Acting for Their Supper: Top Five Musicians-as-Actors Appearances & 'The Book of Eli'

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» RELATED: "Flashdance to the Future: Jennifer Beals & 'The Book of Eli'" [Express, Jan. 2010]

TOM WAITS IS so disturbingly believable at being, well, disturbing that it's hard to imagine the musician as a normal person, a dude that doesn't wear fedoras on a daily basis or create hauntingly morose music about loss and loneliness.

But maybe it's that sense of woebegone hopelessness that makes Waits' cameos in film so fantastically memorable — be it from his role as the insane Renfield in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" back in 1992 or as the Engineer in the upcoming "The Book of Eli," which hits theaters on Jan. 15.

And whether "The Book of Eli," which stars Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis in a post-apocalyptic thriller where Washington tries to save the world from total and epic collapse, ends up flopping or not, it's pretty certain that Waits' cameo will definitely not suck. Musician cameos are some of the best things about movies: They add a solid, 'Yo, you catch that?' moment, suggest that the guy's, girl's or band's music may end up on the film's soundtrack and demonstrate another facet of the artist's personality or public image.

For example, when Waits had that bit role in "Dracula," his depiction of Renfield was a little goofy (his body language, posturing and crazy hair are all a bit silly) but definitely more creepy, with his slurping of bugs, obsession with the animal kingdom (bugs get eaten by spiders, spiders by sparrows, sparrows by cats, so on) and devotion to the vampire king ("I need a life; I need lives, for that matter!" he insists) giving viewers some glimpse into the unhinged corners of Waits' mind.

Or, hey, maybe he's just a really nice guy with immense acting chops — whichever.

Either way, Waits is just the latest musician in a long list who have found their way to film — and of that lengthy collection, here are five of the best. Read on to find out what performer makes these movie moments pure cinematic gold.

BILLY IDOL, "THE WEDDING SINGER"
For decades now, Billy Idol has wanted more, more, more, but after his stint in "The Wedding Singer," audiences should have yearned for more of him. In a cameo as himself, Idol appeared in the climactic — well, as climactic as romantic comedies can get — final minutes of 1998's "The Wedding Singer," helping Robbie (Adam Sandler) finally get Julia (Drew Barrymore), who has decided to elope with cheating fiancee Glenn (Matthew Glave) to Las Vegas. With help from the other first class fliers and the plane's crew, Robbie is able to win over Julia with a song he wrote for her, "Grow Old With You" — and without Idol's skeezy charm, the moment just wouldn't have been the same. Whether he's supporting Robbie's quest for his true love ("See? Billy Idol gets it!" Robbie exclaims, when Idol wisely says of Glenn, "even women are possessions to him") or using his trademark sneer to scare off Glenn, Idol was a great fit for the '80s-set film — and perfectly comfortable playing himself, the sign of a true great cameo (as was the inclusion of his hit song, "White Wedding," on the film's soundtrack). No one talks to Billy Idol that way! Agreed.

DAVID BOWIE — "ZOOLANDER" AND "THE PRESTIGE"
Bowie has starred in a variety of different films over the years — from sci-fi flick "The Man Who Fell to Earth" to the cult classic "Labyrinth" — but it's some of his most recent cameos that have proved to demonstrate his wide acting range. Don't let Aladdin Sane be your only image of the man — Bowie has progressed far past facial lightning bolts (which Lady Gaga has conveniently usurped) and into both delightful self-parody and heavy-hitting drama. For example, though Ben Stiller's "Zoolander" was rife with various celebrity cameos (including designers Karl Lagerfeld and Tommy Hilfiger, couple Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale and actors Billy Zane, Natalie Portman, Patton Oswalt and Winona Ryder), Bowie's role as the officiator of Derek's (Stiller) and Hansel's (Owen Wilson) walk-off is by far the best, giving him a chance to be at his faux-serious silliest. From when Zane excitedly announces, "It's a walk-off!" to Bowie's volunteering to be a judge ("If nobody has any objections, I believe I might be of service"), the scene is the film's funniest, especially thanks to Bowie's no-nonsense rules ("Now, this'll be a straight walk-off, old-school rules. First model walks; second model duplicates, then elaborates. OK, boys — let's go to work!") and greatly exaggerated oozing of style, sophistication and a dash of weirdness — you know, all things Bowie.

