How A24 Became the Go-To Studio for Recording Artists Who Want to Act

When Moses Sumney decided it was time to make the leap from music into film, the indie singer-songwriter had a distinct guiding principle: “Well, who’s doing cool shit?”

One studio seemed to set the mold.

“Who has positioned themselves as a cultural leader,” Sumney says. “That’s a more interesting question to me than who has the most money or commercial output. It was like that when I was looking for a label too. I think it’s just so obvious that A24 is the one. This was especially important three or four years ago when I was thinking about getting into it, it’s more broadly clear now.”

Sumney — who had roles in A24’s The Idol and MaXXXine — describes a common refrain among today’s recording artists dipping their toes into broader entertainment. While he says wasn’t specifically seeking out A24, he notes he’s a longtime fan of the studio, and seeing a co-sign from the studio on projects is a firm affirmation.

“I wasn’t telling my team ‘get me all the A24 scripts,’” Sumney, repped by UTA, says. “But I think it’s one of the deciding factors in considering if I want to pursue being in something. And I know the only vision that I have to trust is that of the director and not of the people trying to make their money back.”

With its auteur reputation as a champion of modern arthouse cinema, A24 has become the undisputed king of the musician-to-actor crossover, evidenced most recently with perpetual pop star Charli XCX’s The Moment, which had its wide release on Feb. 6, where it has grossed $3.8 million from around 600 theaters. But Charli is only the latest moment. The studio’s been a regular platform for artist appearances big and small, going back to 2013 breakout Spring Breakers, which featured both pop star actress Selena Gomez in a leading role, as well as Atlanta rap royalty Gucci Mane in his first and only feature film role to date.

Since then, among many more, A24 has given feature length debuts to the likes of Doechii, Megan Thee Stallion, Snail Mail, The Weeknd, Sumney and most-recently Tyler, the Creator, who co-starred alongside Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme. Gracie Abrams, meanwhile, will make her film debut through an A24 project from Babygirl director Halina Reijn. Other musician-actors who’ve worked with the studio include Kid Cudi in X and MaXXXine, Brandy in The Front Room and Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst in I Saw the TV Glow and Y2K.

Meanwhile, Phoebe Bridgers will make her own feature length starring debut opposite Robert Pattinson in the Lance Oppenheim-directed A24 film Primetime.

“A24 very much recognizes that music artists are equally in the zeitgeist as actors, and they want to fully realize musicians’ desires to act,” says CAA agent Dan Kim, who helps shepherding screen roles for the agency’s music roster on the film music crossover team.

Lindsey Jordan, best known for her indie music project Snail Mail, had her film debut with I Saw The TV Glow in 2024, which along with Durst also featured a cameo from Bridgers. She’d told her music team she was looking to get into acting, and “by a weird coincidence” before they could even start laying the groundwork to get her auditions, the film team had gotten in touch with her about the project.

“A24 wasn’t the only studio I was trying to work with,” Jordan says. “But I was already a huge fan, and that was like a big pipe dream for me, to be like ‘cool, A24 movie,’ that’s the sickest thing ever. It feels like resurrecting a tradition of something like Debbie Harry and Videodrome. It makes sense to me that that’s where it would happen.”

A24 itself declined to comment for this story. But it’s not surprising A24 would look to bring in recording artists as synonymous with art and culture as their films are. Kim tells THR that A24 “often comes to us asking for artists who want to act.”

That was the case for Brandy, who starred in 2024’s The Front Room, Kim says, adding that A24 executives told him they were a fan of Brandy, and that they’d discussed with the directors (the Eggers brothers) about getting her a role.

“A24 is taking a risk on musicians who may not have the breadth of acting experience actors have, which is appealing to musicians who want to be part of a great piece of art,” Kim says.

A24 and artists have a bit of a symbiotic relationship. These artists want acting roles — particularly ones that get them cultural clout and not just a check — and A24 is seeking castings that co-sign their project’s zeitgeist-y relevancy. But bringing in even respected musicians may not always lead to a big box office gross, as The Front Room reflected, with that picture only grossing just over $3 million and coming and going with little fanfare. Still, so far it hasn’t seemed to stop the castings.

While the trend is helping artists expand their empires, a more cynical take would be that for A24, the quality of the castings themselves is irrelevant, and that the play is merely about marketing rather than artistic drive. Often, A24 brings in musicians in lower screen time supporting and cameo parts, a much smaller creative and commercial risk than a lead spot that still allows the company to get an A-List name in a press release and generate buzz online without relinquishing the most consequential roles.

To A24’s credit, the artist roster the studio has amassed does feel carefully curated. The A24 artist archetype leans as much cool as commercial, with a Pitchfork Best New Music distinction as crucial if not more so than a high Spotify monthly listener count. Just being popular alone isn’t enough. With no disrespect to groups like Imagine Dragons or Nickelback, it seems unlikely those sorts of acts land roles in these projects anytime soon.

Jordan and Sumney acknowledge that line of thinking but argue A24’s track record has proven the studio’s commitment to art as well. Sumney said it was “always obvious” when he’d get inquiries where acts were more interested in him because of his artist status rather than his acting. He adds that he spent time in acting classes and pivoting to theater to hone in on his skills. He says it’s “important that I’m a good actor not just good for a musician” but also acknowledges films need to be strategic about castings to drum up interest in a project.

“Brilliant casting directors are able to synthesize what audiences want to see with who’s the best for the role,” Sumney says. “I’m not in those rooms, and I think it really is up to the directors to cast who they want to cast, which is not always the case at studios. But realistically in this modern era, you need people who are not only going to get butts in seats, but are going to help you get your thing made.”

As Jordan adds: “I know a little bit of who else auditioned where I’m like, ‘that could have been better for y’all to bring more people out,’” she says with a chuckle. “I’m a little torn there. I’ve never been in any position to be like, ‘I hope they’re not using me for my like, indie cred.’ The whole time it was just so good to be here. It felt to me like the director and the casting people were cool.”

This story appeared in the Feb. 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.Click here to subscribe.