After his brief cameo appearance in episode one of series 7 Game of Thrones, the popular singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran was roundly lambasted on social media for his efforts. This upset the ginger crooner so much that he was forced to shut down his Twitter account, so he didn't have to face the abuse.
Well, Ed, it's not all bad. More singers have tried their hand in the acting game and were far worse.
5. Madonna
After hitting the heights in the early 80's, with critically acclaimed 'Desperately Seeking Susan,' and again in the 90's with 'Evita,' the original 'Material Girl' got the acting bug bad.
Sadly, the scripts and roles didn't follow, and she ended up in turkeys like 'Shanghai Surprise' and the abysmal 'Swept Away' in 2002.
4. Kelly Clarkson
The original 'American Idol' winner in 2002 must have thought she was onto a good thing when she made 'From Justin to Kelly' in 2003. Unfortunately for her, the film was a shocker and ranks 13th on IMDBs 100 Worst Movies of all time. Since then, thankfully she has stuck to what she knows best.
3. Mariah Carey
In 2001 Mariah appeared in 'Glitter,' a film that according to its rating on Rotten Tomatoes is "a hodgepodge of movie cliches and bad acting." The film won her the Razzies, Golden Raspberry Award for worst performance of the year and also nominated her cleavage for Worst Screen Couple.
2. Rihanna
The 'Umbrella' songstress was hopelessly miscast as a hard-as-nails Navy gunner in the 2012 summer release 'Battleship.' The only plus side was that her role was small.
1. And finally...the King himself, Elvis Presley
If this doesn't go some way to Ed Sheeran making feel better, then nothing will. The King of Rock 'n' Roll starred in film after the formulaic film which probably did creditably at the box office but was merely vehicles to plug his newest songs.
His acting range was limited, to say the least, as he played a different version of himself in films such as 'Spinout,' 'Charro' and 'Viva Las Vegas.' The blame for this fell squarely on the shoulders of his overbearing manager Colonel Tom Parker who had huge control over Elvis' career.
Some successes
There are, of course, exceptions to every rule and Ed Sheeran may well find himself in this list of singers who made very creditable transitions to the big screen.
- Will Smith in 'Ali' and the 'Men in Black' franchise.
- Mark Wahlberg in 'The Departed' and 'The Fighter.'
- Cher in 'Mask,' 'Moonstruck' (which won her an Academy Award for Best Actress) and 'The Witches of Eastwick'
- Frank Sinatra, the daddy of them all, winning an Oscar in 'From Here to Eternity.'
So, Ed shouldn't give up just yet. Don't take note of what the naysayers say online and stick to doing what you love. Who knows, one day there could be a whole new career.
