The 10 best music biopic performances of all time
It can be all too tempting with a biographical piece of art, whether it be literature or cinema, to simply tell the story of an individual’s rise to fame from start to finish, chronicling every moment, from their first kiss to their last wish. Whilst a logical narrative route, after so many years of familiar biopic filmmaking, the form of storytelling has quickly gained notoriety, parodied by such comedies as Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
The best films of the subgenre take the essence of a performer’s life and choose one particular part of their journey to explore, with this short glimpse into their lives often coming to reflect their entire careers. An interesting narrative is merely one part of a biopic, however, with a compelling central performance also being pivotal to conveying the spirit and emotion of any given performer’s life and career.
The worst of such performances will only look to mimic the artist, providing a solid impression that replicates their physical look and voice, without actually dedicating themselves to embodying the person behind the performative mask. This list of the ten best music biopic performances of all time will steer away from the likes of Austin Butler in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and Rami Malek in the Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody, focusing on performers who extract a profound truth from their subjects.
Take a look at our list below, which includes such actors as Cate Blanchett, Joaquin Phoenix and Sissy Spacek.
The 10 best music biopic performances
10. Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison – The Doors (Oliver Stone, 1991)
The Doors’ poetical, mysterious frontman Jim Morrison garnered quite the reputation as a scandalous, sexually-charged rock and roll figure during the late 1960s until he died in 1971, aged 27. Known for donning provocative leather trousers for performances, during which he was arrested multiple times, Morrison has gone down in history as one of the most iconic frontmen of all time. In 1991, Oliver Stone transformed the story of Morrison into a big-screen spectacle, resulting in The Doors. Although the film received mixed reviews from critics and fans, Val Kilmer’s performance as the enigmatic frontman was undeniably excellent.
To convince Stone that he was right for the part, Kilmer made an eight-minute tape of him singing tracks by The Doors as Morrison, appearing as the singer at different stages of his life. He lost weight for the role, learnt 50 songs, 15 of which are performed in the movie, and learnt to sing like Morrison so well that members of The Doors reportedly couldn’t distinguish recordings of Kilmer’s voice from Morrison’s.
9. Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn – Coal Miner’s Daughter (Michael Apted, 1980)
The British filmmaker Michael Apted might be better known for his revolutionary Up documentary series, but the director also helmed a number of Hollywood flicks, including the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough in 1999 and the fabulous Loretta Lynn biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter in 1980. Telling the story of the country music singer who rose from humble beginnings to industry fame, the film is led by a barnstorming performance from Sissy Spacek.
Too often overlooked in the subgenre of music biopics, Coal Miner’s Daughter avoids cliche in its tale of Lynn’s rise to fame, with Spacek helping to elevate the film from simplicity alongside her equally dazzling co-star Tommy Lee Jones. Taking charge of the movie, Spacek effortlessly harnesses the affable charm of the singer as well as her undying ambition.
8. Chadwick Boseman as James Brown – Get On Up (Tate Taylor, 2014)
As one of the founding figures of funk, James Brown was one of the most influential voices in music, inspiring the evolution of genres from rap to disco. Tate Taylor explored the life of Brown in his 2014 biopic Get On Up, which starred the late great Chadwick Boseman in the leading role. Also featuring Nelsan Ellis, Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis and Dan Aykroyd, the film was generally praised, although Boseman’s performance stood out as the highlight of Get On Up.
Sadly, Boseman passed away in 2020 following a private battle with cancer, cutting a prosperous career tragically short. Although he was best known for his role as T’Challa in Marvel’s Black Panther films, the depths of Boseman’s acting capabilities were truly demonstrated in his performance as Brown, where he embodies the singer scarily well.
7. Michael Douglas as Liberace – Behind The Candelabra (Steven Soderbergh, 2013)
The American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is well-known as one of the most eclectic storytellers of modern cinema, having gone through several creative identities, embracing everything from low-budget independent drama to frenetic action cinema. One of his many artistic high points came in 2013 when he released the Liberace biopic Behind The Candelabra, starring Michael Douglas as the eccentric pianist.
Reflecting the musician’s wild personality and fragility, without ever taking the performance into the realms of parody, Douglas’ work on the film won him a Primetime Emmy. It certainly helped Douglas that he was surrounded by such a gleaming supporting cast, with Matt Damon, Rob Lowe, Scott Bakula and Eric Zuckerman each helping to elevate the central performance.
