Kris Kristofferson’s Best Roles: ‘A Star Is Born,’ ‘Heaven’s Gate,’ and More

It takes a special kind of star charisma to succeed in two completely different mediums. Of all the singers/actors to work in the industry — from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga — and build up impressive resumes in both, few seem as unlikely as Kris Kristofferson. A pioneering figure in the Outlaw Country movement of the ’70s, that took country music out of the Nashville establishment, Kristofferson was an icon of that scene in his own right, and not exactly a conventional choice for a matinee idol or a film star, between his anti-conformist bonafides and his grizzled bearded appearance.

And yet, in the ’70s, that’s briefly exactly what happened. Kristofferson made his film debut in 1971 with “The Last Movie,” as a member of the big ensemble in the metafictional drama from Dennis Hopper, and became a leading man the year later with “Cisco Pike,” a drama in which he played a musician who turns to selling weed just to get by. Over the decade, he found a niche for himself as an actor in Westerns, kitchen sink dramas, and action films, which put his heavily masculine appearance to good use. And in 1976, he melded his two worlds with Barbra Streisand’s “A Star Is Born,” the second-highest grossing film of its year and a movie that spawned a real hit in the love theme “Evergreen.”

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After starring in Michael Cimino’s notorious box office bomb “Heaven’s Gate,” a film that Kristofferson continuously defended throughout his life, the musician’s film stardom slowed down a bit. But he continued to make films playing supporting parts in offbeat places, from Pee-Wee Herman sequels to Marvel comics movies. His last onscreen appearance came in 2018 with Ethan Hawke’s “Blaze,” a film fittingly set in the Outlaw Country landscape that Kristofferson first created. Throughout his career, the exact qualities that made Kristofferson such a beloved musical figure — his grit, his presence, his warmth underneath all of the hair — made him shine on the silver screen. Untrained as an actor, Kristofferson nonetheless was a natural, capable of bringing something down-to-Earth and yet larger than life onscreen.

In celebration of Kristofferson’s life following his passing on September 29, IndieWire is looking back on his filmography and the movies that made the singer such a vital onscreen presence. Read on for Kris Kristofferson’s best movie roles.

With editorial contributions from Christian Zilko.

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