In recent years, we’ve seen a string of actors turn their hand to music. Just this summer, our critic Louis Chilton singled out Russell Crowe as one of the highlights of Glastonbury Festival, thanks to an enthusiastic set in which he covered Dire Straits and Johnny Cash as well as performing original songs. This was, Chilton argued, no vanity project: “I found it hard not to be swept along by the pure exuberant eccentricity of it.”
But what about when it’s the other way around? For a musician who thrives on the adrenaline of performing to thousands of screaming fans, or is used to getting their own way in the studio, what happens when you plonk them under the glare of set lights? Can they handle taking orders from a director, playing second fiddle to their co-stars… or will they crumble in such new and unfamiliar territory?
For fans, it’s an agonising experience to see a favourite singer stumble for once, to have to admit that, OK, maybe they’re not brilliant at everything. But sometimes that can also help to humanise our idols, or, even better, humble them.
Here are 12 instances where musicians failed to shine on the silver screen.
You’d think that playing a bland, smarmy pop star would come naturally to Adam Levine, but the Maroon 5 frontman definitely struggled with his first major acting role, in John Carney’s schlocky musical comedy-drama, Begin Again.
The material wasn’t particularly good to begin with. Mark Ruffalo was the maverick label executive in want of a hit record; Keira Knightley the naive singer-songwriter trying to make her way in the big city. Many critics compared it unfavourably to Carney’s wonderful Irish romantic drama Once. Ruffalo and Knightley did well enough in their roles, but Levine had about as much charisma as a wet paper bag in his scenes as Dave Kohl, who cheats on his girlfriend (Knightley) at the very first taste of success as a pop singer.
Interestingly, Carney claimed that he’d been impressed by Levine on set but was notoriously rude about Knightley, referring to her dismissively as a “supermodel” despite her string of high-profile roles in Bend It Like Beckham, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, Atonement and Never Let Me Go. Levine’s previous credits, meanwhile, included Himself, Himself, and, um, Himself.
Carney later apologised, and Knightley went on to star in critical and commercial successes such as The Imitation Game, Colette and Misbehaviour. Levine had another go in 2017’s Fun Mom Dinner, another flop, but that’s about it.
Ed Sheeran is one of the most successful artists of his generation, shattering records left right and centre while maintaining the humble, down-to-earth appeal that helped build his devoted fanbase. Yet even the most devoted fan would struggle to make a convincing argument for his disastrous cameo in Game of Thrones. Sheeran is as stiff as a White Walker, his few lines of dialogue over-pronounced. “That’s a pretty song,” Arya says as she arrives at a soldiers’ camp in the woods. The camera closes in on Sheeran. “It’s a new one,” he says. Geddit?
The guest appearance wasn’t aided by the fact that showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss announced they’d landed him after years of campaigning, because they wanted to surprise Arya Stark actor and Sheeran fan Maisie Williams. But the move caused discontent among series viewers who complained that the “Thinking Out Loud” star’s presence shattered the fantasy and jerked them right back to reality.
For Sheeran’s part, he later admitted he was “more careful” about agreeing to TV and film cameos following the backlash, while still questioning how many others would have turned down the opportunity.
Pop singer and reality star Jessica Simpson reportedly beat both Britney Spears and Jessica Biel to land the role of Daisy Duke in the horrendous (and unnecessary) remake of TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, in which her sole purpose seemed to be to strut around in as few clothes as possible.
It was as juvenile a production as you could imagine, but even so, Simpson seemed to struggle with her sparse dialogue – even if she said she enjoyed playing the role – and had about as much screen presence as the cars she was forever draping herself over. To make matters worse, the world also had to suffer Simpson’s horrendous cover of “These Boots Are Made for Walking”, which featured in the soundtrack.
Based on the video game, Battleship was a big-budget action film about the crews of a small fleet of warships battling against an alien naval fleet. It was also Rihanna’s feature film debut and, while not her last, certainly left a black mark on an otherwise glittering career.
Reviews were almost overwhelmingly negative, with The Independent’s critic accusing both Rihanna and her co-star Liam Neeson of “sleepwalking through this salty hogwash”. The “SOS” singer ended up “winning” a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress.
This 2001 romantic musical drama was a complete bust that serves only as a reminder of what happens when a pop star’s vanity gets the best of them.
Starring Carey as Billie Frank, an aspiring singer, the movie was loaded with rags-to-riches cliches and unintentionally hilarious dialogue, even if it occasionally found poignancy in its themes of love and loss. The “Fantasy” singer’s performance is distinctly wooden, given to eye-rolls, sideways glances and fluttering sighs.
Carey later said she regretted how the film turned out, telling USA Today in a 2002 interview that it originally had a lot more substance, but ended up being targeted towards 10-year-olds. “It lost a lot of grit,” she said. “It was gritless, in fact. I kind of got in over my head.” In a 2013 interview she called it a “kitsch moment” in her life and told Andy Cohen that there was a time when she hated it so much, she refused to allow people to say the film’s name in her presence.
While she’s never expressed much desire to pursue an acting career since, Carey did surprise many critics with her beautifully understated performance in the (definitely gritty) 2009 drama Precious, in which she played a weary but determined social worker.
