10 Best Acting Performances By Musicians

Everybody likes Justin Timberlake. He can sing, he can dance, he can tell jokes, provided someone else has written them down for him. He is a true old fashioned entertainer, a man of many talents, and from the impression we get, a very nice chap. Which is odd, because he's a whole lot better at playing horrid folks.

The Social Network is a true story of our times, and perhaps the most intriguing performance is Timberlake's, as Napster founder Sean Parker. While Jesse Eisenberg's Mark Zuckerberg is all twitches and tics, righteous anger as a bubbling undercurrent, Timberlake plays Parker as !*$% of the walk, the bright shining star of the internet revolution, the man who holds the keys to the kingdom that many of us haven't even discovered yet. Timberlake relishes playing against type; he's affable as ever, but he dials up the smarm. He's a phony, a coattail rider – an all round bad egg. He gets the lion's share of the memorable quotes – it's not just down to his fame that he takes up a great deal of the trailer.

Handsome, funny, talented, charismatic – evidently Timberlake is a man who, if he wants, can pretty much coast through life. But he should look for challenges like this more often, because it's clear he's able to rise to them.