Acting
David Bowie
EN, DE, PT, IT cinema · 236 credits
Born
8 January 1947
Died
10 January 2016 (aged 69)
Birthplace
London, England, UK
Also known as David Robert Jones · Tin Machine · David Jones · Davie Jones · Ziggy Stardust
David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. He was a figure in popular music for over five decades, regarded by critics and musicians as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, his music and stagecraft significantly influencing popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million worldwide, made him one of the world's best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded nine platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, releasing eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and seven gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Born and raised in South London, Bowie developed an interest in music as a child, eventually studying art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. “Space Oddity” became his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of his single “Starman” and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style shifted radically towards a sound he characterized as “plastic soul,” initially alienating many of his UK devotees but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single “Fame” and the album Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. The following year, he further confounded musical expectations with the electronic-inflected album Low (1977), the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno that would come to be known as the Berlin Trilogy. Heroes (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise. After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single “Ashes to Ashes,” its parent album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and “Under Pressure,” a 1981 collaboration with Queen. He then reached his commercial peak in 1983 with Let's Dance, with its title track topping both UK and US charts. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. Bowie also continued acting; his roles included Major Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), the Goblin King Jareth in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. He stopped concert touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with the release of The Next Day. He remained musically active until he died of liver cancer two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar (2016).
Known for
Filmography
Are We Not Men?
as Self (archive footage)
David Bowie - PNE Live Rehearsal 1976
as Self - Vocals, Saxophone
Tribute to David Bowie - Heroes Never Die
Original Music Composer, Author, Compositor
Twiggy
as (archival footage)
Enigma
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bowie: The Final Act
as Self (archive footage)
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
as Self (archive footage)
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
as Self (archive footage)
TIME
as Narrator (voice)
David Bowie: The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (2024 Dolby Atmos Mix)
as Guitar, Saxophone, Vocals
Luther: Never Too Much
as Self (archive footage)
Can Creativity Save the World?
as Self (archive footage)
DEVO
as Self (archive footage)
Placebo: This Search for Meaning
as Self (archive footage)
Jim Henson Idea Man
as Self (archive footage)
Eno
as Self (archive footage)
Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV
as Self (archive footage)
WHAM!
as Self (archive footage)
AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex
as Self (archive footage)
LOLA
as Self - Singer (archive footage)
Dear Bowie
as David Bowie
The Lost Weekend: A Love Story
as Self (archive footage)
Thriller 40
as Self (archive footage)
Moonage Daydream
as Self (archive footage), Music
Mickey: The Story of a Mouse
as Self (archive footage)
Freddie Mercury: The Final Act
as Self (archive footage)
The Velvet Underground
as Self (voice)
Moby Doc
as Self
The Dancing Man of L.A.
as Self (archive footage)
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2020 Inductions
as Self (archive footage)
Zappa
as Self (archive footage)
The BRITs at 40
as Self (archive footage)
David Bowie: Finding Fame
as Self (archive footage)
My Music: A Classic Christmas
as Self (archive footage)
The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story
as Self (archive footage)
Bowie: Glastonbury 2000
as Self - Vocals
Freddie Mercury: The King of Queen
as Self - Singer
Lazarus
Original Music Composer, Writer, Music
Der Reichstag
as Self (archive footage)
Bowie at the BBC
as Self (archive footage)
Beside Bowie - The Mick Ronson Story
as Self - Narrator (voice)
David Bowie: The Last Five Years
as Self (archive footage)
Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA
