Hollywood Popular Artists

Jul 13th 2012, 20:00

By Zachary Swickey

It seems a tad bit ridiculous that one of the most naturally talented musicians of my generation, Justin Timberlake, has not released an album in nearly six years (his last being '06's FutureSex/ LoveSounds, of course). The guy is missing out on what would be the prime of his music career. With that said, there's got to be something to this acting business that keeps driving musicians – rockers and rappers alike – to the medium.

Timberlake's undeniable good looks and wealth of talent help make him a perfect candidate for a career in film career, but there are plenty of other rockers who we feel would be right at home on the silver screen.

Here are the six rock musicians that we want to see take up the acting game the most.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips
Sure, zany Wayne does have one acting credit under his belt as "The Alien Super-Being" in the film he wrote and co-directed, "Christmas on Mars." However, we'd like to see Wayne tackle more serious work. He would have been right at home appearing in Richard Linklater's surreal film "Waking Life" or even a Tarantino film (provided he can truly act). Not to mention Wayne is known for being one hell of a dapper dresser.

Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters
This is the big no-brainer. Anyone who's seen a Foo Fighters' vid knows Grohl is a natural comedian. Their greatest video, "Everlong," was directed by Michel Gondry and is one of the many that shows Grohl's chops. Additionally, his role as Satan in Tenacious D's "Tribute" music video would've gone unnoticed due to the heavy use of makeup if they had not revealed his identity. He's already like the Paul Rudd of the music world – loved by all.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails
The only thing that seems to have stopped Reznor from acting is himself; any photo Reznor is packed with character and emotion. At one point, he was rumored to be set for a surprise cameo in his director friend Timur Bekmambetov's recent flick "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," but alas, it didn't happen. Given his newfound affinity for pumping iron, Reznor should go ahead and appear in his upcoming HBO TV mini-series based on his Year Zero album.

Brent Hinds of Mastodon
You may recall Hinds' hilarious appearance in a commercial for an Atlanta restaurant, where he gave personal testimony that the cantina helped him to eliminate his diagnosis of OHP: overwhelming hunger pains. Hinds would be great at the acting game, because as intimidating and downright frightening as he appears, the man is notorious for being a comical prankster. We would like to envision him as the Caucasian Danny Trejo, and wouldn't even mind seeing him randomly appear in a Judd Apatow comedy.

Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars
Sure, Leto is a rather tongue-in-cheek choice, having begun his career in acting before turning to music in 2002. He continued to make films at first, but the last five years seem to indicate that music is his full-time gig now – appearing in only two films since 2007, one of which was a Belgian science fiction film that very few actually saw. But when he was good, he was great, and we long to see him in dark films like Darron Aronofsky' "Requiem for a Dream" and David Fincher's "Fight Club" again.

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