Once showbusiness rang hollow for a young Will Oldham, he went from aspiring actor to a seemingly even tougher second act in indie music. But the challenge made sense to the would-be avant-garde Americana cult favorite after acting in John Sayles’ 1987 movie Matewan. So “extraordinary” was the independent movie maverick’s set says Oldham—not to mention castmates like James Earl Jones and a young Chris Cooper—that he later sorrowfully learned “it was the complete exception, in terms of the respect of everyone involved in the production.” He grew disillusioned enough to stop pursuing the craft he’d shown so much promise in since his boyhood performances at the renowned Actors Theatre in his native Louisville, Kentucky.
“I gradually began to realize most of my energies outside of acting had been put toward the musical world here in Louisville, Kentucky. And I then started to make music. Not necessarily because it was easier, but because it was more independent and interdependent in ways that I understood and appreciated. More than the movie business was,” says Oldham of the solidarity he found among fellow DIY, boundary pushing musicians. He began performing and recording as Palace Brothers, before re-stepping into the (relatively small, but nevertheless fulfilling) indie music spotlight as Bonnie “Prince” Billy in the late ’90s—an alias he still performs under to critical acclaim.
In more recent years Oldham has grown into one of the few performers finding fulfillment in both music and acting, all on his own terms. While too many musicians Some younger talents who spoke to have been similarly nimble, such as Maya Hawke (known for Netflix’s and her new album ), New Zealand singer/songwriter Marlon Williams (who was cast by Bradley Cooper for the smash hit 2018 remake of ), and Mckenna Grace (who not only co-starred inbut also had one of her songs featured on its soundtrack).