as Jack Celliers (archive footage)
Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock
as Self - Musician (archive footage), Thanks
Glam Rock at the BBC
as Self (archive footage)
Bowie: The Man Who Changed the World
as Self (archive footage)
Burden
as Self (archive footage)
David Bowie: The Man Who Stole the World
as Self (archive footage)
David Bowie - In His Own Words
as Self (archive footage)
Gimme Danger
as archive footage
Closer
In Memory Of
David Bowie: On the Rock Trail
as Self (archive footage)
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
as Phillip Jeffries
Bing Crosby: Rediscovered
as Self (archive footage)
Soul Boys of the Western World
as Self (archive footage)
I Am Divine
as Self (archive)
David Bowie Is Happening Now
as Self (archive footage)
David Bowie: Five Years
as Self (archive footage)
David Bowie & The Story of Ziggy Stardust
as Self / Ziggy Stardust (archive footage)
Vanilla Ice Archive
2012
Vanilla Ice Archive
as Self (archive footage)
The Genius of David Bowie
as Self - Performer (archive footage)
David Bowie - The Calm Before The Storm: Under Review 1969 - 1971
as Self - Singer, songwriter
The Love We Make
as Self
Bowie, Iggy & Lou 1971-1973: The Sacred Triangle
as Self (archive footage)
Let’s Spend the Night Together: Confessions of Rock’s Greatest Groupies
as archive footage
Bandslam
as David Bowie
Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany
as Self (archive footage)
August
as Cyrus Ogilvie
Kings of Glam
as Self (archive footage)
David Gilmour: Remember That Night
as Self - Guest Artist
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
as Self, Executive Producer
SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis
as Lord Royal Highness
David Bowie - The Plastic Soul Review
as Self - Singer, Songwriter
David bowie - Up Close and Personal
as Self - Singer, Songwriter
David Bowie - Music in Review
as Self - Singer, Songwriter
The Prestige
as Tesla
Arthur and the Invisibles
as Maltazard (voice)
David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust
as Self - Singer, Songwriter
Best of Bowie
Actor, Director
TV Party
as Self
The Work of Director Mark Romanek
as Self (archive footage)
Bowie: A Reality Tour
as Self, Writer
Rockthology 2
as Self (archive footage)
The Nomi Song
as Self (archive footage)
Superstar in a Housedress: The Life and Legend of Jackie Curtis
as Self (archive footage)
Live Aid
as Self
Pixies: Gouge
as Self
Can't Buy Me Lunch: Another Look at The Rutles
as Self - Interviewee
Ed Sullivan Presents: Rock 'N' Roll Revolution: The British Invade America, America Fights Back
as Self (archive footage)
Cher: The Farewell Tour
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s
as Self - Narrator (voice)
David Bowie: Best of Bowie
as Self (archive footage), Director
Zoolander
as David Bowie
The Filth and the Fury
as Self (archive footage)
Mr. Rice's Secret
as Mr. William Rice
Bowie at the BBC
as Self - Vocals
Everybody Loves Sunshine
as Bernie
Gunslinger's Revenge
as Jack Sikora
A Bing Crosby Christmas
as Self (archive footage)
David Bowie: An Earthling at 50
as Self - Interviewee
Basquiat
as Andy Warhol
The World of Jim Henson
as Jareth (archive footage)
Magic Hunter
Executive Producer
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
as Phillip Jeffries
Blast 'Em
as Self (uncredited)
Queen: Greatest Flix II
as Self (archive footage)
The Last Temptation of Christ
as Pontius Pilatus
David Bowie: Glass Spider
as Self, Choreographer
Labyrinth
as Jareth, Songs
Absolute Beginners
as Vendice Partners, Songs
When the Wind Blows
Main Title Theme Composer
Into the Night
as Colin Morris
Live Aid
as Self
Video AID
as Self
Tokyo Melody: A Film About Ryuichi Sakamoto
as Celliers (archive footage)
David Bowie: Jazzin' for Blue Jean
as Vic / Screaming Lord Byron, Writer
David Bowie: Serious Moonlight
as Self - Lead Vocals / Guitar
Ricochet
as Self
Yellowbeard
as The Shark (uncredited)
The Hunger
as John Blaylock
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
as Celliers
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
as Self / Ziggy Stardust, Songs, Sound Mixer
Cool Cats: 25 Years of Rock 'n' Roll Style
as Self (archive footage)
David Bowie: Serious Moonlight Montreal
1983
David Bowie: Serious Moonlight Montreal
as Self, Writer
Group Madness
as Self
Baal
as Baal
Cat People
Theme Song Performance
Christiane F.
as David Bowie
Radio On
Songs
Just a Gigolo
as Paul Ambrosius von Przygodski
David Bowie: Live at Beat Club Musikladen
as Self - Keyboard, Vocals
David Bowie: Musikladen Extra
as Self - Keyboard, Vocals
The Man Who Fell to Earth
as Thomas Jerome Newton
Night Lunch
as Self
Diamond Dogs Demo Video
as Self / Harpie, Director
David Bowie: Love You Till Tuesday
as Self, Music
The Image
as The Boy
The Virgin Soldiers
as Soldier
