Fans of “Sons of Anarchy” were stunned Tuesday to hear that Hole singer (and Kurt Cobain’s widow) Courtney Love had been cast as a preschoolteacher for the seventh and final season of the FX drama.
Yeah, we’re still letting that sink in ourselves.
It’s not Love’s first foray into acting, of course. She even nabbed a Golden Globe nomination for portraying the fourth wife of porn peddler Larry Flynt in the 1996 film “The People vs. Larry Flynt.”
But Love — along with goth rocker Marilyn Manson, a previously-announced Season 7 “Anarchy” cast addition — joins a long list of musicians who have made the crossover to recurring and regular roles on TV, including Harry Connick Jr. (“Will & Grace”) and Steven Van Zandt (“The Sopranos”).
If she’s looking for inspiration, Love should make note of several other singers who are currently proving their acting mettle on network and cable:
Donnie Wahlberg
He went from a boy band (“New Kids on the Block”) to a “Band of Brothers,” playing an Army paratrooper in the acclaimed 2001 HBO miniseries. Wahlberg currently stars as NYPD Det. Danny Reagan on the CBS cop drama “Blue Bloods.”
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‘Blue Bloods’
LL Cool J
The hip-hop artist with more than a dozen albums under his belt plays federal agent Sam Hanna (opposite Chris O’Donnell) in CBS’ “NCIS: Los Angeles.” He has also hosted the Grammy Awards three times, including this year.
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‘NCIS’
Lea DeLaria
You know her as brassy inmate Big Boo on the Netflix hit “Orange Is the New Black,” but DeLaria is also an accomplished jazz singer.
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‘Orange Is the New Black’
Ice-T
Born Tracy Marrow, the hip-hop maverick has played Det. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola on “Law & Order: SVU” since 2000. Ice-T also cofounded the early 1990s metal band Body Count, which released a controversial song about, ironically, police brutality titled “Cop Killer.”
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‘SVU’
Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Deschanel, the darling of indie band “She & Him,” was known for her unique voice and song-writing talent long before she cracked audiences up as the kind-hearted yet clumsy Jessica Day in the Fox sitcom “New Girl.”
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