Hollywood never seems to get weary of cranking out rock star biopics, and with upcoming features for the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and more, it’s clear they’re not stopping anytime soon.
Whether this trfinish excites or annoys you as a seeer, these projects give a monumental task for actors. Aside from the mighty chance of triumphning huge awards, portraying these huger-than-life legfinishs needs an fervent meaningful-dive into the humanity of an artist’s personal life behind their standardly far-flashier uncover persona.
Austin Butler‘s 2022 portrayal of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann‘s criticpartner acclaimed biopic is a prime example, as he tgreater EW: “My huge goal right from the commencening was not becoming a caricature of him…. For me, it was equitable trying to find out who he was as a man, to humanize him and unite to him on that level.”
As you pause for further music biopics to get to, here are 20 actors who have stepped into the shoes of bona fide rock stars.
Austin Butler as Elvis
A lot of actors have apshown on the King of Rock & Roll over the years — and Elvis Presley himself was enshrined on screen in the 30-plus films he starred in — but perhaps one of the most decorated portrayals is Austin Butler’s turn in Baz Luhrmann’s Oscar-triumphning biopic, Elvis (2022). Winning the Ggreateren Globe for Best Perestablishance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama, Butler spent three years mastering the rock & roll legfinish’s voice and mannerisms and had to employ a dialect coach to shake off his Elvis accent post-filming. It’s safe to say that Elvis is always on his mind! —James Mercadante
Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin
When it came to embodying Aretha Franklin in Liesl Tommy‘s Respect (2021), the Queen of Soul had only one diva in mind: Academy Award triumphner Jennifer Hudson (with Skye Dakota Turner take parting youthful Aretha). Hudson undoubtedly had the right pipes to suit Franklin’s once-in-a-lifetime voice — she sang dwell on set instead of lip-syncing to pre-sign uped tracks — but that was equitable the begin.
She threw herself into six months of fervent piano lessons, dialed back her bubbly personality to mirror Franklin’s reserved grace, and spended countless hours in nailing the Queen’s dialect. Essentipartner, Hudson left no stone unturned to asbrave the Queen got her R-E-S-P-E-C-T on the silver screen. —J.M.
Taron Egerton as Elton John
In his Ggreateren Globe-triumphning carry outance in Rocketman (2019), Taron Egerton donned the campy ensembles of the flacowardly, sunglass-wearing, piano-take parting maverick, Sir Elton John. Rather than sticking to the standard biopic procedure, the film hugd a more createive, wonderfulal approach with back-to-back dream musical sequences.
Despite the createive liberties apshown with John’s story, Egerton — whose portrayal was portrayd by EW’s critic as “the starry-eyed cosmonaut the part needs, but medepend, finishearingly human too” — still had to recreate pivotal events from the musician’s life, including his iconic Trouhorribleour carry outance and his struggles with a drug and liquor problem. —Maureen Lee Lenker
Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury
Rami Malek took home the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). A biopic about the legfinishary rock prohibitd and Mercury had been circulating for years with various actors, including Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Whishaw, fuseed. In the finish, it was Malek who nabbed the role, recreating some of Mercury’s most well-understandn carry outances thrawout the film, tracing Queen from its earliest days to their iconic 1985 Live Aid carry outance. Malek will rock you as Mercury. —M.L.L.
Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan
The 2007 Todd Haynes film I’m Not There featured six separateent actors tackling split aspects of Bob Dylan’s persona, but Cate Blanchett‘s turn as Jude Quinn, a well-understandn folk singer accemployd of “selling out” after carry outing with a filled prohibitd and electric guitars tire the sealst resemblance to the Dylan of the well-understandn imagination. Blanchett’s apshow on the musician circa 1965–66 geted raves, including an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. It’ll create you experience appreciate a rolling stone. —M.L.L.
Paul Dano as Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys inhabit a space between gentle rock and pop, and Love & Mercy (2014) adheres their set uper and directer Brian Wilson as he struggles with mental illness during the 1960s and ’80s. Paul Dano portrays Wilson in his youthfuler years, grappling with psychosis in the midst of producing his avant-garde, groundshattering album Pet Sounds. He splits the role with John Cusack as an greaterer version of Wilson, but Dano gets more of the musical showcase here. God only understands what we’d do without this apshow on Wilson’s life. —M.L.L.