On the complete other side of the spectrum, though, is his appearance in 2006's "The Prestige," in which he played a fictionalized version of real-life inventor Nikola Tesla. As the reserved, mysterious electrical engineer, Bowie was similarly great, completely in control of the character's mystique, genius and turmoil. And while neither film had any of Bowie's music, they just wouldn't have been the same without him — Bowie's just one of those rare gifts of multi-faceted talent that keeps on giving (ignoring that codpiece from "Labyrinth," of course).

MEAT LOAF — "ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW" AND "FIGHT CLUB"
In the realm of pop culture certainties, it's pretty much decided that Tim Curry was the star of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," that Brad Pitt owned "Fight Club" and that singer Meat Loaf will be best known for his over-the-top ballad, "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)." But putting that song aside, Meat Loaf also had pretty important roles in "Rocky Horror" and "Fight Club," and though his characters die in both films, it's his end that serves as a major plot point in both the British musical and the adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel.

First came "Rocky Horror" back in 1975, in which Meat Loaf had a significant role as Eddie, a motorcycle-riding former delivery boy who was taken captive by Dr. Frank N. Furter (Curry) and used as a partial brain donor for Rocky Horror (Peter Hinwood), his blond, Adonis-like creation. Kept in deep freeze after the surgery, Eddie busts out and tries to flee the sweet transvestite's castle, but a jealous Frank murders him with a pickaxe and then serves his remains for dinner, a heartless move that turns both devoted follower Columbia (Nell Campbell), Eddie's former girlfriend, and couple Janet and Brad (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick, respectively) against him. And aside from that, Meat Loaf also had one of the movie's catchiest songs in "Hot Patootie-Bless My Soul," because hey, who doesn't love rock and roll?

But just like Bowie went from silly in "Zoolander" to serious in "The Prestige," Meat Loaf dropped the saxophone, leather jacket and motorcycle for his role in "Fight Club," in which he portrayed Robert Paulson, a former weightlifter with bitch tits who is befriended by the film's protagonist (Edward Norton). Whether he's breaking the rules of Fight Club by talking about it or giving up his life for Project Mayhem, Meat Loaf was a great everyman, and his portrayal deserves to be remembered, even if it wasn't as flashy as Pitt's or steady as Norton's. His name was Robert Paulson.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, "HIGH FIDELITY"
No one can deny the wisdom of the Boss (seriously, try it; you'll fail), and Rob Gordon (John Cusack) certainly doesn't try in "High Fidelity," when Bruce Springsteen pops up in Gordon's musings about his former girlfriends. Though the whole film is centered on music and its impact on Gordon's life, it's surprising how easily Springsteen slips into the mix, perched in Gordon's bedroom and lackadaisically jamming on his guitar like giving relationship advice ain't no thang.

And while "High Fidelity" would include a lot of other appropriate nods to several musical icons — like punk band the Stiff Little Fingers and legends Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder — Springsteen's presence injected the film with a welcome sense of fanboy whimsy, the kind of thing that's defined by how absurd (and great) it is. Weird, given how logical the Boss' advice was — "Give that big final 'Good luck and goodbye' to your all-time top five and just move on down the road" — but hey, that's make-believe.

EVERYONE, EVER — "THE BLUES BROTHERS"
The idea of a movie based on "Saturday Night Live" skit "MacGruber" — which is actually coming out later this spring — seems awful, mainly because the most recent "SNL"-based films have been horrendous (think "Night at the Roxbury," not "Wayne's World"). But among that slew of unfortunate badness still lies "The Blues Brothers," the 1980 flick based on a sketch by Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi, in which the two star as Elwood and Jake Blues, two brothers who are on a "mission from God" to save the orphanage where they grew up.

EVERYONE, EVER - "THE BLUES BROTHERS"
And packed into the film's 133 minutes are cameos not only from established musicians like blues guitarist Matt Murphy, bassist Duck Dunn and lead guitarist Steve Cropper, who played in the brothers' band, but also from icons like James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, who injected the film with a wonderfully light-hearted sense of fun. Well, scratch Aretha on that, because the woman wasn't going to put up with anyone's crap and lack of "Respect" (hah!), but if Charles' and Brown's performances didn't get you shaking your tail feather, nothing will. The sequel is certainly for shame, but "The Blues Brothers" undoubtedly holds some of film's best musical cameos — no need to "Think" (another Aretha pun = irresistible) about that one.

Written by Express contributor Roxana Hadadi

Photos courtesy Anti- & Alcon Entertainment