“I’m not taking this s–t seriously,” said Jimmy Buffett discussing his film career in 2019. “I’ve seen way too many people who are actors try to cross into my field, and way too many people in my field cross into acting. In my humble opinion, very rarely does it work out that you have someone who can do both equally well. I just do this for fun.”
By the early ’80s, Jimmy Buffett was already hitting the big screen as an actor and with his music. First, Buffett contributed the songs “Hello, Texas” for the 1980 John Travolta film Urban Cowboy, then “I Don’t Know (Spicoli’s Theme)” for the 1982 cult classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and “Turning Around” for the 1985 John Candy comedy Summer Rental.
In 1984, Buffett also had his first on-screen role as a CIA agent in Alex Cox’s punk sci-fi Repo Man, starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez. “You know the scene where the guy burns up on the bench and the agents are there?” joked Buffett of his film debut. “I’m one of those guys.”
More small roles followed, including a cameo in the 1991 Steven Spielberg film Hook, alongside Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Julia Roberts.
During the early ’90s, Buffett also wrote the song “Don’t Bug Me” for the film Arachnophobia and continued working in film throughout the next two decades, first by writing the soundtrack, co-producing, and starring in the 2006 Wil Shriner film Hoot, based on the 2002 Carl Hiaasen book, and appeared as himself in the 2019 Harmony Korine film The Beach Bum, his final acting role before his death in 2023.
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[RELATED: Jimmy Buffett Wrote This for His Daughter Then Rerecorded It 40 Years Later]
‘FernGully’
Another first in Buffett’s film career arrived in 1992, when he wrote his first Hip-Hop-slanted song for the 1992 animated film, FernGully: The Last Rainforest. Scored by Alan Silvestri, the soundtrack features songs performed by Elton John, Sheena Easton, and others within the cast, including characters voiced by Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Christian Slater, Cheech Marin, and Tommy Chong.
For the soundtrack, Buffett contributed one song, co-written with Coral Reefer bandmate and music director Mike Utley: “If I’m Gonna Eat Somebody (It Might as Well Be You),” performed by “Wild Thing” rapper Tone Lōc, who also voiced the character Lou the Goanna, a large, purple lizard who chases down and tries to eat the main human character, Zak, in the film.
Oh, I seem to get the munchies
This time each and every day
Go charging through the food chain
Like gas through a main
Slithering through the thorn
Till something comes in view
If I’m gonna eat somebody
It might as well be you
Aw yeah one two one two
I’ve a basic inclination
A very primal need
To inspect the vegetation
For an egg or centipede
I just can’t control this’ hunger
I just can’t seem to cut back
On my ravenous consumption
Uh, you’re a welcome little snack
Photo: Julie Skarratt / Courtesy of Press House PR
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