Don’t forget about the young Gordon Sumner in Quadrophenia.
(You need to scroll down to the fourth picture.)
K-PAX had poet/rapper Saul Williams in it
This is a bit of a stretch, but Eminiem in 8-mile. It was kinda semi-autobiographical because of what the movie was, but the fact that it was him in it was less about Eminem the rapper and more about how surprisingly good Marshall Mathers was as an actor
Frankie Valli had a small role in it too, as one of Johnny Sack’s captains.
LL Cool J has been in a ton of movies and TV shows.
For that matter, I think a number of rappers did cameos in both Oz and The Wire.
Anthony Kiedis and Flea in The Chase. Also, Anthony Kiedis in Point Break.
Tone Loc in Ace Ventura.
He was also in The Blind Side.
One of my favorites is Joe Strummer in Mystery Train.
Reba McEntire as gun enthusiast Heather Gummer in Tremors
Meatloaf played a supporting character in Fight Club and he didn’t sing a single word.
Chris Izaak played Ed White in the episode “Can We Do This” in the mini-series “From The Earth To The Moon”.
Mick Fleetwood, of Fleetwood Mac, had a supporting role as one of the rebels in “The Running Man.”
Okay, note taken. Now shut the fuck up, Donny!
Ludacris was terrific and understated in Crash (whether or not you liked the film itself). No musical references.
Mos Def became a very proficient actor in many films, in almost all of which his role has nothing to do with music.
Willie Nelson has been in a number of films, mostly as a character rather than a lead actor.
Kris Kristofferson has been in numerous films as well, although he began as a singer-songwriter.
Dwight Yoakam was the antagonist in Sling Blade. Did great work,IMO.He’s also been a number of other films (Crank for example)
Tim McGraw had an almost imperceptible cameo in The Kingdom
Bing Crosby won the Best Actor Oscar for Going My Way and was nominated two other times.
Frank Sinatra, mentioned above, won the Best Supporting Oscar for From Here to Eternity and was nominated for best actor once. I thought he was better in The Manchurian Candidate
Burl Ives was better known as a singer than an actor early in his career. He won the Best Supporting Oscar for The Big Country and appeared in many other films.
Harry Belafonte has appeared in a number of films.
Not known primarily as a singer, but Duke Ellington played the piano player in Anatomy of a Murder and, composed the film’s music as well.
Oh yes!
Also Eddy’s dad in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
And he was also in the Melanie Griffith/Sean Bean “classic” Stormy Monday
In Spain it was about the only selling point the marketing people could come up with. The series wasn’t well-known, the other recognizable actor with a big role was Mac The Umpronunceable (who caused extreme reactions, you loved or hated him)…
Kristofferson’s credits include voiceovers for cartoons, narrator roles; I think that while he is more famous as a singer and songwriter, he’s been in enough things and they’re diverse enough that he counts as an actor and not merely “a singer who sometimes is in movies”.
Here’s Ace Frehley playing a drug dealer in a movie called Remedy in 2005. I never would have recognized him if not for his voice.