From the alien drifter of The Man Who Fell to Earth to the unforgettable Goblin King of Labyrinth, David Bowie built one of the strangest and most fascinating film careers in pop history.
In this episode, hosts Laura Gommans and Tom Ooms dive into David Bowie’s acting career, exploring how the musician moved through cinema across four decades. They chat about what drew Bowie to the silver screen, why acting became one of his favourite side quests, and the performances that defined his screen presence.
From playing Andy Warhol in Basquiat to a perfectly deadpan cameo in Zoolander, they discuss why directors kept casting Bowie, what made him so magnetically strange on camera, and which roles remain the most unforgettable—before tackling the impossible question: who could ever play Bowie in a biopic?
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Films Mentioned:
The Man Who Fell to Earth (Nicolas Roeg, 1976)
Christiane F. (Uli Edel, 1981)
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Nagisa Oshima, 1983)
The Hunger (Tony Scott, 1983)
Labyrinth (Jim Henson, 1986)
The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese, 1988)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (David Lynch, 1992)
Basquiat (Julian Schnabel, 1996)
Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2001)
Moonage Daydream (Brett Morgen, 2022)
Our hosts
(entertainment journalist)
(film critic)
(film maker)
(film programmer)