Pop CulturePop Culture

The Best Acting Performance by a Real-Life Musician

Dave, Neil, and Joanna debate the best performance by a real-life musician: Lady Gaga in ‘A Star Is Born,’ Frank Sinatra in ‘From Here to Eternity,’ Will Smith in ‘Men in Black,’ or Dolly Parton in ‘9 to 5’

By Dave Gonzales, Joanna Robinson, Neil MillerOct. 5, 2023, 1:15 pm UTC • 1 min

This week, Dave, Neil, and Joanna debate the best acting performance by a real-life musician! They start by talking about the inspiration for the debate and playing a trivia game about musicians in movies (8:14). Then, they discuss pretrial dismissals and awards (23:54), before revealing their picks for the best acting performance by a real-life musician (45:49). Finally, they read listener submissions and choose one to add to the final poll (1:02:49).

Now it’s up to you to decide! What is the best acting performance by a real-life musician? You can vote for the winner at TheRinger.com, on The Ringer’s X feed, and in the Spotify app, where you’ll find Trial by Content. The winner will be announced on the next episode!

You can send your picks for the next topic and a few sentences to support your pick to TrialByContent@gmail.com. You can also submit suggestions for future Trial By Content topics. Is there a great pop culture debate that you’d like us to settle? Send it on over!

Hosts: Dave Gonzales, Joanna Robinson, and Neil Miller
Associate Producer: Carlos Chiriboga
Additional Production Supervision: Arjuna Ramgopal
Theme Song and Other Music Credits: Devon Renaldo

Subscribe: Spotify

Dave Gonzales

Dave Gonzales is a writer, producer, and podcast host living in Denver, Colorado. He is the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller ‘MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios.’ His other podcasts are ‘Fighting in the War Room’ and ‘Da7e and Neil’s Pop Culture Adventure.’

Joanna Robinson

Joanna Robinson is a cultural critic appearing on several podcasts, including ‘House of R,’ ‘Prestige TV,’ and ‘Trial by Content.’ Formerly a senior writer at Vanity Fair from 2014-21, she is the author of the New York Times bestselling book ‘MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios.’

Neil Miller

Neil Miller has been a podcaster and pop culture blogger since 2006, when he founded the independent website Film School Rejects. He has cohosted popular pods about ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Lost,’ has produced a TV show (‘One Perfect Shot’), and is a tortured lifelong Cleveland sports fan.