If there's one downside to Alex Lifeson's accomplishments as a musician, it's that his onscreen career has not received the same degree of attention. Indeed, anyone lucky enough to have witnessed , the 2003 episode of Canadian
comedy in which the guitarist, appearing as himself, is kidnapped, can attest to his ability. It was, more than any other, the role he was born to play. Lifeson would go on to appear in the 2006 movie starring as 'Cop #2', before narrating the 23-minute short the following year. In 2009 he played 'Undercover Prostitute #1' in and in 2017 he appeared as himself in the
Netflix series assisting cast member Bubbles in recording a song entitled Most recently, he featured, once again as himself, in two episodes of the 2021 series . "It's fun to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation," [paywalled link] in 2018. "If you have a little bit of confidence and you just get out of your own way, these things can happen. The same thing happened when I got asked to do a small role in a TV show, , a new comedy on CBC from Mike Clattenburg, who created . "I thought I couldn't do it – that it was something for real actors. But I ended up doing a few episodes. It definitely was not in my comfort zone. But if you throw a challenge at yourself and dive into it, it can be really gratifying." In Lifeson plays Taylor, a character described as "a little worse for wear, with an aura of fast-food grease about him". He appeared in three episodes, including one entitled . and aren't Lifeson's only tastes of big-screen success. In 2011 he appeared in the award-winning film , based on author Irvine Welsh's book . The story tells of a Scottish drug smuggler who develops a relationship with a Canadian girl, and Lifeson plays the part of pioneering psychiatrist Dr Figg, baffling global cinema audiences with an accent that bounces crazily from
Scotland to
Canada via somewhere that might once have been part of the Soviet Union. The potential, however, was obvious for everyone to see. Lifeson also played a US
immigration officer in the comedy/horror movie which tells the story of The Winners, a hapless rock group whose journey to stardom is interrupted by an encounter with a vampire. , , Henry Rollins and Moby also played cameo parts, so Lifeson must have felt at home, and this confidence is reflected in a brief but majestic performance. Most recently, in 2022, Lifeson appeared in the horror film . It's a movie that lists guitarist as its executive producer, and tells the story of John Hawkins, Chief of
police in the tiny town of Lone Crow, Northern Ontario, whose last days in office are rudely interrupted when "a mangled body with uncanny wounds washes up on the shores of the Porcupine River." Lifeson plays the part of 'Alex', a conspiracy theorist, and . "Lifeson’s appearance breaks up the monotony of the earliest investigation scenes and gives us something to think about as we wait for the chaos to unfold," they wrote. "Plus, Rush rules, so gets bonus points just for managing to sneak the legend in, even if only for a few moments." "I was so scared when I watched, that I’ve only stopped crying now," said Lifeson. "And that was just the trailer!” [Which Lifeson appears in, at the 1'08" mark, below]. We wait with bated breath to see what he does next, but
Hollywood must surely beckon. And when the inevitable Oscar arrives, you just know will be one for the ages. Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in
music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović. "I woke up singing this song about being in jail waiting for the electric chair": Medicine Head's John Fiddler on inspiration, love, and the perils of getting older "MTV was the first time that technology became a rock star": The story of 1984, the year everything changed “Others’ expectations kept me from taking it seriously for a long time… Some will say, ‘What is this old prat on about?’ but I don’t give a damn”: Why Ian Anderson took the risk of making Thick As A Brick 2