David Bowie (1947–2016) appeared in over 30 films, television shows and theatrical productions. He largely stuck to cameos and supporting parts in place of starring roles, having once described his film career as "splashing in the kids' pool". His projects were mostly with arthouse directors that he felt were outside the Hollywood mainstream. Throughout his career, his acting received critical acclaim, including admiration for his stage presence.
Bowie's acting career predated his commercial breakthrough as a musician. His first film was a short film called The Image, shot in 1967 and released in 1969. Between 1967 and 1969, he made appearances in Lindsay Kemp's theatrical production Pierrot in Turquoise, and filmed walk-on rolls for an episode of the BBC drama series Theatre 625 and Leslie Thomas's The Virgin Soldiers (1969). Bowie's first major film role was the alien Thomas Jerome Newton in Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), for which he received critical acclaim and is regarded as one of his best performances. In 1978, Bowie starred alongside Marlene Dietrich in David Hemmings's Just a Gigolo, a critical failure that Bowie expressed disappointment in.
Bowie was active on stage and screen in the 1980s, beginning with playing Joseph Merrick in the Broadway theatre production The Elephant Man (1980–1981) and starring in the titular role in a BBC adaptation of the Bertolt Brecht play Baal (1982). Throughout 1983, he had starring roles in Tony Scott's The Hunger, Nagisa Ōshima's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, and a small cameo in Mel Damski's Yellowbeard. In 1986, Bowie had a supporting role in Julien Temple's Absolute Beginners, for which he sang its successful title song, and starred as Jareth the Goblin King in Jim Henson's Labyrinth (1986), for which he recorded its accompanying soundtrack album with Trevor Jones. In 1988, he played Pontius Pilate in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).
Bowie took largely smaller parts throughout the 1990s. In 1991, he appeared in an episode of the HBO sitcom Dream On and in Richard Shepard's The Linguini Incident. The following year, Bowie portrayed FBI agent Phillip Jeffries in David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). He then made appearances in Julian Schnabel's Basquiat (1996) as his friend Andy Warhol, Giovanni Veronesi's Il Mio West (1998, released as Gunslinger's Revenge in the US in 2005), Andrew Goth's Everybody Loves Sunshine (1999), and as the host in the second season of the horror anthology series The Hunger. In 1999, Bowie voiced two characters in the Dreamcast game Omikron: The Nomad Soul, his only appearance in a video game.
In the 2000s, Bowie appeared in Nicholas Kendall's Mr. Rice's Secret (2000), and made cameos as himself in Ben Stiller's Zoolander (2001) and Eric Idle's The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (2002). In 2005, he filmed a commercial with Snoop Dogg for XM Satellite Radio. In 2006, he portrayed Nikola Tesla in Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, voice-acted in Luc Besson's animated film Arthur and the Invisibles and appeared as himself in an episode of the television series Extras. He voice-acted again in the television film SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis, before taking a supporting role in Austin Chick's August (2008) and appearing as himself in Todd Graff's Bandslam (2009), his final film appearance.
Bowie was featured in several documentaries, films, and videos focusing on his career. He also appeared frequently in documentaries about other musicians.
Film As actor Title Year Role MediumNotes Theatre 625 1968 Unidentified Television series Episode: "The Pistol Shot" Lost 1969 Short filmFirst film; shot in September 1967 Soldier Feature film Uncredited Pierrot in Turquoise or The Looking Glass Murders 1970 Cloud Television film 1976 Thomas Jerome Newton Feature film Just a Gigolo 1978 Paul Ambrosius von Przygodski Christiane F. 1981 Himself Cameo 1982 Older James Television film Alternative opening Baal Baal 1983 John Blaylock Feature film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence Maj. Jack 'Strafer' Celliers Yellowbeard The Shark Uncredited cameoJazzin' for Blue Jean 1984 Screamin' Lord Byron / Vic Short film Into the Night 1985 Colin Morris Feature film Absolute Beginners 1986 Vendice Partners Labyrinth Jareth the Goblin King 1988 Pontius Pilate Dream On 1991 Sir Roland Moorecock Television series Episode: "The Second Greatest Story Ever Told" Monte Feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me 1992 Phillip Jeffries Full Stretch 1993 Himself Television series Episode: "Ivory Tower" Basquiat 1996 Andy Warhol Feature film Il Mio West 1998 Jack Sikora Released in 2005 as Gunslinger's Revenge Everybody Loves Sunshine 1999 Bernie Also released as B.U.S.T.E.D Omikron: The Nomad Soul Boz / The Dreamers Video game Voice 1999–2000 The Host / Julian Priest Television series 20 episodes Empty 2000 Man Short film Short film Mr. Rice's Secret William Rice Feature film Zoolander 2001 Himself Cameo The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch 2003 Television film Extras2006 Television series Episode: "David Bowie" Nikola Tesla Feature film Arthur and the Invisibles2007 Emperor Maltazard Voice SpongeBob SquarePants Lord Royal Highness (L.R.H) Television series Voice; Episode: "SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis" August 2008 Cyrus Ogilvie Feature film Bandslam 2009 Himself Cameo Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces 2014 Phillip Jeffries Compilation film Archived footage Twin Peaks: The Return 2017 Television series 2 episodes; Archived footage; Released posthumously
As subject of documentary or video This list contains documentaries and videos that have been officially released as films, television broadcasts and/or home video, ordered by date filmed. Bootlegs and privately distributed videos are not included. The list is selective, particularly with respect to television performances and interviews.