Exploring Jared Leto, Zooey Deschanel, and other musician-actor hyphenates

by Allan Tong

February 13, 2014

0

0

0

0

0

Email this article to a friend

Jared Leto has been nominated for a best supporting acting Oscar for his brilliant turn as a transgender AIDS patient in the acclaimed drama, Dallas Buyers Club. The 30 Seconds To Mars frontman joins an elite club of musicians who’ve been nominated for or have won an Oscar, including Will Smith and Mark Wahlberg. But few singers really do successfully cross over to acting; here’s a look at some of the more successful moments from these hyphenates.

 

Jared Leto

Leto is probably the best actor/musician out there today. He’s earned raves as an Olympic runner in the biopic Prefontaine; a junkie in the harrowing Requiem for a Dream; and a human punching bag in Fight Club. His range is wide and his role choices brave. Credit him for being a teen idol willing to play a junkie (twice), and for appearing in indie films instead of the next comic book blockbuster. How good is he in Dallas Buyers Club? He deserves to win.

 

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey was an international pop superstar when she wiped off her make-up, gained weight, and wore dark hair to play a social worker in 2009’s Precious. The result was astonishing. Her character, Ms. Weiss—tough, unyielding—was light years from the glam world of Carey was used to headlining (including her panned rolle in Glitter). Variety called her performed “pitch perfect.” If Carey never acts in another film, it will be a shame.

 

Zooey Deschanel

Zooey Deschanel has succeeded in reverse: establishing an acting career then going into music as one half of She & Him. Many actors have recorded albums, but usually as forgettable vanity projects (remember Eddie Murphy’s “Party All The Time”?) Deschanel proves can she shine before the camera in (500) Days of Summer and The Good Girl yet hold a crowd at Coachella. Bravo.

 

David Bowie

David Bowie is the granddaddy of the singer-actor “hyphenates” (film talk for people who do two jobs). He actually studied mime as a youth in the ‘60s and has played everything from a gigolo to a space alien, and Andy Warhol to Pontius Pilate in almost 30 films. Sci-fi, war, drama, comedy, fantasy—is there a genre Bowie hasn’t conquered?

 

Keep Your Day Job

They’re all amazing musicians, but they belong on a concert stage, not a soundstage: Madonna, Bob Dylan and Prince. If you think I’m being cruel, watch Who’s That Girl?, Masked and Anonymous, and Under The Cherry Moon. Sure, Madonna was okay in Desperately Seeking Susan and Prince was alright in Purple Rain, but ultimately, they were playing themselves.

This article originally appeared in the February 2014 Issue of AUX Magazine.

Download and subscribe for free in the app store.

Tags: Film + TV, News, 30 Seconds to Mars, Aux Magazine February 2014, bob dylan, David Bowie, Jared Leto, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Zooey Deschanel

0

0

0

0

0

Email this article to a friend