During a recent late-night Wikipedia dive, I was surprised to learn that Charli XCX — fresh off the massive recognition of “Brat” — has not one, not two, not three but seven appearances in films set to be released in the near future.
These upcoming projects include fantasy film “100 Nights of Hero” and erotic thriller “I Want Your Sex” from queer icon Gregg Araki. She’ll also appear in “The Gallerist,” which features the likes of Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega.
While the nature of these roles is yet to be seen, this jump into acting could pose as a fascinating test of Charli’s talent — considering that her only prior movie experience is voice roles in “UglyDolls” and “The Angry Birds Movie.”
It’s a high-risk, high-reward detour.
Given the extensive history of musicians trying their hand at acting, it’s not an entirely unprecedented one.
Throughout the years, musicians like Elvis Presley and Whitney Houston found success in shooting films and recording music simultaneously — the soundtrack for “The Bodyguard,” Houston’s acting debut, remains the best-selling movie soundtrack of all time.
Popular musicians in the public eye have already built a larger-than-life persona, so why not bring that to the big screen?
In just the past few months, SZA helped make “One of Them Days” a bonafide box office hit, the Sundance premiere of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” drew raves for Jennifer Lopez’s performance and Ariana Grande secured an Oscar nomination for playing Glinda in the film adaptation of “Wicked.”
With “Wicked: For Good” coming out this November, Grande’s achievement in acting comes at a particularly interesting time. Her promotional campaign for that project now coincides with the rollout of “eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead” — a reissue of her latest album.
On new tracks like “dandelion,” Grande brings a level of energy I can only describe as cinematic — leading me to believe that her time spent working on movies like “Wicked” has brought out the best in her musical artistry.
This excellence is further reflected in the short film “Brighter Days Ahead” that accompanied the album’s release, fusing together both her innate knack for acting and her ability to craft incredible pop music.
However, I sometimes worry that there is an onus placed on musicians to not just be good at one thing, but everything — an impossible standard which sets certain artists up for failure.
When Harry Styles appeared in “Don’t Worry Darling” in 2022, I struggled with his performance mostly because I didn’t think Styles was able to convincingly transform into the characters he was meant to embody. I just saw Harry Styles.
Although Lady Gaga was far and away the best part of the high-profile flop that was “Joker: Folie à Deux,” her appearance in the film still netted both her and her co-star Joaquin Phoenix a Razzie for Worst Screen Couple. This same dishonor has also been bestowed upon stars like Madonna and Mariah Carey.
Oftentimes, any misguided attempts at acting usually do nothing more than provide critics and detractors with easy shots at already-polarizing figures. Thankfully, Gaga was able to immediately bounce back with the musical triumph that is “Mayhem.”
I think what gets forgotten is that singers pursuing acting can be an inherently silly endeavor. When Shawn Mendes signed up to voice an anthropomorphic reptile in “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile,” I can’t imagine he did so with awards in mind.
Not everyone can be on the same level as Cher — who managed to balance a prolific recording career and an Oscar win for her brilliant turn in “Moonstruck” at the same time.
But then again, not everyone needs to be.
If less of an emphasis was placed on acting as a means of perfection — one measured through endless discourse over who deserves an Academy Award and who doesn’t — there could be more room for musicians like Charli XCX to confidently bring the same unhinged fun present in her music to her film roles.
The more major artists who express themselves through creative outlets outside of music, the more chances there are for others to follow in their footsteps — and fail.
They learn how to improve from those failures, and to ultimately make art that is bolder and braver than what they have made before.
