10 Actors Who Appeared In Madonna Music Videos

10 Actors Who Appeared In Madonna Music Videos

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Madonna and Sacha Baron Cohen
Madonna and actor Sacha Baron Cohen attend the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party. Photo by Jeff Vespa/VF/WireImage for Vanity Fair.

With around 70 music clips to her name across a career spanning almost 40 years, Madonna’s video archive is full of creative, provocative and award-winning moments. Along the way, she’s partnered up on camera with a range of intriguing actors, from cult artistes through to blockbuster names. Here we explore 10 Madonna videos featuring film stars.

Name: Keith Carradine

Famous Films: The Long Riders, Cowboys & Aliens, The Duellists

Madonna Video: "Material Girl" (1985)

Carradine, who was briefly romantically linked with Madonna prior to her marriage to Sean Penn, makes an appearance in the clip to one of Madonna’s earliest successes. The actor plays a hotshot Hollywood producer intent on wooing Madonna while she does her best “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” impersonation.

Name: Danny Aiello

Famous Films: Jacob’s Ladder, Moonstruck, The Godfather Pt II, Do The Right Thing

Madonna Video: Papa Don’t Preach (1986)

Aiello, who died in December 2019, played Madonna’s New Yorker father grappling with his daughter ‘keeping my baby’ in this number one hit from True Blue. The video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video in 1987.

Name: Benicio Del Toro 

Famous Films: Avengers: Infinity War, The Usual Suspects, Traffic 

Madonna Video: "La Isla Bonita" (1987)

Puerto Rican-born actor Del Toro’s appearance in the "La Isla Bonita" video is fleeting – he’s the kid sitting on the bonnet in the Los Angeles-filmed street scenes at the end of the clip. Jimmy Fallon joked with the actor about his early cameo when he dropped by The Tonight Show in 2017.

Name: Isabella Rossellini

Famous Films: Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart, Immortal Beloved

Madonna Video: "Erotica" (1992)

The Italian-born star appears in some of the tamer beach and pool scenes of the "Erotica" video, which was banned by MTV due to the clip’s nudity and sexual nature. Supermodel Naomi Campbell and rapper Big Daddy Kane also make an appearance.

Name: Sofia Coppola

Famous Films: The Godfather III, Marie Antoinette (director), The Virgin Suicides (director)

Madonna Video: "Deeper And Deeper" (1992)

These days better known as the director of films such as Lost In Translation, Sofia Coppola makes an appearance in the retro "Deeper And Deeper" video looking like a ‘70s extra from Almost Famous. “She’s smart and funny, as you would imagine,” Coppola later noted of her pop star friend.

Name: Udo Kier 

Famous Films: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Antichrist, My Own Private Idaho 

Madonna Video: Deeper And Deeper (1992)

A German character actor known for his piercing blue eyes, Kier first worked with Madonna on her Sex book, where he simulated drinking “piss out of a shoe”. In "Deeper And Deeper" he can be seen shouting “Our idols and demons will pursue us until we learn to let them go” in his native tongue at the beginning of the clip. Dressed in a leopard jacket, Kier’s possibly playing a cult leader, avant-garde theatre producer or sex pest – it’s hard to tell which.

Name: Ryuichi Sakamoto

Famous Films: Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, The Last Emperor

Madonna Video: "Rain" (1993)

While he’s generally better known as a musician, Japanese creative Ryuichi Sakamoto was also highly lauded for his appearance opposite David Bowie in 1983’s Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence. In the video for Madonna’s Australian top 10 single "Rain", he plays the director of the Material Girl’s latest video. The video was actually directed by Mark Romanek, the man behind similarly eye-catching videos for Nine Inch Nails’ "Closer", Johnny Cash’s "Hurt" and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ "Don’t Stop". He won the Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography trophies at the 1993 MTV Music Video Awards for his Madonna clip.

Name: Christopher Walken

Famous Films: Pulp Fiction, The Deer Hunter, Click

Madonna Video: "Bad Girl" (1993)

New York-born actor Christopher Walken, who also made a memorable appearance in Fatboy Slim’s video for "Weapon Of Choice", appears in "Bad Girl" as Madonna’s guardian angel who can’t save his charge from an early death. The video was directed by David Fincher, who had cut his teeth on Madonna videos such as "Express Yourself" prior to a storied career as the director of award-winning films including as Se7en, Gone Girl and Fight Club. Matt Dillon also briefly pops up in the "Bad Girl" video as a detective.

Name: Mike Myers

Famous Films: Wayne’s World, Austin Powers, Studio 54

Madonna Video: "Beautiful Stranger" (1999)

A stand-alone Madonna single recorded for the soundtrack to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the film’s writer and star Mike Myers makes a guest appearance in the music video for "Beautiful Stranger". Hamming it up in character as Austin, the Canadian actor cavorts with Madonna and, in an amusing video post-script, is given a tickle by an enamoured Madge.

Famous Films: Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan, Bruno, The Dictator

Madonna Video: "Music" (2000)

Another comedy star to win over Madonna, English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen appeared (both in person and cartoon form) in Madonna’s number one single "Music". Playing her limousine driver as his character Ali G, Baron-Cohen is heard singing elements of Madonna’s "Like A Virgin" and his own self-penned opus, "Ride The Punani", during the clip. Booyakasha!

Note: this list only incorporates appearances where the actors have filmed specific scenes for the videos. It doesn’t include clips simply utilising footage from Madonna’s films such as Who’s That Girl?, A League Of Their Own and Desperately Seeking Susan. Got that, Tom Hanks fans?

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