6. David Carradine as Woody Guthrie – Bound for Glory (Hal Ashby, 1976)
Woody Guthrie, a leading country and folk music figure, wrote a semi-fictional autobiography about his childhood and journey to becoming a singer in 1943 entitled Bound for Glory. Using this as source material, Robert Getchell adapted the book for the big screen in 1976 for a film of the same name directed by Hal Ashby. The movie not only follows Guthrie but it also focuses on the musician’s attempt to humanise Okie Dust Bowl refugees in California at the time of the Great Depression.
Guthrie is played by David Carradine, who was initially turned down by Ashby for being too tall. However, Ashby eventually realised that Carradine “had the right rural look and the musicianship” and “he had a ‘to hell with you’ attitude.” Through Carradine, the spirit of Guthrie seems to manifest, and he gives a flawless performance as the humble yet driven musician.
5. Tom Hulce as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Amadeus (Miloš Forman, 1984)
Too few movie lovers are aware of the genius of Czech/American filmmaker Miloš Forman, the mind behind such 20th-century classics as The Firemen’s Ball, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Man on the Moon and Amadeus. Aside from the Jack Nicholson-starring Cuckoo’s Nest, it is his 1984 ‘Best Picture’ winner, Amadeus, for which he is best known, with the Mozart biopic teeming with style and artistic grace.
Telling the story of the classical composer’s troubled life, as told by a jealous rival of the icon, Forman’s film is a thoroughly enjoyable period piece, largely thanks to its excellent performances. Tom Hulce manages to easily fill the gigantic boots of Mozart, embodying a frustrating artist who is stuck somewhere between immature childhood and arrogant adolescence. It’s a fascinating watch.
4. Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash – Walk The Line (James Mangold, 2005)
Popularly considered to be one of the greatest actors of modern cinema, Joaquin Phoenix might have won an Oscar for his performance as Batman’s arch-nemesis in Joker, but his finest role came in James Mangold’s thrilling Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line. Based on Cash’s own autobiography, Man in Black, adapted by Mangold and Gill Dennis, the story chronicles the life of the country music star, from his early days on an Arkansas farm to his success with Sun Records in Memphis.
Whilst Phoenix physically resembles Cash, the brilliance of his performance does not lie in mere impression. Embodying the personality and soul of the popular figure, Phoenix effortlessly convinces the audience that he is the country singer, physically dedicating himself to the role, illustrated in a number of memorable, distressing scenes.
3. Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan – I’m Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)
Todd Haynes is one of the most idiosyncratic filmmakers in contemporary American filmmaking, having created the dark drama Safe in 1995, Far from Heaven in 2002 and Carol in 2015. In correlation with the rest of his filmography, Haynes’ 2007 biopic of the life and times of Bob Dylan didn’t exactly play by the rule book either, with six actors taking on the role of the music titan, including Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Ben Whishaw and Cate Blanchett.
Whilst the other cast members put in a good shift, Blanchett steals the show in her depiction of the musician. Though she doesn’t strictly play the musician, appearing as Jude Quinn, a character who closely mirrors Dylan’s career in the mid-1960s, her performance is constructed to replicate him physically and emotionally. In this, Blanchett commands attention in her role, perfectly capturing the energy of the beloved musician.
2. Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf – La Vie en Rose (Olivier Dahan, 2007)
French actor Marion Cotillard was selected by director Olivier Dahan to play the iconic singer Edith Piaf after he noticed a similarity in the pair’s eyes. His film La Vie en Rose charts the tragic life of the electrifying singer, who met her death aged 47 following a series of health complications, many stemming from alcohol abuse. Cotillard imbues her performance with emotional charge and intensity, tapping into the spirit of Piaf with striking vigour.
Cotillard took home the Oscar for ‘Best Actress’ and received a 15-minute standing ovation during the film’s premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. Moreover, she won a BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Cesar Award for her magnificent performance, solidifying her reputation as one of Hollywood’s most significant young stars.
1. Sam Riley as Ian Curtis – Control (Anton Corbijn, 2007)
Following a struggle with depression and epilepsy, Joy Division’s brooding frontman Ian Curtis took his life on the eve of the band’s first US tour in 1980. The singer, known for his melancholic lyrics preoccupied with alienation and loneliness, left a lasting influence on the music industry, immortalised in Anton Corbijn’s directorial debut, Control, released in 2007. The film stars Sam Riley as the frontman, giving an outstanding performance as the introspective singer who must come to terms with his epilepsy, failing marriage, celebrity and fatherhood.
The performance was Riley’s first role following a stint in a failed rock band. According to the actor (via the Guardian), “When people heard [Corbijn’s] lead was some pub rock singer from Leeds, everyone wanted to run. I knew how much he was risking and didn’t want to make any mistakes.” Luckily, Riley did an incredible job at portraying the musician, winning him ‘Most Promising Newcomer’ at the British Independent Film Awards.
