Jennifer Hudson stars in the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect” in theaters this Friday.
The late “Queen of Soul” hand-picked Hudson for the role prior to her death in 2018, an聽admiration that she hinted at during a with 海角社区app.
“Jennifer Hudson has done some things that I like,” Franklin told 海角社区app.
During the same conversation, Franklin shared how she wished to be remembered.
“That I gave them the best, that I brought it and that I’m a giving and caring person first and an artist second,” Franklin said. “I’m not after lights, camera, action. It’s important to do the right thing when nobody’s looking. Everybody wants a little respect.”
Hudson is the second actress to play Franklin this year after Cynthia Erivo in “Genius.”
So that got us thinking — what are the best film and TV portrayals of real-life musicians?
Here are some standout performances over the years listed in chronological order:
Memorable Music Biopics:
James Cagney as George M. Cohan in 鈥淵ankee Doodle Dandy鈥� (1942)
Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice in 鈥淔unny Girl鈥� (1968)
Diana Ross as Billie Holiday in 鈥淟ady Sings the Blues鈥� (1972)
David Carradine as Woody Guthrie in 鈥淏ound for Glory鈥� (1976)
Gary Busey as Buddy Holly in 鈥淭he Buddy Holly Story鈥� (1978)
Kurt Russell as Elvis Presley in 鈥淓lvis鈥� (1979)
Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn in 鈥淐oal Miner鈥檚 Daughter鈥� (1980)
Tom Hulce as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 鈥淎madeus鈥� (1984)
Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious in 鈥淪id and Nancy鈥� (1986)
Dexter Gordon as Dale Turner in 鈥淩ound Midnight鈥� (1986)
Lou Diamond Phillips as Ritchie Valens in 鈥淟a Bamba鈥� (1987)
Forest Whitaker as Charlie Bird in 鈥淏ird鈥� (1988)
Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison in 鈥淭he Doors鈥� (1991)
Alex Burrall, Jason Weaver and Wylie Draper as Michael Jackson in 鈥淭he Jacksons: An American Dream鈥� (1992)
Angela Bassett as Tina Turner in 鈥淲hat鈥檚 Love Got to Do With It?鈥� (1993)
Jennifer Lopez as Selena in 鈥淪elena鈥� (1997)
Eminem as himself in 鈥�8 Mile鈥� (2002)
Adrien Brody as Wladyslaw Szpilman in 鈥淭he Pianist鈥� (2002)
Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in 鈥淩ay鈥� (2004)
Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as Johnny and June Carter Cash in 鈥淲alk the Line鈥� (2005)
O鈥橲hea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Aldis Hodge and Neil Brown Jr. as N.W.A. in 鈥淪traight Outta Compton鈥� (2005)
Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Ben Whishaw as Bob Dylan in 鈥淚鈥檓 Not There鈥� (2007)
Jamal Woolard as Notorious B.I.G. in 鈥淣otorious鈥� (2009)
Michael Douglas as Liberace in 鈥淏ehind the Candelabra鈥� (2013)
Chadwick Boseman as James Brown in 鈥淕et On Up鈥� (2014)
Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams in 鈥淚 Saw the Light鈥� (2015)
Don Cheadle as Miles Davis in 鈥淢iles Ahead鈥� (2015)
Paul Dano and John Cusack as Brian Wilson in 鈥淟ove & Mercy鈥� (2014)
Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley in “Elvis & Nixon” (2016)
Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tupac Shakur in “All Eyez on Me” (2017)
Mahershala Ali as Don Shirley in 鈥淕reen Book鈥� (2018)
Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody鈥� (2018)
Taron Egerton as Elton John in 鈥淩ocketman鈥� (2019)
Ren茅e Zellweger as Judy Garland in 鈥淛udy鈥� (2019)
Viola Davis as Ma Rainey in 鈥淢a Rainey鈥檚 Black Bottom鈥� (2020)
Andra Day as Billie Holiday in 鈥淭he United States vs. Billie Holiday鈥� (2021)
Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin in “Genius: Aretha” (2021)
Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin in 鈥淩espect鈥� (2021)
