10 Musicians Who Are Also Actors 🎞

Written By: Gracie Magguilli

While music videos are great, sometimes we just want to see more from our fav artists, and most of the time they want to do more as well! Many celebs over the years have tried to make the jump from music to movies, sometimes it goes great, sometimes not so much. You might not know if your top Spotify artist could be one of your favorite actors! Whether you're looking for a new show to watch or just want to know what other movies Harry Styles has been in, we are breaking down ten musicians who are also actors! 🍿

1. Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake has had our hearts since the 90s and that didn’t stop when he hit the big screen! He transitioned from music to acting better than most, probably because that’s where he got his start. Justin was on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Timberlake also was in the critically acclaimed movie The Social Network alongside Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg. He has also done voice acting. in the last two Shrek movies and voices Branch in the Trolls franchise. We still get to hear Justin sing on the soundtrack of Trolls, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” the soundtrack to summer 2016! ☀️

2. Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga does it all! While she is most famous for her pop music, she has been killing it in Hollywood! While she’s played herself in movies like The Muppets: Most Wanted as well as filmed versions of her concerts and the Netflix documentary Five Foot Two, Gaga doesn't shy away from legit acting roles. She started in 2015 when she terrified audiences in American Horror Story: Hotel. A few years later, she started acting in movies and in 2018 was nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Ally in A Star is Born. She also appeared in House of Gucci and she will be appearing in Joker: Folie à Deux in 2024! 🌟

3. Kelly Clarkson

Before The Kelly Clarkson Show started airing, Clarkson unwillingly started her acting career the day she won American Idol in 2003! In the first season of Idol, a part of the prize was that the winner got to be the star of their own movie!

It didn’t seem like much of a prize to Kelly as she said that it was Justin Guarini, the runner-up’s, dream to star in a movie. When Kelly was declared the winner, the tears she shed were partly because of how happy she was, but also because she really didn’t want to be in the movie! The movie in question entitled From Justin to Kelly was a musical rom-com that was released a few months after her lead single “Miss Independent", at Clarkson’s request. She begged the studio to drop the song before the film was released. They agreed and it's a good thing too! From Justin to Kelly was unsuccessful, scoring an 8% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, she’s had success with later projects like Uglydolls, Trolls: World Tour, and of course The Kelly Clarkson Show! 🏖

4. Dolly Parton

Dolly doesn’t just work 9 to 5, she works 24/7, 365 days a year. On top of being a songwriter, philanthropist, businesswoman, author, and vocalist, Parton is no stranger to acting! She wrote the title song for the film 9 to 5 as well as starred in the movie! She also starred in Steel Magnolias which is universally loved by literally everyone. She was also in the less loved but still fun film Joyful Noise about a gospel choir trying to win a national championship to save their town. Lastly, we cannot forget her most iconic role of all time, playing Miley Stewart’s Godmother in Hannah Montana. She not only played Aunt Dolly on the show, but she is also actually Miley Cyrus’ real-life Godmother and the two have a very close relationship! 🤠

5. Beyoncé

Bey is still the Queen no matter what she does. While she didn’t necessarily slay her acting roles, saying anything negative about Beyoncé feels like a sin. In 2006, Beyoncé played Deena in Dreamgirls, a film about the Dreamettes, a girl group in the 60s. Beyoncé's vocals were unmatched however critics gave her mixed reviews on her acting. She recently voiced Nala in the live-action remake of The Lion King and has directed and starred in the films, Lemonade, Black is King, and Homecoming, which are based on her albums. These movies show off her artistic version is truly iconic! 🦁

6. Rihanna

The 2022 Super Bowl halftime show won’t be the first time we’ve seen Rihanna take to the screen, big and small. In 2012, she attempted to launch her film career in Battleship to not-so-great reviews. She had more success in 2015 she voiced Tip in the animated film Home and in 2018 she was in Ocean’s 8 where she starred as Nine Ball alongside Sandra Bullock and Anne Hathway! She hasn’t acted much since but we can’t wait to see what she does with the halftime show next year! 🏟

7. Halsey

If you read last week’s Behind the Fan, you know that Halsey is a hot topic here at With the Band. When they’re not busy touring or dropping hit songs, Halsey has an established career in voice acting. They voiced Wonder Woman in Teen Titans GO! To the Movies. She also voiced Porsha Crystal in Sing 2 and recorded the song "Could’ve Been Me”for the movie. Even though the target audience is young children, Halsey gives a great performance and a great song for all ages! 🎤

8. Nick Jonas

We aren't talking about Camp Rock, or Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. Ok well, we are, just a little. The Jonas Brothers launched their careers both in music and with their music and various Disney Channel Original Movies and TV show. After the band took a hiatus, everyone thought Nick Jonas would leave acting behind and shift his focus to solo projects and producing. However, he definitely proved us wrong! Nick has acted in projects such as Scream Queens, Chaos Walking, and Jumanji: The Next Level alongside actors such as Emma Roberts, Tom Holland, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Since the band got back together we haven’t seen him in many other films, besides the Jo Bros amazon documentaries but it’s awesome to see our favs try new things! 🎸

9. Taylor Swift

Okay so Midnights drops next week and we don’t know about y’all, but there are only so many times we can watch the “All Too Well” short film and the Midnights Mayhem Tiktok series before needing more content! Well, to satisfy your need for more Taylor you can hear her as the voice of Audrey in The Lorax, or watch her in Cats. If you are looking to see something in theaters, Amsterdam features Swift and is out now! If you just want to watch Taylor being Taylor you can stream Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions on Disney+ or The Reputation Tour and Miss Americana on Netflix. Either way, this is more than effort content to satisfy all your Swiftie needs till the 21st! 🐱

10. Harry Styles

Don’t Worry Darling, we didn’t forget about you! Harry Styles has recently made acting a more central part of his career. One Direction got their start on The X Factor in 2010 and a lot of Harry’s early career was spent on screen. During his time with 1D, Harry picked up a few acting credits as himself. In both the documentary One Direction: This is Us and iCarly, we see Harry being his charming self. After his solo career launched, he starred in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and made a brief introduction to his character Eros in Marvel Studios The Eternals. However, this year has been a big year for Styles’ film career, as he’s starred in Don’t Worry Darling which is in theaters now, and My Policeman which releases in select theaters on October 21st and will be available on Amazon Prime on November 4th! Now if only we could get a Love On Tour concert film! 💖

There you have it! Now you have all the movies and TV shows for your next movie night or Netflix binge session. We can’t wait to see where the big (or small) screen takes these artists next! Were there any of your favs we missed? Any that surprised you? Follow us on our Instagram and let us know! 🎬

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