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10 Musicians Who Need Their Own Biopics (And Who Should Play Them)!
Written by Anthony Jadus. Published: February 01 2026
Biopics give us more than just music -- they give us an inside look into some of our favorite musicians. These movies have exploded in popularity, and the website Can’t Get Much Higher, described as "a newsletter exclusively devoted to the intersection of music and data", charted these movies’ growth, saying, "Between 1990 and 1994, IMDb had evidence of 16 music biopics. Between 2020 and 2024, there were 68, a 325% increase. Not only that, but from the 1990s onward, that growth had been steady." This rapid growth was especially seen after movies like Bohemian Rhapsody, which grossed almost $1 billion dollars!
These movies usually tell both how artists struggle and how artists succeed, which can create great, well-rounded stories. Whether it’s a look at Elvis Presley’s extreme rise and slow decline, or an examination of Eminem’s rough start and difficult journey, these movies have figured out winning structures and formulas. And they’re only going to keep getting produced, in part because of how popular they are but also because of how profitable they are for the makers of the movies and the musicians being portrayed.
So, all of that being said, here is our list of musicians we need biopics for (and who we think should play them)!
1. James Hetfield (Played by: Boyd Holbrook)
Entering this list, the creator of the Sandman, James Hetfield
being played by Boyd Holbrook would be a fantastic movie
opportunity. As the lead singer of Metallica,
Holbrook would bring the same grit and intensity he brought to his
characters in pieces like "Narcos" and Logan. Oddly
enough, he was actually in Season 1 of a show called "The Sandman",
which feels like kismet, no? He looks similar to Hetfield, and it
wouldn’t be a hard transformation, hair, body, and makeup-wise.
Given Hetfield’s upbringing in a strict Christian Science
household, his addiction struggles, the death of the band’s
original bassist Cliff Burton, and Metallica’s
immense impact on heavy metal (just to name a few things), this
biopic is a great start for this list.
2.
Stevie Nicks (Played by: Margaret Qualley)
Singer-songwriter and Fleetwood Mac’s iconic
vocalist, Stevie Nicks has a distinctive voice and poetic, almost
magical songwriting. She is known for her dancer-like, flowing
movement, and she has a bohemian, expressive energy, similar to
Margaret Qualley. We’ve seen Margaret do work similar to Nicks such
as "Fosse/Verdon" where her stage and dance experience came into
play, and Stars at Noon where the romance elements could
be compared to a lot of Stevie Nicks’s music and vibe. Nicks is one
of the most influential women in rock history. She won a Grammy for
Album of the Year in 1978 for Rumours” and she holds 8
Grammy nominations as a solo artist and 6 nominations with
Fleetwood Mac. She is also a 2-time inductee into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame, once with Fleetwood Mac in 1998 and again for her
solo career in 2019. All in all, she is an immense talent, and
Margaret Qualley would do a great job with this exciting
film.
3.
Ozzy Osbourne (Played by: Jack Black)
All aboard for our next pick, which is fun, and possibly
crazy. Ozzy Osbourne, the late great lead vocalist of the band Black Sabbath and a prominent figure in heavy
metal music, would need someone full of personality and charisma.
He would require someone with comedic and dramatic acting chops to
deliver for such a big role. Jack Black would be an excellent
choice. He has the music skills and the passion, as we’ve seen
with Tenacious D and his legendary
performance in School of Rock. If costume and make-up
worked a little bit of magic, we firmly think Jack Black can match
Ozzy’s look. Ozzy Osbourne has had many memorable moments and many
memorable songs. His life was chaotic on the outside, but this
biopic would be a great look into what the “Prince of Darkness" was
really like behind the curtain.
4. Kendrick Lamar (Played by: Daniel Kaluuya)
Kendrick Lamar’s biopic would surround his journey from
Compton to Pulitzer-winning poet and cultural icon. Kendrick is a
rather introverted and internal performer and person, and Daniel
Kaluuya would be perfect to embody this. He’s done so many roles
where he embodies this internal strife and introspective
vulnerability, such as his roles in Get Out, Queen &
Slim, and Judas and the Black Messiah. Kendrick likes
to make art and music surrounding big ideas and questions, such as
his album DNA, and Daniel Kaluuya is no stranger to this
type of work. In "Black Mirror", Kaluuya plays a character, Bing
Madsen, who lives in a dystopian world in which people are required
to exercise in order to earn currency. Kaluuya already matches
Kendrick’s energy and style, and given their similarities in the
work they like and do, and given Kendrick’s overall impact and
insane stardom, we are really excited about this possibility.
