In a floppy wig, various bathrobes and V-necks displaying his hairy chest and a heavenly ’70s mustache, Timothy Olyphant channels Justified‘s Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens’ energy into a debauched, seen-it-all tour manager in Prime Video’s fictional series Daisy Jones & The Six. As Rod Reyes, Olyphant gleefully solves problems with little lies and bribes, offering a small-town bus repairman free concert tickets and habitually telling Daisy (played by Riley Keough) that practice is an hour earlier than actually scheduled. When she winds up overdosing in a posh hotel shower, Reyes knows which local doctor to call to get her to the show on time.
“You put on those outfits,” the actor told Collider, referring to the standard-issue band-manager movie costume of low-waisted leather jacket and giant open collar, “and it’s easy after that.”
Reyes’ portrayal was clearly influenced by other band managers in biopics and fictional rock n’ roll movies over the years — particularly Jimmy Fallon’s Dennis Hope in 2000’s Almost Famous.
Here, we share our list of 10 memorable managers in TV shows and movies. Some are based on real-life characters who receive a percentage off the top to book bands in venues, oversee merch sales, usher artists to record label and booking-agent connections and (in the case of tour managers) handle day-to-day obligations such as repairing buses and supplying drugs.
Others are fictionalized, often drawing from the creators’ expertise (in the case of ex-Rolling Stone band chronicler Cameron Crowe, who directed Almost Famous) or Taylor Jenkins Reid (who did copious research for her novel Daisy Jones & The Six, which begat the Prime Video series.)
Read on for the band managers in TV shows and movies who made an impression.
