Stars on Stage and Screen: The Best Film and TV Stars Working In Music

By Seb Gorlov

Have you ever noticed your favourite actor or actress launching a musical career? This is something that has become increasingly commonplace, especially within the 21st century. There have been questions asked as to why actors and actresses, known for their Hollywood fame, decide to make music, “I think it comes down to two things; opportunity and the universal power of music.” (Schaffer, Harris County Public Library, 02/15/24).

Switching from one creative career to the other provides actors and actresses with an opportunity to showcase their talents to their fanbases. Here are some of the best examples of actors and actresses who have had an impact on the music industry.

Taryn Manning

Best known for playing veteran character Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett ( who appeared on all of the seven seasons of comedy-drama Orange Is The New Black), Taryn Manning had a brief stint in music away from the screen. Her songs contained catchy, club-ready electronic tones, a plethora of strong instrumentals and angelic vocals, both across her solo career and whilst she was part of the duo Boomkat, with her brother Kellin.

Manning’s solo career has been highly successful, with the tracks “Send Me Your Love” and “Gltchlfe” both earning her number one spots on the Billboard U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs chart. The latter of these songs’ videos was filmed in an old mansion in New York City, adding an eerie and unsettling feel to proceedings, “The Hellin Kay-directed visual follows Manning as she moves through the 36-room house, going from areas like the bathtub to a mantel in the living area.” (Shouneyla, Billboard, 05/05/17).

“Gltchlfe” is sonically and thematically excellent, electronic synth breakdowns blending with Manning’s crystalline vocals as she explores themes of a broken down relationship that feels and cannot be fixed, aligning with how life is full of metaphorical glitches, “And all I could read is a life so lonely/ And all I can see is my life so messy, so messy” (“Gltchlife”, Gltchlife, Taryn Manning).

Whilst this is a more emotional track, her work with her brother in BoomKat is upbeat, spanning a wide range of genres including electronica, hip-hop and pop music. The song “The Wreckoning” is from the duo’s debut album Boomkatalog One, which was released in 2003. It also deals with themes of damaged love, but Manning’s energetic blend of rap and pop-style vocalising make it more of a powerful anthem about moving on, rather than a heartbreak ballad, “ Damn if I thought that you would change/ And my life would stay the same/ When you don’t even care about me” (“The Wreckoning”, Boomkatalog One, BoomKat).

It might just be BoomKat’s magnum opus and is a record which also earned pole position on the U.S. Dance Club Songs. There was some global success too, as “The Wreckoning” came in at 37th, earning it a coveted top forty spot on the UK Singles Chart.

 

Zooey Deschanel

Zooey Deschanel is a star of the screen with a career that has had highlight after highlight. She is known for her appearance in the cult classic Christmas movie Elf, as deadpan store worker Jovie, alongside appearances in highly popular films such as 500 Days of Summer and Bridge To Terabithia.

However, she’s also half of the extremely talented indie duo She and Him, alongside guitarist M.Ward. The band have been delighting listeners with sonically elegant and thoughtful tunes, with their song “I Thought I Saw Your Face Today” having a mini revival, becoming popular on social media as of late. The TikTok trending classic contains a clever juxtaposition between melancholy lyrics and happy acoustics, surrounding themes of remembering a past relationship and struggling to let go of what once was. “ I sometimes see what’s beautiful/ In things that are ephemeral” (“ I Thought I Saw Your Face Today, Volume One, She and Him).

The track is taken off their debut album Volume One which also contains the fun love song “ I Was Made For You”. The upbeat feel of this track further highlights the creativity of Deschanel as a songwriter and her ability to effectively convey different emotions.

 

Joe Keery

Actor Joe Keery was known for his role on Stranger Things as Steve Harrington, appearing across all five seasons, he started releasing music in 2019 as Djo. Initially people were unaware that Keery was Djo, as he attempted to remain anonymous, “When the song “End of the Beginning” recently went viral on TikTok, fans were surprised to learn that the musician Djo was actually the Stranger Things star. And for the actor behind Steve Harrington, the quasi-pseudonym, which is pronounced “Joe,” was an intentional choice.” (Evans, E!News, 03/22/24).

His standout song, “End of Beginning” is a sonically and thematically fantastic, heartfelt ballad about letting go of the past and various old life experiences fuelled by the previous city he lived in – Keery was at DePaul University in Chicago majoring in film, moving there from his hometown of Newburyport in Massachusetts.

The track’s popularity over social media platforms helped uncover Keery as Djo, although he has continued to make fantastic music and is one of the biggest talents in the industry now. “End of Beginning” topped the Billboard Top 200 Chart, achieving global success and other number ones on the charts in Sweden, Italy and England.

Keery’s latest album, The Crux,  was released in 2025. The Crux packs twelve songs into fourty-five minutes, with a standout being the incredible “Basic Being Basic”, a song where his vocals have a grunge feel akin to the earlier sound of The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas.

The themes are prominent throughout where Keery utilises clever lyricism and a radio-ready pop beat to call out superficiality and the obsession with documenting every aspect of life on social media, “Bad habit, even worse/ 50-50, I’m a sucker for looks” (“Basic Being Basic”, The Crux, Djo).

 

Taylor Momsen

The effervescent lead singer of The Pretty Reckless, Taylor Momsen is a star. Her band – also consisting of lead guitarist Ben Phillips, drummer Jamie Perkins and bass guitarist Mark Damon – have been a powerhouse in the rock industry.

They have released five albums over the last seventeen years, supported AC/DC on their Power Up Tour, appeared at Vans Warped 2010 as well as six headlining tours and won the Rock Artist of The Year Award at the iHeart Radio Music Awards in 2021, which is testament to the group’s ability to craft fantastic songs that encapsulate everything good about their genre, such as their hit songs “ Heaven Knows” and  “ Miss Nothing”.

Aside from her talent as a vocalist, Momsen is also a fabulous actress. Most famously, Momsen starred as Cindy Lou Who in Dr Seuss’ The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and played Jenny Humphrey in the original Gossip Girl series. The former gained her stardom from a young age, something which she has capitalised on recently – in October last year, she released Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas alongside the band, which featured songs from the score of the original Grinch movie ” such as “ Where Are You Christmas?”

 

Sasha Pieterse

South African star Sasha Pieterse had a brief stint in music, releasing three singles in 2013. The most notable one in her discography is possibly “R.P.M”, a fast-paced rock song with a slight country style, crafted by the acoustics, sharp and short guitar riffs blending effortlessly with a steady drumbeat.

The song is all about being in a metaphorical fast lane, with Pieterse utilising the ideology of cars having RPMs (revolutions per minute) to reflect how she wants to live life to the fullest, doing so with creative lyricism and flair, “Grinding up my gearbox, skipping all the pit stops, blazing right by red traffic lights/ See some folks like the slow lane… me?/ I just need the R.P.M.s” (“R.P.M”, R.P.M, Sasha Pieterse).

Pieterse is most famous for her role in Pretty Little Liars as the popular Alison DiLaurentis, one of the key characters in the show who, despite not appearing on screen much in the first few seasons (primarily in flashbacks) has always been an integral part of the storyline. She also had a cameo in X-Men: First Class and made appearances in CSI: Miami, Hawaii Five-O and Stargate SG-1.