Described as intellectual, earthy, egotistical, introspective, enigmatic and environmentally-obsessed, the multi-talented performer known simply as Sting came to prominence as the singer, bass player and songwriter of The Police, one of the more influential New Wave bands of the late 1970s and mid-80s. His blond good looks made him a natural for the movies, and long before he left his reggae-tinged rock group for a solo career, he debuted in "Quadrophenia" (1979), based on The Who's rock album, playing a super-Mod whose image collapses when he's found to work as a bellhop. "Brimstone and Treacle" (1982) gave Sting his first major role, and he surprised the critics with his strong presentation of a deviant character. His drifter with the running con game (bumping into passersby and pretending to know them) established a persona subsequent features would reference, frequently depicting him as sinister. In that vein, he delivered a slightly homoerotic turn as the evil Feyd Rautha in David Lynch's disappointing adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune" (1984).

Exploring the jazz idiom for the first time, Sting showed he had the right stuff with his first solo album, "The Dream of the Blue Turtles" (1985), and Michael Apted's fascinating documentary "Bring on the Night" (1986) covered the European tour promoting it. He maintained his forceful presence in films like "The Bride" (as Dr. Frankenstein) and Fred Schepisi's "Plenty" (both 1985) and particularly Mike Figgis' "Stormy Monday" (1988), but his Broadway debut as Macheath in a revival of "Threepenny Opera" in 1989 garnered mostly negative reviews. Acting took a back seat to his songwriting and rainforest advocacy through the early 90s. Drawing on country, gospel and even Celtic music (as well as jazz and rock), Sting continued to create the "impure", innovative blends of his evolving, distinctive pop sound. He wrote the music for an Oscar-winning documentary ("Panama Deception" 1992) and sang on the soundtrack of Figgis' "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995), one of many movies that have featured him as a song performer. He returned to film acting as the conniving bisexual butler in "Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets/Grave Indiscretion" (1995, produced by wife Trudy Styler) and played a small role as bar owner in Guy Ritchie's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" (1998). Following such other rock icons as Elton John and Phil Collins, Sting was hired to provided the song score for Disney's animated "The Emperor's New Groove" (2000), for which he earned a Best Original Song Oscar nomination.