History Main / NonActorVehicle

* Music/WhitneyHouston in ''Film/TheBodyguard''.

* Creator/DorisDay, before starring in ''Romance on the High Seas'', was known only as a singer.

* Creator/BetteMidler in ''Film/TheRose''; though she had dabbled onstage in her early career, it was her first film role. She went on to have a long and fairly successful career as an actress, reaching her peak in both fields at about the same time (the late [[TheEighties 1980s]] and early [[TheNineties 1990s]]).

* Music/HermansHermits starred in two movies, ''Film/HoldOn'' in 1966 and ''Film/MrsBrownYouveGotALovelyDaughter'' in 1968.

* Creator/CindyCrawford in ''Film/FairGame1995''.
* It was only a TV movie, but Creator/VannaWhite of ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' fame starred in ''Film/GoddessOfLove'' on NBC. At that point in her career, the only other TV experience she had was… as a contestant on ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' in 1980 (two years before she took over the ''Wheel'' role she holds to this day).

* ''Film/{{Galaxina}}'' had Creator/DorothyRStratten, Playboy Playmate of the Year 1980, prominently cast as the title character.

* Lily Cole as the monster in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "The Curse of the Black Spot", in which she has little to do but waft around and glare at people.

* Gisele Bündchen[[note]]aka Mrs. Creator/TomBrady[[/note]] in ''Film/Taxi2004''.

* The TropeMaker was Creator/AlJolson in the original 1927 version of ''Film/TheJazzSinger''. Music/NeilDiamond also did it in the 1980 remake. He won a Worst Actor Razzie for his performance, but this is a good example of a performer who managed to retain their original career after trying their hand at this trope; in fact, three of his biggest hits -- "America", "Love on the Rocks", and "Hello Again" -- were written for this film.

* {{Music/Madonna}} in ''Film/DesperatelySeekingSusan'', where she played a pop musician. Led to an almost two-decades-long acting career, in which she generally did well if she was part of an ensemble (as in ''Film/DickTracy'', ''Film/ALeagueOfTheirOwn'', and ''Film/{{Evita}}''), and usually didn't fare so well if she was appearing in a star vehicle (as in ''Film/SweptAway'').

* Music/FiftyCent in ''Get Rich Or Die Tryin''. He did later appear in a number of films, occasionally credited under his birth name, e.g. "Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson".
* Cellist Yo-Yo Ma in the Creator/AtomEgoyan film ''[[http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/sara.html Sarabande.]]''

** Music/JohnLennon had a supporting role in director Richard Lester's ''How I Won the War'', but was featured heavily in the film's advertising. His only other significant bits of acting were in-character [[TheCameo cameos]] in a couple of episodes of ''Series/NotOnlyButAlso''.

* Creator/BetteMidler in ''Film/TheRose''; though she had dabbled in the theatre in her early career, it was her first movie role. She went on to have a long and fairly successful career as an actress, reaching her peak in both fields at about the same time (the late [[TheEighties 1980s]] and early [[TheNineties 1990s]]).

* Music/{{Sting}} starred in the 1982 adaptation of ''Film/BrimstoneAndTreacle'' (The Police recorded three songs for its soundtrack, and Sting contributed two solo ones) and 1985's ''Film/TheBride'', and had supporting roles or cameos in ''Film/{{Quadrophenia}}'', ''Film/Dune1984'', ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen'' and ''Film/LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels''.

* Music/OliviaNewtonJohn in ''Film/{{Grease}}'', and earlier, more obscurely, the film ''Toomorrow'' (a sci-fi musical starring the prefab band she fronted at the time, also called Toomorrow).

* UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan in ''Film/SpaceJam''.

* {{Country|Music}} singer Doug Stone had a starring role in the 1995 film ''Film/{{Gordy}}''.

* [[TransparentCloset Camp pianist]] Music/{{Liberace}} in ''Sincerely Yours'', in which he played... a camp pianist.

* Billie Joe Armstrong of Music/GreenDay in ''Ordinary World''.
* Music/RebaMcEntire did have some acting chops before starring in the TV Movie ''Is There Life Out There?'' (inspired by her hit single at the time.) She had a few more before starring in the WB sitcom ''Series/{{Reba}}''. The much-shorter lived ''Series/MalibuCountry'' also qualifies, but by now she's practically made acting a second career.

* The NBA's Kyrie Irving plays the titular character in the 2018 comedy ''Uncle Drew''.

* It was only a TV movie, but Vanna White of ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' fame starred in ''Goddess of Love'' on NBC. At that point in her career, the only other TV experience she had was… as a contestant on ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' in 1980 (two years before she took over the ''Wheel'' role she holds to this day).

* ''Galaxina'' had Dorothy R. Stratten, Playboy Playmate of the Year 1980, prominently cast as the title character.

* Two big vehicles for Shaquille O'Neal: ''Film/{{Kazaam}}'' and ''Film/{{Steel}}''. His first film, ''Blue Chips'', had him in a supporting role (along with Penny Hardaway).

* Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao did a string of movies since 2000 and usually played, well, a boxer. There were movies where he didn't play a boxer (or himself), such as ''Anak ng Kumander'' and ''Wapakman'', but they weren't well-received.

* Howie Long in ''Film/{{Firestorm}}''.

* The TropeMaker was Music/AlJolson in the original 1927 version of ''Film/TheJazzSinger''. Music/NeilDiamond also did it in the 1980 remake. He won a Worst Actor Razzie for his performance, but this is a good example of a performer who managed to retain their original career after trying their hand at this trope; in fact, three of his biggest hits -- "America", "Love on the Rocks", and "Hello Again" -- were written for this film.