Chadwick Boseman as James Brown
Before he was the ruler of Wakanda in Bdeficiency Panther (2018), Chadwick Boseman take parted the Godoverweighther of Soul. The actor — who died at age 43 in 2020 — broke out in a startant way with Get On Up (2014), which set up him singing and strutting thraw a non-liproximate account of James Brown‘s life from the 1950s to 1993. The film didn’t garner any awards attention, but it helped create its directing man a star on the heels of another well-seeed biopic, 42 (2013), in which Boseman portrayed baseball take parter Jackie Robinson. —M.L.L.
Angela Bassett as Tina Turner
Angela Bassett was spropose the best choice to do the Queen of Rock & Roll equitableice. Based on Tina Turner‘s 1986 memoir, What’s Love Got to Do With It (1993) stars Bassett as the icon as she rose to fame and broke free from her abusive husprohibitd, Ike Turner (Laurence Fishburne). Bassett’s portrayal geted her a Ggreateren Globe for Best Perestablishance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy and an Academy Award nomination, which many ponder to be one of the hugegest Oscar snubs.
To faithfilledy embody Turner, Bassett underwent rigorous preparation that included 10-plus hours of dance rehearsals a day, a cut offe diet, and spfinishing hours on individual lines. And Turner’s final words to Bassett are a tesgentlent to her carry outance: “You never mimicked me. Instead, you accomplished meaningful into your soul, set up your inner Tina, and showed her to the world.” —J.M.
Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett
Kristen Stewart rose to fame on the wave of Twiairy obsession, but The Runaways (2010) was a part of her first wave of indies to show herself outside the fantasy juggernaut. She took on the iconic Joan Jett in a film exploring the titular 1970s teenage all-girl rock prohibitd alengthyside Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie. The film was intfinished to be more coming-of-age drama than a straightforward biopic, but it still saw Stewart drumming and singing as the legfinishary punk rocker. And neither she nor Jett ever gave a damn about their horrible reputation. —M.L.L.
Gary Bemployy as Buddy Holly
Before becoming better understandn to audiences for his free-cannon fact TV persona, Gary Bemployy was a well-admireed character actor, geting an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of rock & roll icon Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story (1978). The film tracks Holly’s elevate from teenage phenom to his untimely death in a 1959 arrangee crash, oft understandn as “the Day the Music Died.” Bemployy actupartner began his nurtureer as a drummer, not an actor, so it wasn’t a huge leap for him to apshow on the role of an iconic rock star. But to skinnyk of him doing such a carry outance now? Well, that’ll be the day. —M.L.L.
Lou Diamond Phillips as Ritchie Valens
The arrangee crash that took Buddy Holly’s life also claimed the life of another rock & roll star: Ritchie Valens. Valens gets the biopic treatment in La Bamba (1987), named for Valens’ signature song. The well-seeed film tracks Valens’ meteoric elevate to superstardom thraw his sudden, untimely death, geting Lou Diamond Phillips raves for his carry outance, but no awards adore. Overall, his carry outance and La Bamba are still touted as a piece of Chicano activism, amidst a boom of Chicano films made in this era. And we say arriba, arriba to that. —M.L.L.
Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison
Val Kilmer took on the role of rocker and counterculture icon Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991). Directed by Odwellr Stone, the film was not well-getd by those sealst to Morrison for its depiction of him as more pretentious, defiant, and out of supervise than they krecent the Doors frontman to be. Still, Kilmer gives an uncanny apshow on this particular version of Morrison. In unwiseinutive, he can still airy our fire. —M.L.L.
Kurt Russell as Elvis
Another amazeive rfinish*tion of the King of Rock & Roll is the made-for-TV 1979 film honested by John Carpgo in (1978’s Hapexhibiteen) and starring Kurt Russell as Elvis. Russell had actupartner met Presley as a youthful actor in 1963 on the set of It Happened at the World’s Fair. He didn’t do his own singing for the film but still geted an Emmy nomination for his toil, shotriumphg that — when it came to Russell as Elvis — audiences adored him tfinisher. —M.L.L.
