arquette desires to be. Madonna’s evolution pushed her into greater challenges over time, whether it’s a femme fatale singer in Dick Tracy or the aspirational leader in Evita. But Desperately Seeking Susan is a perfect snapshot of Madonna’s ascent as a legitimate movie star.
4
Ice Cube
‘Boyz n the Hood’
25 years after it hit cinemas across the United States, John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood made a statement about Black America that remains as relevant today as it was in 1991. Unlike previous crime thrillers dealing with the gangs of South Central, L.A., the landmark drama emphasized the people in the community walking a fine line between falling prey to the violence and finding hope for a better future. Ice Cube’s performance as Doughboy was not merely a mirror image of the N.W.A. rapper. Instead, he was a living, breathing cautionary tale.
Cube’s role provided Boyz n the Hood a much-needed contrast from Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s arc from aimless boy to an honest adult. Doughboy exemplifies a life in which the lack of a male authority figure in his household forces him to resort to crime, with no options available for a legitimate future. There’s no wink and nodding to the audience like Cube’s later roles in Friday and Barbershop. Through his gritty, authentic portrayal, Cube reveals how young men like Doughboy lack proper guidance, which results in making violence the automatic answer in an unjust society.
3
Eminem
‘8 Mile’
Outside his cameo in The Wash, Eminem’s iconic performance in 8 Mile is the only time the Detroit-based rapper headlined a theatrical film. The funky beats of his songs and the comedic visuals of his music videos are completely dropped in favor of a gritty street drama under the direction of the late Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys). Loosely inspired by Eminem’s life, the hip-hop legend plays a blue-collar factory worker and single father whose aspirations for a better life outside his low-income Motor City surroundings are held back by his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) as well as stage fright.
For a leading man debut, Eminem’s quiet restraint and moments of explosive rage echo the grit of the ‘70s New Hollywood era stars such as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. He never appears like he is acting for the first time in his life because he is actually living the life depicted on screen. The evolution from a working-class nobody to a charismatic rapper is treated like a slow burn, and Eminem lets the anger bubble up every minute until the explosive rap battle finale.
2
Jennifer Hudson
‘Dreamgirls’
The film adaptation of the popular 1981 Broadway musical was a star-studded affair with Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy as the headliners. Add to that Beyonce Knowles, who was a few films into her acting career, playing to her superstar status. But former American Idol runner-up Jennifer Hudson had the greatest challenge of her co-stars by playing the tortured Effie White. In every sense of the word, Hudson exceeded all expectations.
Out of any A-list actor in the Dreamgirls ensemble, Hudson was the ultimate showstopper. Her powerhouse rendition of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” is deeply chilling due to the combination of power and heartbreak registering through the vocals. Add to that the most sympathetic story arc of the entire film, Hudson’s Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress remains one of the most deserving Academy Award wins in cinema history.
1
Prince
‘Purple Rain’
Michael Jackson, Madonna, and George Michael reigned supreme in the ‘80s music landscape. Yet, Prince was the only musician to do more than just dip his toe into acting. Like 8 Mile for Eminem, Purple Rain would elevate aspects of Prince’s life into a grounded, but fantastical tale of a self-centered musical genius caught between love, ego, and the struggle to survive in an abusive household. Unlike the aforementioned artists on this list, Prince’s debut film defined his legacy.
The multi-talented singer/songwriter from Minneapolis became a global icon when Purple Rain hit theaters in 1984. The vibrant, often sexually charged musical numbers taking place at Minneapolis’s First Avenue nightclub dazzle across the silver screen, and the red-hot soundtrack elevates everything from motorcycle montages to graphic love scenes. What Purple Rain also revealed was a rock star willing to be open about his personal trauma, specifically the abuse at the hands of his father (Clarence Williams III). Once the title number hits, Prince elicits an emotional intensity few films have since matched.
- Release Date
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July 27, 1984
- Runtime
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111 minutes
- Director
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Albert Magnoli
- Writers
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Albert Magnoli, William Blinn
- Producers
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Robert Cavallo, Steven Fargnoli
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Apollonia Kotero
Apollonia
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