7 Musicians Who Successfully Crossed Over to Acting

It’s not uncommon for musicians to dabble in movies and TV, but there are very few who dual-wield each discipline and find major success in both.

Since the days of Bing Crosby in “White Christmas” and Frank Sinatra in “Guys And Dolls,” musicians have crossed over into acting to explore another element of their artistic voice. Whether partly because they appear on a movie’s original soundtrack, they want to tap back into some Broadway roots, or because it is something they simply have a knack for, each of these musicians has proven they belong both on records and the big screen.

1. Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga’s triumph as an actress in recent years is, to some, very left-field, given her background as an over-the-top pop artist. The 37-year-old artist has proven to be a sophisticated actress, and her roles serve as an extension of her musical craft.

Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, she landed her first acting role on a 2001 episode of The Sopranos as a background character. Her first credited character roles would come in 2014 and 2015, where she played Bertha on Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and Scáthach/The Countess on season five of American Horror Story.

Two years after releasing Joanne, an album that showcased the more down-to-earth side of her art, she was cast in A Star Is Born. Portraying Ally alongside Bradley Cooper, she took on the role of a young mentee to Jack, a more experienced musician in the industry. Gaga would also go on to play Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci.

2. Harry Styles

No, Harry Styles didn’t just play himself on a 2012 episode of Nickelodeon’s iCarly along with the rest of One Direction—he’s had a prolific, dramatic, and flourishing acting career on his lonesome, much like in his solo music career.

His pioneering role was in 2017, just a few months after the premiere of “Sign of the Times,” with his portrayal of Alex in Dunkirk, directed by Christopher Nolan. The film shows the evacuation of allied soldiers in Belgium as they were surrounded by the German Army during World War II. Alex, a supporting character, is one of the many British soldiers trying to escape.

Don’t Worry Darling (2022), though, was his critical breakthrough. Styles plays Jack, the husband of Alice, portrayed by Florence Pugh, a lonely housewife who begins to experience strange, unsettling behavior in her husband’s company town as he’s away at work. That same year, Styles also performed in My Policeman.

3. Donald Glover

Donald Glover, also known by his stage name Childish Gambino, has focused more so on his acting career in recent years but has a cult following within both. He’s taken a shift in his acting career, though, transitioning from mostly comedy and sketch roles to drama.

One of his most recognizable roles is Troy Barnes on the NBC sitcom Community, a conceited ex-high school football star who purposely injured himself to be relieved of the pressures of success as a college athlete.

From 2016 to 2022, he appeared as Earnest ‘Earn’ Marks in the FX original Atlanta. As the name suggests, the series takes place in Atlanta, where characters Earn and Alfred strive to make it big in the world through rap. Their goals are challenged, or upended, by socioeconomic issues and family.

4. Queen Latifah

She’s, fittingly considered to be one of the first queens of hip-hop, but Queen Latifah has still made time to pursue many movie and television roles.

Her first non-music video credit was in 1991, where she played Lashawn in Jungle Fever. Since then, she has appeared in everything from network sitcoms and children’s movies to dramas and live musical broadcasts. Her most recent credit, The Equalizer, is a CBS drama starring Latifah, Tory Kittles, and Adam Goldberg. Latifah plays a mysterious “guardian angel” type, who seeks out individuals desperate for help. The show aired from 2021 to 2023 live and on streaming.

5. Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige has been kicking around in the acting world since 2001, landing her first character role as Simone Fellows in Lifetime’s Strong Medicine. By 2015, she was making occasional appearances in shows like Empire, Black-ish, and How to Get Away with Murder. She’s known for her role as Cha-Cha in the Netflix original series The Umbrella Academy, a determined assassin looking to eliminate protagonist Five, played by Aidan Gallagher. She’s played Monet in Power Book II: Ghost since 2020, and is set to portray Jackie Peace in the upcoming movie Rob Peace.

6. Jennifer Lopez

Not only is Jennifer Lopez a well-known singer and actress, but she’s an established movie and television producer as well. One of her best-known movie appearances is in Hustlers (2019), where she plays the cunning Ramona, a stripper keen on scamming her Wall Street clients out of their money. She’s also starred in Enough, Monster-in-Law, Second Act, Maid in Manhatten, Jersey Girl, and Selena to name a few. Since then, she’s played Darcy Rivera in Shotgun Wedding (2022) and starred in the Netflix original movie The Mother.

Her producer, and executive producer, credits include the TV series Good Trouble, Thanks a Million, and The Fosters. She will be producing two upcoming projects, The Godmother and Atlas.

Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic