Download "The Actor"
The Actor by alt-J
Release Date
Performed by
alt-JProduced by
Charlie AndrewWrited by
Thom Sonny Green & Gus Unger-Hamilton & Joe NewmanAbout
What would it be like to have been John Belushi’s coke dealer? “The Actor” imagines an answer to that question, imagining him as an inexperienced actor trying to realise his Dream of film stardom in Los Angeles. Things aren’t going well for him and he’s forced to support his acting habit with a job...
The Actor Lyrics
[Intro]
(Yeah)
[Verse 1]
Bricked up a kilo
Panelled down in the back door
All the while I'm riding
To auditions I'm not getting
[Refrain]
Why do I keep on returning to you?
[Verse 2]
All-American jawlines
One room going over same lines
Grind the script
Like teeth
[Refrain]
Why do I keep on returning to you?
Cocaine, cocaine
[Verse 3]
Swarm of TV cameras
Click and stumble at the Château
Later, I hear John's
Body got carried out
"Ice cream" was a code word
Told to me by a cold man
These nice hotels
Gotta know your clientele
[Refrain]
Why do I keep on returning to you?
Cocaine, cocaine
Cocaine, cocainе
Why do I keep on returning to you?
(Give me somе ice cream)
(Give it to me now, I want it now)
[Chorus]
I'm in the deepest end of an empty pool
(He's never gonna make it)
(He's never gonna make it in L.A.)
I'm in the deepest end of an empty pool
Cocaine, cocaine
I'm in the deepest end of an empty pool
(He's never gonna make it)
(He's never gonna make it in L.A.)
I'm in the deepest end of an empty pool
(He's never gonna make it)
Cocaine
(He's never gonna make it)
Cocaine
The Actor Q&A
Who wrote The Actor's ?
The Actor was written by Thom Sonny Green & Gus Unger-Hamilton & Joe Newman.
Who produced The Actor's ?
The Actor was produced by Charlie Andrew.
What have the artists said about the song?
The idea of following a struggling actor who subsidises his dream by becoming a coke dealer is kind of the idea of the American dream and excess and danger in the ’80s—and all of the stages that cocaine production goes through to end up in the hotel that epitomises Hollywood grandeur. When we were p...
What did alt-J say about "The Actor"?
‘The Actor’ is kind of an imagined retelling of John Belushi’s death at Chateau Marmont.
— Gus Unger-Hamilton via Apple Music