It’s a tale as old as film itself. In the same way countless actors aspire to be musicians, many musicians also long to make the jump from the stage to the screen. Though not everyone can pull off the multi-hyphenate thing, innumerable entertainers have actually managed success in both music and movies through the years.
Some of those fortunate folks who somehow excel in two difficult and highly competitive fields are present on the 2026 Summerfest lineup. This year’s festival boasts at least a baker’s dozen noted musicians who have also managed accomplished careers in the realm of film. Between singers with recurring roles in top-grossing action franchises, rappers who have chewed scenery with A-listers, bandleaders-turned-Marvel movie aliens, a pop star in Star Wars, and even an emcee with an Oscar, here are 13 Summerfest performers who’ve furthered their fame as actors.
Common
Though Common was the final headliner added to the lineup of this year’s Summerfest (replacing The Roots on relatively short notice), he’s the first we’re listing because he’s arguably the most accomplished actor performing at the festival. The rapper and producer has acted in more than 40 feature films to this point.
Much of his film reel consists of roles in action movies like Smokin’ Aces, Terminator Salvation, Suicide Squad, and the second John Wick flick. However, he’s also appeared in a number of comedies, voiced a variety of animated characters, and has earned ample screen time in such prestige pictures as American Gangster and Selma (for which he also won an Oscar for Best Original Song).
Hank Azaria
While best-known for his work in television, both as the voice of dozens of characters on The Simpsons (more on that later this week) and in recurring roles on legendary live action sitcoms like Mad About You and Friends, the eponymous bandleader of Hank Azaria And The EZ Street Band has amassed quite the list of film credits as well. Since his first silver screen appearance in Pretty Woman in 1990, Azaria has been in close to 50 other films, including Heat, The Birdcage, Quiz Show, Great Expectations, Along Came Polly, the Tuesdays With Morrie TV movie, and yes, even The Simpsons Movie.
Tyrese Gibson
R&B fans—including those who saw him at Summerfest last week—might simply know him as Tyrese, but film-goers who are fans of both fast and furious features know him as Tyrese Gibson. As an actor, this platinum-selling singer has appeared in seven films in the Fast & Furious series. Gibson has also been in three Transformers movies and more than 30 other movies, including his first starring role in the excellent John Singleton-directed coming of age drama Baby Boy in 2001.
Gene Simmons
Whether you love him or, well, feel the way most of the world feels about him, you must admit that Gene Simmons can book parts. Since the late 1970s, the tongue-wagging KISS member (who will headline the Uline Warehouse on Summerfest’s penultimate night) has been in a total of 20 movies. Sure, his most frequent role is “himself,” but he’s also acted as other characters in a wide range of horror movies—most notably 1986’s Trick Or Treat—as well as comedies like The New Guy and Mike Judge’s 2009 film Extract.
Lisa Loeb
She’s not just a gifted singer-songwriter with an iconic pair of thick-rimmed glasses. No, Lisa Loeb is also something of a thespian. Much of her acting work comes in the form of TV roles, spanning voiceover work, sitcom and multi-cam cameos, and even being the centerpiece of a couple reality shows. However, Loeb—playing the Uline Warehouse at 5:45 p.m. this Thursday—has also dabbled in film, nabbing parts in scary movies like House On Haunted Hill and Fright Night, as well as a supporting role in the decidedly un-scary 2022 Hallmark flick entitled Hanukkah On Rye.
Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane (who’s performing at BMO Pavilion this Thursday evening) is an undisputed hip-hop legend. When it comes to acting, there also “Ain’t No Half-Stepping” for this accomplished rapper. He appeared opposite Billy Zane and Stephen Baldwin in 1993 Western entitled Posse, and turned up in superhero comedy Meteor Man that same year. More recently, Kane was in a 2008 film called Love For Sale and Exposed, a 2016 thriller which also featured Keanu Reeves, Ana de Armas, and Mira Sorvino.
Kim Gordon
Not only is Kim Gordon a founding member of Sonic Youth and an outstanding solo artist, the incomparable musician has found her way in front of the camera. Between cameos as herself on TV shows, she’s also showed some range with character work on Girls, Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, and even some shows without the word “girl” in the name. Oh, and she’s appeared in films like Kristen Stewart’s The Chronology Of Water and Gus Van Sant’s 2018 dramedy Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot. You can see Gordon, as herself, closing out the night at the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard on Thursday, June 25.
Three 6 Mafia
Unless you looked closely at this year’s Summerfest lineup or you’re a huge fan of the group, you maybe missed the fact Three 6 Mafia is opening for Jelly Roll at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater on Saturday, July 4. If that’s the case, there’s also a good chance you weren’t aware the members of the long-running Memphis hip-hop outfit starred in three low-budget feature films that were released between 2001 and 2005. Now you know!
Rhett Miller
Rhett Miller, known throughout the world as the singer of Old 97’s, is also in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though he didn’t land a role in Fight Club that ultimately went to Jared Leto (which he told us about when we interviewed him for our now-defunct My First Band podcast), he has appeared as himself in 2006 rom-com The Break-Up and on an episode of 30 Rock.
As far as the M.C.U. thing is concerned, Miller twice got in the makeup chair and suited up to play a bandleader called “Bzermikitokolok” in both Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special. He’ll appear at Summerfest this Thursday—as himself, once again—when Old 97’s play the T-Mobile Stage at 5:15 p.m.
Ed Sheeran
In addition to becoming one of the biggest names in music today, British singer-songwriter superstar Ed Sheeran has also dabbled in acting with some regularity. Though he isn’t immune to amassing his fair share of “himself” credits on movies like Popstar, Bridgette Jones’s Baby, and Solo Mio, he’s also turned up in other small parts in both the 2019 film Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker and a 2023 U.K. comedy called Sumotherhood. He’s headlining the American Family Insurance Amphitheater this Thursday, but you likely already knew that.
Corey Glover
What can’t Corey Glover do? The iconic voice of Living Colour—who will perform at the Generac Power Stage at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 2—is also an experienced stage actor. His film credits are limited, but his acting résumé is bolstered immensely by his work in Platoon in the role of Private Francis.
Post Malone
You’ve surely seen him flexing his pitchman skills in a variety of Bud Light ads of late, but did you know Post Malone (whose birth name is Austin Post) has also turned up in a number of films? Yes, he was among the hundreds of other famous folks to show up in last year’s Happy Gilmore 2, but he’s also either appeared or voiced characters in two Spider-Man films, the 2024 Road House remake, an animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title, and lesser-known action movies alongside the likes of Mark Wahlberg and Jason Statham. That’s something to think about when you watch him perform at the AmFam Amphitheater on Saturday, June 27.
Pat McCurdy
Last and…yeah probably least, we come to Pat McCurdy. Though the Milwaukee music mainstay—who’s playing the Generac Power Stage at 5:45 p.m. this Thursday—isn’t an actor per se, the tireless “Sex And Beer” singer is the subject of Bright Beautiful World: The Infectious Joy Of Pat McCurdy, a new feature-length documentary that both premiered and won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at this spring’s Milwaukee Film Festival.