* Music/NeilDiamond in ''Film/TheJazzSinger'' (1980). He won a Worst Actor Razzie for his performance, but this is a good example of a performer who managed to retain their original career after trying their hand at this trope; in fact, three of his biggest hits -- "America", "Love on the Rocks", and "Hello Again" -- were written for this film.

* Cellist Yo-Yo Ma in the Creator/AtomEgoyan film ''[[http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/sara.html Sarabande]]''.

* Creator/MickeySpillane in ''Ring of Fire''.

* ''Film/RingOfFear'' gives starring roles to circus owner/lion tamer Clyde Beatty and mystery writer Creator/MickeySpillane.

* ''Film/BloodHarvest'' stars Music/TinyTim as a mentally unstable clown.

* Luciano Pavarotti in ''Yes, Giorgio''.

* Monica Bellucci in ''{{Film/Malena}}''. She was still primarily a model at the time, and this marked her StarMakingRole as an actress.

* Gisele Bündchen in ''Film/Taxi2004''.

* Music/MickJagger in ''Film/{{Performance}}'' and ''[[Film/NedKelly1970 Ned Kelly]]''

* [[Music/FiftyCent 50 Cent]] in ''Get Rich Or Die Tryin''. He did later appear in a number of films, occasionally credited under his birth name e.g. "Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson".

* Music/TheVillagePeople and Olympic gold medalist Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner in ''Film/CantStopTheMusic''; the former also overlaps with AutobiographicalRole.

* CountryMusic singer Doug Stone had a starring role in the 1995 film ''Film/{{Gordy}}''.

* [[TransparentCloset Camp pianist]] Liberace in ''Sincerely Yours'', in which he played... a camp pianist.

** ''Film/SeeNoEvil'' and ''Film/SeeNoEvil2'', starring Kane.
** ''Film/TheMarine'', then ''Film/TwelveRounds'', and ''Legendary'', starring Wrestling/JohnCena.

** And direct-to-DVD films starring The Big Show, Triple H, Mr. Kennedy, Randy Orton, The Miz, Summer Rae and Ted Dibiase, Jr.
** Wrestling/TripleH also played one of the lead vampires in ''Film/BladeTrinity'', while Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin was part of the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters giant ensemble of action heroes]] in ''Film/TheExpendables'', more because of their physically intimidating presence than any particular acting chops and experience.

** Mitch Gaylord in ''American Anthem''[[note]]his co-star was Janet Jones, who went on to become Mrs. Wayne Gretzky[[/note]].

* Olympic Swimming champion and male model Johnny Weissmuller as ''Franchise/{{Tarzan}}: the Ape Man''. His performance proved so successful that [[TypeCasting he was cast in the same role eleven more times]].

* Jackie Robinson in ''The Jackie Robinson Story''.
* Both versions of ''Ice Castles'' starred professional figure skaters: Lynn-Holly Johnson in the 1978 original (she turned to acting full-time after the film) and Taylor Firth in the 2010 remake.

* The 2010 ''Film/TheATeam'' film cast [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts former UFC champion]] Quinton "Rampage" Jackson as B.A. Baracus, filling the shoes of Mr. T, who was also known for his tough-guy exploits before getting into acting. Jackson had done a few films before, such as a memorable cameo in ''Film/TheMidnightMeatTrain''.

* Italian alpine ski racer and former [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carabinieri carabiniere]] Alberto Tomba began and ended, his film career with "Alex l'ariete" (''Alex the Ram''), where he played the eponymous "badass" cop. Predictably, his acting was beyond wooden, the film was a total mess and an abysmal failure at the box office. The film would be totally forgotten, if not for its infamous status and the countless WebAnimation/{{YouTube Poop}}s made out of it by Italian "enthusiasts".

* Efren Bata Reyes appeared alongside Creator/FernandoPoeJr in the 2003 film ''Pakners'', which turned out to be Poe's final film project before his presidential candidacy and eventual death. Needless to say, Reyes is definitely no actor, with his lines sounding like as if he merely read it from the script. It did show him in what he does best though.
* Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, amongst other [=McLaren=] drivers, starred in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tooned}}'' in 2013 to promote their racing team. The drivers' voice acting is passable more or less, but they sure had fun with their parts. And F1 fans appear to like it as well, with some wishing for similar productions starring drivers from other teams.

* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' has had many famous sports stars come on and host the show, dating back to football player Fran Tarkenton in the second season. The record is mixed. Some have been forgettable but some did really well, like Peyton Manning with an iconic fake United Way commercial in 2007, or Joe Montana with the "Sincere Guy Stu" sketch, one of the most famous SNL sketches [[https://snltranscripts.jt.org/86/86istu.phtml of all time]].

** Paul [=McCartney=] starred in ''Film/GiveMyRegardsToBroadStreet'' and that's pretty much it.

* Alex Cox (of ''Film/RepoMan'') made ''Film/StraightToHell'' when a musical tour of Nicaragua was canceled and a bunch of 1980s musicians and other oddballs were stuck in the country with nothing to do. He threw together a weird and wacky SpaghettiWestern parody starring, among others, Music/ElvisCostello, The Circle Jerks, Music/ThePogues, Amazulu, Creator/JimJarmusch, Grace Jones and a very young Music/CourtneyLove.