5. Janet Jackson (Played by: Coco Jones)
Janet Jackson is a powerhouse in the music world, and we
believe Coco Jones is someone who can embody her range and command
for a biopic. She can sing, she can act, and she has many credits
to prove it. She’s had acting roles including multiple seasons
playing Hilary Banks in "Bel-Air" recently, and even more recently,
she booked a gig at Super Bowl LX where she will be singing "Lift
Every Voice and Sing". Janet Jackson has had so many moments that
could have defined her, but time and time again she showed that she
can reinvent herself when others tried to define her. If this
biopic was created, similarly to the Ozzy Osbourne bat incident,
the Janet Jackson Super Bowl moment would be a wild, tricky thing
to re-create, and this movie would be a story audiences would love
to see.
6. Dolly Parton (Played by: Miley Cyrus)
Miley Cyrus is Dolly Parton’s goddaughter, and if that wasn’t
enough to convince you, hang in there for this short climb. She
knows Dolly’s world, she can easily match her accent, and her work
in "Hannah Montana", just to name one of the biggest things she’s
known for, she plays a character dealing with a dual-identity
story. She goes from a regular teenager to a famous pop star. Dolly
Parton, although one of the biggest country stars on the planet,
tries very hard to maintain a quiet personal life, so this
dichotomy would be easily accessible to Miley Cyrus. Both stars
have gone from small beginnings to absolute powerhouse celebrities
and performers, and as Billboard succinctly put it, Dolly Parton is
the Greatest Country Artist of All Time. Through both of their
business savvy brains to their lyrical and musical genius, this
movie would be an instant hit.
7. Lauryn Hill (Played by: Keke Palmer)
More of a mysterious movie and performer, a biopic of Lauryn
Hill being played by Keke Palmer would be a great opportunity to
learn more about who Lauryn Hill really is and why she acted the
way she did. Keke is an excellent choice for this role as she is an
actor first but she’s an amazing singer as well. She’s been on
Broadway, and she has already released three studio albums. She’s
beyond charismatic, and she has had prominent roles in Hustlers, Nope, and many more big productions.
Lauryn Hill only ever released one album, so this movie would be
dedicated to how it feels for an artist to put out work, analyze
it, then back off to understand. Or maybe that’s just how she
wanted it to be. Whatever route this movie takes, Keke Palmer would
be able to do this role justice, and this movie would provide
incredible insights into the life of an enigmatic artist.
8. Rihanna (Played by: Taylor Russell)
Rihanna needs a biopic due to her original, unique island
background, and due to her impact not only on music but on
business. As of 2025, there are 3 female musicians who are
billionaires: Taylor Swift, Selena
Gomez, and Rihanna. She’s a good example of someone who
blends multiple worlds, specifically fashion and music. She’s an
incredible performer, and knowing how powerful she is, Taylor
Russell would be a great choice to play her. Even Rihanna agrees.
She was asked about this, and in regards to Taylor Russell playing
her in a biopic, she said yes, and, “You know why? Because
she’s got, like, a nice forehead.” She also added, “She’s, like,
fly. And I feel like I want to be her, so I want her to pretend to
be me. I want people to see me in that light.” Both Taylor Russell
and Rihanna carry themselves with a similar style, and given
Rihanna’s impact on this industry, this would be a huge hit, and
Taylor would excel.
9. Chris Stapleton (Played by: Tom Hardy)
"When the stars come out", they may be curious to see Tom
Hardy in this role, but he’s actually a perfect cast. Chris
Stapleton, to many, embodies classic, lyric focused, profound
country soul and music. Tom Hardy has played so many incredibly
different characters, and given that we know that he can play
emotionally authentic, masculine-leaning characters, be it Bane or
John Fitzgerald in The Revenant, Hardy knows how to
capture emotions through even limited dialogue. Have we heard him
sing like Stapleton? Of course not. Could he? Why not?! The
transformation would be an incredible opportunity, and he would
capture so many elements of Chris Stapleton. And given all that
Stapleton has done for country music, and all the awards he’s won,
this movie would be extremely popular.
10. Luther Vandross (Played by: Myles Frost)
Luther Vandross is a fantastic way to end our list, as he
would be a powerhouse candidate for a biopic. Luther spent a lot of
his life in the public eye, but privately, he struggled with coming
out and being able to fully express himself. Myles Frost would be
the best candidate to play him, as there only a few people capable
of capturing his voice, and Frost is definitely one of them. He can
achieve Luther’s emotional vulnerability publicly and privately,
and he’s already won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for
his portrayal of Michael Jackson in MJ the
Musical in 2022. He was the youngest actor to win a Tony
Award in the Best Actor in a Musical category, and it only speaks
to how great he’d be in this role.
These musicians are all incredible in their own way, and this list could consist of 100 different musicians We tried to cover not only popular musicians, but also musicians with wide ranging, well-rounded stories, that would make for good movies. Whether the music is rap, country, metal, or anything else in between, we think that these people and these stories are worth telling -- now all we need is a full cast and crew to do it!