Taylor Swift's best TV and movie roles: 'CSI', 'Cats' - Los Angeles Times
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Taylor Swift has been cast in a new movie, but she’s no stranger to acting

Taylor Swift standing against a blue background.
Singer-actor Taylor Swift attends the 2019 world premiere of “Cats” in New York.
(Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press)
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Are you ready for Taylor Swift’s next big-screen appearance?

A couple years after starring in Tom Hooper’s certified flop of a film adaptation of “Cats,” the pop superstar and sporadic actor appears to have landed on her feet, booking her newest acting role in a star-studded project from director David O. Russell.

According to a Tuesday report from Variety, Swift has joined Russell’s ensemble cast of Hollywood heavyweights on the as-yet-unnamed movie, including Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek and Zoe Saldana. Russell’s past credits include the Oscar-nominated films “Silver Linings Playbook” and “American Hustle.”

This week’s casting news comes on the heels of what has already been a busy professional period for Swift, who has released three studio albums in less than a year. Before “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Evermore” came “Folklore,” which clinched the singer-songwriter’s third Grammy for album of the year in March.

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Between hit singles and chart-topping albums, the decorated musician has starred in a smattering of film and TV projects alongside a number of A-list actors. While we await her latest cinematic turn, here’s a timeline of Swift’s previous credits, from “CSI” to “Cats.”

‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ (2009)

Despite Swift’s music industry fame, her acting career began like many others’: with a guest-starring role in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

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In the ninth season of the CBS procedural drama, Swift portrayed rebellious teenager Haley Jones. The song “You’re Not Sorry,” off Swift’s “Fearless” album, also was featured in the episode.

‘Valentine’s Day’ (2010)

Hot off her first album of the year Grammy for “Fearless,” Swift made her feature film debut in the vignette-style romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day” in February 2010.

The country-pop powerhouse portrayed shallow high school student Felicia Miller alongside on-screen love interest Taylor Lautner, the “Twilight Saga” actor whom Swift later dated. Also among the stacked cast of Garry Marshall’s holiday-themed film were Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Patrick Dempsey, Shirley MacLaine and George Lopez.

Swift also penned a song for the film’s soundtrack, titled “Today Was a Fairytale.”

‘The Lorax’ (2012)

Taylor Swift stands in a pink dress with a fuzzy orange character.
Swift, posing with a Lorax character, provided the voice of Audrey, protagonist Ted’s love interest, in “The Lorax.”
(Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

With two live-action credits under her belt, Swift next experimented with voice acting for an animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax.”

The seasoned vocalist joined the cast as girl-next-door Audrey, a new character that doesn’t appear in Seuss’ book.

Rounding out the top-billed “Lorax” ensemble were Zac Efron, Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Jenny Slate, Nasim Pedrad and Betty White.

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‘New Girl’ (2013)

In the sophomore season of the sitcom “New Girl,” Swift made a brief cameo as Elaine, a guest at the wedding of Shivrang (Satya Bhabha) and Cece (Hannah Simone).

When the ceremony is eventually called off, Elaine reunites with her former flame, Shivrang, to “go to Vegas and elope!”

‘The Giver’ (2014)

In the critically panned film adaptation of Lois Lowry’s dystopian novel “The Giver,” Swift portrayed Rosemary, a former Receiver of Memory and daughter of the Giver (Jeff Bridges) whose story is unraveled through flashbacks.

In addition to Swift and Bridges, the movie starred Alexander Skarsgård, Odeya Rush, Brenton Thwaites and Meryl Streep.

‘Cats’ (2019)

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After a five-year acting hiatus, Swift returned to the big screen as the fun and flirty Bombalurina in “Cats,” based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway musical of the same name.

As with her first feature film, the Grammy winner was just one of several prominent entertainers to be converted into a computer-enhanced feline for this theatrical trainwreck. Also among the sprawling ensemble were Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, James Corden, Rebel Wilson and Idris Elba.

Despite the movie’s dismal critical and audience reception, “Beautiful Ghosts” — a haunting original number penned by Swift — landed a Grammy nomination for song written for visual media.

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