In the entertainment industry, no one wants to be a one-trick pony. In fact, many are encouraged to try different things to ensure that their careers will last as long as possible. Dancers, models, actors, singers, and even influencers find themselves crossing over to and dabbling in different mediums to gain experience as well as potentially unlock new talents. The singer-turns-actor turnover is quite high in the industry, but just like all the people who move to Hollywood with a wishful dream, many talented singers don't make it very long in both businesses. However, there are several who have successfully made the leap and hold a stable spot in both professions.
Specifically, with country music artists, there is something rugged and charming about them that nicely translates to the screen. Perhaps it is the twang in their voice or the fact that they are not afraid to get down and dirty and speak their minds on the screen. Whatever the reason may be, there are plenty of country singers who have become successful actors — here are 10 of them.
10 Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton is an absolute country legend, who has one of the most successful rags-to-riches stories to share with the world. Parton released her debut album Hello, I'm Dolly in 1967, and with her big hair, big smile, and huge personality, she was an instant hit. Parton has released thousands of songs, a few of her most popular ones being "I Will Always Love You," "Jolene," and "9 to 5."
Parton has practically lived on Billboard's charts, and she has become the unofficial "Queen of Christmas" with her numerous country-infused holiday albums and singles. Fans were not surprised when the very talented singer jumped into the TV and film scene with full force, and with more than 50 years in the business, it still seems like nothing will slow Parton down.
Movies and TV Shows She's Done
Parton's breakthrough in television came in 1967 when she joined Porter Wagoner on his weekly variety show, but it was not until she was cast in the comedy 9 to 5 (for which she wrote the award-winning theme song) that she realized how easily she could slip into a role. Other notable works include The Best Little Women Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias, and Joyful Noise. She has created and been a part of more than a dozen TV specials and festive Christmas movies, and the younger generation may recognize her from Disney's Hannah Montana, where she played Miley's Godmother (a title she actually holds with Miley Cyrus).
9 Reba McEntire
Just like Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire is at the top of the list of women country singers with record-breaking numbers. McEntire was discovered in the mid-70s, prompting her move to Nashville, Tennessee. However, her big breakthrough in music did not come until 1984, when she released My Kind of Country. McEntire had finally found her voice and sound, but it was not an easy run.
Just seven years later, McEntire lost several of her band members in a plane crash, a tragedy that led her to create the award-winning album For My Broken Heart in dedication to the friends and loved ones she lost. The list of awards, singles, and albums is seemingly endless for this incredible star, but what fans really love about McEntire is how authentic and wholesome she is in everything she does.
Movies and TV Shows She's Done
Transitioning over to acting was flawless for the Queen of Country because her very first gig, Tremors, put her in a role where she is a good-hearted but feisty southern woman who is prepared for chaos. After doing a number of TV films, McEntire found her footing with her very own sitcom, respectfully titled Reba. She plays a suburban mom of three who certainly has her hands full with a grandchild on the way and an ex-husband who often acts like a child himself. More recently, McEntire joined the cast of Young Sheldon and Big Sky.
8 Kris Kristofferson
Before Kris Kristofferson was getting up on stage and performing his own songs, people knew him as one of the go-to songwriters for other country singers. After coming back from the war in 1965, Kristofferson began writing songs, and people like Janis Joplin, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many others hit the top of the charts with Kristofferson's words. However, when Johnny Cash recorded Kristofferson's "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," the latter felt like he had hit a milestone.
In 1985, Kristofferson joined Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings in the country music supergroup The Highway Men, where they primarily focused on breaking free from the "Nashville expectations" of country music. Kristofferson was finally sharing his voice with the world, and he realized millions were willing to listen.
Movies and TV Shows He's Done
While Kristofferson's music career wavered while trying to go solo with his own voice, he did find quite a bit of success within the film industry. Playing the rebel or the southern man with a knack for doing things his own way came naturally. Kristofferson's most notable works are Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, the 1976 film A Star is Born (which earned him a Golden Globe Award), and the Blade film trilogy. In 2020, Kristofferson officially announced his retirement.
7 Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson was born to be a star in one sense of the word or another. Nelson began putting out singles and albums in the '60s, but something in his gut told him that he needed to do more. Rather than follow along with the traditional sound that was coming out of Nashville, Nelson moved to Austin, Texas and was inspired to create a new and creative sound that infused soul and purpose; we now call this "outlaw country." More than 50 years later, fans still praise Nelson for his shift in the genre as well as the hundreds of songs and albums he's poured his heat and soul into.
Movies and TV Shows They've Done
Nelson has appeared in a number of films and TV shows either as himself or in character, but his most notable works are Honeysuckle Rose, Barbarosa, the film version of his album Red Headed Stranger, and both Dukes of Hazzard films. It should come as no surprise to know that all of these films are either westerns or deal with zany southern individuals. More recently, Nelson played himself in the road-comedy drama called Willie and Me.
6 Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw has become a household name for country lovers as he has put out 16 studio albums — more than half of which have reached the top stop on Billboard's Top Country Album charts — and he is married to another country music star, Faith Hill. McGraw realized jumping into the music industry was not an easy process, but after several failed singles and the low reviews of his debut album, he found his voice.
McGraw's 1994 album Not a Moment Too Soon put him at the top of the charts and earned him the Academy of Country Music awards for Album of the Year and Top New Male Vocalist. Needless to say, record labels started looking his way, and McGraw has never looked back since.
