The recent New York Times story that Townsman Oats passed along regarding the pre-acting career of The Office‘s Creed Bratton as a member of The Grass Roots got me thinking of this possibly reasonably contained and challenging Last Man Standing competition. To do this right, I think we should keep a at least two ground rules and supporting points in mind:

1. We will define “first gained at least a modicum of professional success as a musician” as having been in a professional (ie, signed, nationally distributed, touring, etc) band that released an album or toured in support of nationally distributed albums prior to said actor becoming known for his or her acting.
• Having been in any old high school garage band does not count.
• Having been a nude, stoned bongo player in a beach house does not count.
• First gaining notice as an actor for playing a musician in a movie does not count, although at least one such actor who fits this description does count in this Last Man Standing exercise for his prior professional work as a musician.
2. This has to be someone considered a real actor, someone who made their mark in acting after satisfying the first criterion. Successful professional musicians who took up acting as a side project do not count. Sorry, Jon Bon Jovi, John Doe, Lee Ving, Flea, Dwight Yoakam, Frank Sinatra, et al. You already made your name as a musician long before taking roles in movies. Creed Bratton, on the other hand, qualifies, because no one – not even Townspeople who can name 3 or more members of The Zombies – knew the name of any member of The Grass Roots.

Some of these actors have been noted in a recent thread that you may or may not recall, but not all possible entrants in this sure-to-be tightly contested battle! As always, please enter no more than one entry per comment. Go!