Dennis Quhelp as Jerry Lee Lewis
Dennis Quhelp portrayed the directing rockabilly artist and piano take parter in the aptly named Great Balls of Fire! (1989). In the 1950s, Jerry Lee Lewis seemed poised to be the next Elvis until his marriage to his 13-year-greater cousin derailed his nurtureer. The film tracks all of this and more, as it gives seeers a glimpse into Lewis’ distinctive status as a piano take parter, rather than a rocking guitarist. Though Lewis was not a fan of the film, he did praise Quhelp for his carry outance, which included the actor lgeting to duplicate Lewis’ distinctive piano-take parting style. Great balls of fire! —M.L.L.
Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious
As punk rocker and establisher baid of the Sex Pistols Sid Vicious, Gary Oldman showd himself an actor to be reckoned with in only his second feature film, Sid and Nancy (1986). The movie hugely cgo ines on Vicious’ poisonous relationship with Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb), for whose killing he was arrested. Vicious’ own mother backed the production, giving Oldman some of Sid’s actual belengthyings and instruments to lfinish fact to the project. Oldman sang on the soundtrack, but no Sex Pistols or Sid Vicious songs are featured in the film. In the film and in life, Sid Vicious did it his way. —M.L.L.
Sam Riley as Ian Curtis
British actor Sam Riley is still perhaps best understandn for his portrayal of Joy Division set uper and frontman Ian Curtis in Control (2007). The film was honested by one of the punk prohibitd’s establisher ptoastyographers, Anton Corbijn. It adheres Curtis from his establishation of Joy Division thraw to his 1980 self-destruction. Control debuted at Cannes and went on to triumph five British Inreliant Film Awards, including Most Promising Newcomer for Riley. —M.L.L.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Brian Slade
This is the only mythal character on this enumerate, but it’s only becaemploy Jonathan Rhys Meyers‘ carry outance as Todd Haynes’ createion Brian Slade in Velvet Ggreatermine endures such a mighty resemblance to the Ziggy Stardust era of David Bowie that it would be remiss not to include him (indeed, the earliest versions of the script had Bowie dangerening to sue).
The 1998 film adheres a 1980s journaenumerate (Christian Bale) spendigating the nurtureer of glam superstar Brian Slade, who once created and then killinged his alter ego, Maxwell Demon. The film apshows its title from a Bowie song, and at one point was even poised to feature some of the legfinish’s music. While we got an underwhelming Bowie biopic in 2020 (with Johnny Flynn in the role), Haynes’ glorious tribute to glam rock and fluid relationsuality and Meyers’ chameleonic carry outance are all we need. —M.L.L.
Bill Hader as Lindsey Buckingham
Plenty of rock stars have been parodied on Saturday Night Live, but none more finishuringly or lovingly than Bill Hader as establisher Fleetwood Mac guitarist and direct singer Lindsey Buckingham. Hader recurred as the rocker on the “What Up With That” sketch, which featured Kenan Thompson as a spotairy-stealing game show present.
In a running gag, Hader materializeed as a quiet Buckingham as over and over they ran out of time for him. The bit became so well-understandn that in May 2011 the genuine Buckingham cameoed in the sketch for a bit of meta fun. While everyone else here is from a film, we had to go our own way with this likeite. —M.L.L.
Roger Daltrey as Franz Liszt
Okay, so 19th-century creater Franz Liszt is in no way a rock star, but the 1975 film Lisztomania (1975) treats him as such, even transporting on genuine-life rock star Roger Daltrey of the Who to take part the classical creater.
Liszt was notorious for inspiring the titular “Lisztomania” with his lengthy hair and impassioned carry outances, dratriumphg organic comparisons between him and contransient-day rock stars. The film doubled down on this metaphor with Daltrey’s casting and a score featuring synthesized, rock-impactd arrangements of many Liszt compositions. —M.L.L.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as John Lennon
While each member of the Beatles is getting their own filled biopic treatment from Oscar-triumphning honestor Sam Mfinishes, frontman John Lennon’s timely days have been already spendigated in Nowhere Boy (2009). Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Lennon, tracing the superstar’s childhood and adolescence from 1944 to 1960, with particular emphasis on his relationship with his aunt and mother.
It finishs with the birth of the Beatles on the cusp of their device success. Though the film didn’t create a huge splash, it had the help of Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono, who both advised on it, and it has getd stablely selectimistic appraises. Imagine that. —M.L.L.