Movies and TV Shows He's Done
McGraw first dipped his toe into acting when he joined a single episode of The Jeff Foxworthy Show in 1997, but most people will immediately recognize him from his role as the alcoholic, peaked-in-high-school father Charles Billingsley in Friday Night Lights. In 2006, McGraw starred in Flicka. Two years after that, he played Vince Vaughn's obnoxious brother in Four Christmases, and in 2009, McGraw starred alongside Sandra Bullock in The Blindside. Most recently, he reprised his role as James Dutton in the Yellowstone prequel, 1883.
5 Faith Hill
Unlike her husband, Faith Hill's debut album, Take Me as I Am, was an instant success when it hit the shelves and radio. More specifically, Hill's version of "Wild One" is what put her on everyone's radar. In 1996, she went on tour with Tim McGraw, and after one thing led to another, the two were married before the end of the year, with a baby on the way. When Hill came back from a much-deserved maternity leave, the pair put out their first duet, "It's Your Love."
In 2005, "This Kiss" turned Hill into a "crossover artist" as it was seen as both a country and a pop song. Over the last 20 years, Hill has managed to put out eight studio albums and 46 singles. She has five Grammy Awards and 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, and it feels like there is no end in sight for this empowering woman.
Movies and TV Shows She's Done
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw were neck and neck when it came to who was making their TV debut and then their film debut first, because they did each in the same year as one another. Hill guest starred in Touched by an Angel for two episodes in 1997, and, in 2004, she made her film debut alongside Nicole Kidman in The Stepford Wives. In 2021, Hill was cast alongside her husband in Yellowstone as his character's wife, Margaret Dutton, and she also reprised her role in the series' prequel, 1883.
4 Elvis Presley
While he is known as the "King of Rock and Roll," Elvis Presley made a huge impact on the country music scene. In the '50s, Presley did not believe in sticking to a single formula or genre. Instead, he actively chose to blend country, jazz, and practically anything with a catchy upbeat tempo to create his own blend of music; this later became known as "rockabilly."
"Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" were two of Presley's most promising country songs from the '50s. In the '60s, Presley embraced the Nashville sound that Willie Nelson and others were desperately trying to escape, and in the '70s, Presley got back into the soulful fusion of sounds and genres.
Movies and TV Shows He's Done
Presley became an instant heartthrob on the stage, and, for a brief moment, his manager really pushed for him to take a break from music to focus on film. Presley's first feature role was in Love Me Tender, which sent fans into an uproar due to the tragedy faced by his character at the end. Much to his dismay, Presley found that he was more successful in musical comedies and lighthearted roles than hard-core dramas. Jailhouse Rock (which features Presley's iconic dance number), Blue Hawaii, and Viva Las Vegas are among his best and most successful films, but his music can be heard throughout dozens of movies.
3 Carrie Underwood
In 2005, when the nation tuned in to watch the fourth season of American Idol, there were many bets being placed on who was going to win, and Carrie Underwood was the one to come out on top. In that same year, she released her debut album, Some Hearts (which included "Before He Cheats" and "Jesus Take the Wheel"), and saw the beginning of an incredible career.
Since then, Underwood has gone on to win eight Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, and 17 American Music Awards. She has worked with several of the biggest names in country music, and after more than two decades in the industry herself and nine studio albums later, she has also earned her own spot among the list of greats.
Movies and TV Shows She's Done
After being on TV in front of critical judges and having everyone's opinions thrown at her, it is safe to say that Underwood was very comfortable in front of the camera when it came to taking on a role. Underwood guest starred in How I Met Your Mother and Blue Bloods, but her acting abilities were really able to shine through in the biographical drama Soul Surfer and the TV special The Sound of Music Live!. Underwood always plays a kind and caring individual, and fans can accept that it is simply just her nature to be a good person both in real life and on the screen.
2 Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus put in the work and spent the better part of two years focused on his very first album, and as he found out in 1992, everything he had done and been through finally paid off. When Some Gave All was released, four songs instantly rose to the top of the Hot Country Songs charts, "Achy Breaky Heart" being one of them, and Cyrus has been chasing that same high ever since. With 16 studio albums and 53 singles, Cyrus has certainly done well for himself in the country music industry, and he even managed to keep the talent within his family.
Movies and TV Shows He's Done
Practically everyone knows that Cyrus played his real-life daughter's father in the Hannah Montana Disney show and movie (as outlined by Screen Rant), but before that, he had starred in a medical drama, Doc, about a country doctor moving to and working in the big city of New York. In 2016, Cyrus was cast as the lead in the sitcom Still the King, where he plays Vernon Brownmule, a washed-up country singer who, after finding himself in trouble with the law, discovers he has a teenage daughter he never knew about.
1 Dwight Yoakam
Much like Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, Dwight Yoakam was not a huge fan of conforming to the Nashville sound in the 1970s, so he headed out to California to find inspiration. It still took him a bit of time, but eventually, Yoakam was able to find a production team that appreciated his genre-blending style.
Because of all the negativity in the country music scene about what type of country was appropriate and hot at the time, Yoakam's debut single "Honky Tonk Man" was a huge success with the more rebellious crowd because it had a stick-it-to-the-man vibe. Yoakam's first three albums reached the number one spot on the Billboard Top Country Album chart. Now, 15 studio albums and 46 singles later, Yoakam still finds himself on the road performing.
Movies and TV Shows He's Done
The '90s was the biggest decade for Yoakam as he was putting out songs left and right as well and jumping into plenty of acting gigs. At first, Yoakam played a small role in the TV series P.S. I Luv U in a single episode. Then he branched out to films, and found much more success. He starred alongside Matthew McConaughey in The Newton Boys, then he played a detective trying to catch Owen Wilson's character in The Minus Man. More recently, Yoakam was a part of Clint Eastwood's Cry Macho and Amazon Studios' legal drama, Goliath.
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