25 Pop Music Stars Who Played Dramatic Roles in Movies

This 1971 Mike Nichols film brought Garfunkel a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Sandy. The comedy-drama depicts the lives of two Amherst College roommates over a 25-year period. Jack Nicholson plays Sandy’s roommate, Jonathan.

In John Waters’ 1988 cult classic, Harry plays Velma Von Tussle, the mother of Tracy Turnblad’s rival. The film was remade into a Broadway musical in 2002, and the musical was made into a 2007 movie with Michelle Pfeiffer in the role of Velma.

Jagger stars in this 1970 feature about the 19th-century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. “Mick Jagger, the rock singer, with a beard that makes him appear more Amish than Australian, is, sadly, simply a dour renegade who rarely becomes the ‘wild colonial boy’ of the legend,” the New York Times said in its review.

In this 1985 James Bond movie, Jones makes an impression as the hit woman May Day. “Miss Jones doesn’t do much with her dialogue,” the New York Times wrote, “but her startling visual presence is one of the film’s bigger assets.”

In this 1974 comedy drama directed by Martin Scorsese, Kristofferson plays David, an Arizona rancher who offers kindness to Alice (Ellen Burstyn), a single mother who has struggled after the death of her husband and an affair with a married younger man. Kristofferson doesn’t sing in the movie but Burstyn’s character is trying to pursue a singing career.