David Bowie is a phenomenon. Have any of you guys ever seen him in the movie "The Man who Fell to Earth"? 1976... Slightly creepy. He is fantastic in that film, in my opinion. It is so artsy it would probably make most people vomit, but I like old strange things.
Was shocked a pop star was capable of such depth when I saw it. Then I got into more and more of his music. His career, his style, his voice--unique.
Other pop stars who make surprisingly good actors (subjective so yeah, some of this is crap probably and I have bad taste):
Cher - "Moonstruck" - Nick Cage is good in this. He lost the edge somewhere later. Also - "Mask", good performance from the singer, but inevitably mellow-dramatic film.
Mark Wahlberg - Can't recommend "The Basketball Diaries" unless you already know a little about heroin or Jim Carroll (early 80s punk song--"People who Died"--he did in 2009) and Marky Mark is barely in this, but Leonardo Di Carpio is surprisingly authentic in his role as Carroll. Did Wahlberg maybe buy an extra soul to work with somewhere between "Boogie Nights" and "The Fighter"?
Tina Turner - "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" - Well, she's had it pretty rough, guys. She was friends with Ayrton Senna and that's enough for me.
Sting - Despite his rather lazy and disinterested performance in "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" one can never forget his appearance wearing a Batman-style speedo in David Lynch's "Dune".
Iggy Pop - Considering he is famous for being impossible to work with, this guy is super busy on the American TV scene. Personally I think he deserves a mention simply for having a credited cameo role in "The Color of Money", a film that helped solidify Tom Cruise's career not just as a pretty face, but a methodical actor.
Barbara Streisand & Bette Midler - Together because they are fantastic on screen, in the studio, and on stage. It's a bit unfair that Barbara is now probably known by several generations only as Grandma Focker, and that Bette is probably hardly remembered at all, although she was Johnny Carson's last guest and sang him a lovely farewell. Midler is pretty unforgettable in "Scenes from a Mall", if you can stand Woody Allen's movies.
Ringo Starr - Failures like his title role in "Caveman" can not possibly take away from the undeniable success that is sure to be "Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pants R-EVIL-ution", which is soon to be released. But we shouldn't overlook his role for 20 episodes as Mr. Conductor of the Shining Time Station show.
Prince - Purple Rain. Please. Dude was definitely in his prime and the performance is stellar.
Tom Waits - Not exactly a pop star, not exactly a serious actor, either. But the camera likes him even if his face is worn, or maybe because of it. "The Book of Eli" is made more interesting for adding his characteristically hoarse voice. If you look close, you may catch him in an uncredited role as a homeless person in "The Fisher King", a film worthy of Waits's soulful approach to everything.
Meatloaf - Staggering filmography goes from "Rocky Horror Picture Show" to "Fight Club" to, oh, let's just not talk about what happened with Gary Busey.
