THE news of Harry Styles’s casting in “Dunkirk” (2017) was met with bemusement. It was hard to imagine the boyband heartthrob, with his Mick Jagger-esque locks and floral suits, under siege on the beaches of northern France (rather than under siege from hordes of teenage girls). Did a short comic turn as “Marcel the Marketing Guy” in a One Direction music video—seemingly the extent of his acting experience—qualify him to star in Christopher Nolan’s epic? Many assumed the decision was a ploy to bump box-office ratings; a tense, experimental second-world-war flick wouldn’t typically appeal to a younger demographic. Such was the extent of the backlash that Mr Nolan came to the pop star’s defence. “When I cast Heath Ledger as the Joker it raised a lot of eyebrows and caused a lot of comment,” he said of the villain in “The Dark Knight”, a role which earned Ledger a posthumous Academy award. “I have to trust my instincts, and Harry was perfect for this part. He pulled it off with incredible grace and reality.”

Of course, Mr Styles was far from the first to try his hand at a different performative art (see chart). What was unusual was the prestige of his debut project—only three films in our sample were rated more highly. “Edison” (2005), Justin Timberlake’s first theatrical film, went straight to DVD; a review in Empire said that Mr Timberlake’s films seem to be “cursed”—two others were stuck in production at the time—and that this one was “so cliché as to be completely unremarkable”. In “Renaissance Man” (1994), Mark Wahlberg was tasked with doing a “rap version of Hamlet” in a “feel-good movie which is too mechanically put-together to make you feel anything” (another stinger from Empire). Rolling Stone deemed “Where the Day Takes You” (1991) an “inauspicious beginning to [Will Smith’s] big-screen career”. Even Ol’ Blue Eyes wasn’t impervious to criticism. Reviewing Sinatra’s first role in “Higher and Higher” (1944), the New York Times wrote: “Frankie appears at such times as he is graciously permitted to warble and ooze out what passes for charm. Very wisely, the director has managed to keep him out of the way for the rest of it. For the simple fact is that Frankie is no Gable or Barrymore.”

Like Sinatra, musicians have often tried to smooth the transition from stage to screen by incorporating singing into their acting roles. Elvis Presley engaged in a form of “multi-platform branding” by providing the soundtracks to his (largely unwatchable) films; he often portrayed dashing young men with boring jobs whose salvation comes with the discovery of their hidden musical talent. By contrast, his plainly dramatic roles—particularly in “Flaming Star” (1960) and “Wild in the Country” (1961)—were rewarded with comparatively poor box-office takings. Jennifer Hudson made her first screen appearance in “Dreamgirls” (2006), an adaptation of a Broadway musical, for which she won the best supporting actress Oscar. Barbra Streisand, too, was rewarded by the Academy for her film debut in “Funny Girl” (1968). She had honed her craft during the musical’s run in New York in 1964 and in London in 1966.

Ms Streisand is a particularly impressive example of a crossover star, having won eight Grammy awards and two Academy awards (appropriately enough, one for best actress and one for best original song). Yet she is not alone in achieving critical success in both fields. Sinatra, despite a shaky start, went on to win best supporting actor for “From Here to Eternity” (1953), as well as nine Grammys. Cher has won both a Grammy (for “Believe”) and an Oscar (for “Moonstruck”). Bing Crosby, the best-selling musician of the 20th century, and the recipient of the first Grammy Global Achievement Award, also found the time to add a best-actor statuette to his shelf.

Although there is no clear correlation between critical or commercial success in music and success in acting, crossing over can reinvigorate flagging careers. Jamie Foxx’s debut album, “Peep This” (1994), was a flop, peaking at 78th spot on the Billboard 200. After turning his attention to television and then film, he won the best actor Oscar for his depiction of Ray Charles, a blind blues and soul musician, a decade later. Though the film was not an opportunity to show off his own musical talent—the soundtrack used original recordings—it helped him to hit the right note. “Unpredictable”, Mr Foxx’s second studio album, was released the following year and quickly climbed to number one on the Billboard charts. Subsequent albums, released alongside his acting work, have all enjoyed top-ten positions.

Despite the fact that crossover stars are seemingly everywhere—and that musicians are now listed as “actors” for their music videos on the Internet Movie Database—they are not as prolific as they once were. Crosby churned out an astonishing 12 albums in 1948 as well as starring in “The Emperor Waltz”. Sinatra put out three albums and three films in 1965; Dean Martin released six albums and three films the year after. Such feats were possible as they mostly recorded other people’s music; they did not have to engage in the time-consuming minutiae of composition and production (Mr Timberlake has been working on his latest album, scheduled for release in February, since 2016).

If Mr Styles is unlikely to produce as many works as the heartthrob crossovers of decades past, he has plenty of examples to follow in his pursuit of a serious film career. A good model to emulate might be Mr Wahlberg, who converted a short music stint and teen-idol status into an incredibly profitable, and acclaimed, cinematic career (he was the highest-paid actor of 2017, cashing in $68m). Whether Mr Styles has the chops to make it as a leading man off the stage is unclear, but “Dunkirk” has not been a bad place for him to start.

Correction (January 17th 2017): A reader points out that our chart did not include Will Smith’s albums with DJ Jazzy Jeff. We have had our chart flipped, turned upside down, and we’d like to take a minute to apologise for neglecting the prince of a town called Bel-Air