Tim McGraw photo courtesy of timmcgraw.com.

Tim McGraw has quite a nice side career going. He’s dedicated to keeping music his top priority, yet he keeps finding his way into films, including Friday Night Lights, Four Christmases and The Blind Side, where he formed a friendship with co-star Sandra Bullock.

He’s averaged one movie a year since 2004, which is a pretty good pace for someone who tours a lot, makes albums and still spends time with his family. But the motion-picture opportunities keep coming, and Tim keeps taking the handful that actually make sense.

“I’ve been lucky in that I’ve been involved in some really good movies, which gives me the opportunity to do more,” Tim told The Charlotte Observer. “But it’s tough because I’m not just an actor — I have this other ‘real’ job. I read a bunch of scripts, and I might like one or two out of 100. Then it has to be in production in a time frame when I’m available, and the people making the movie have to want me. So a lot of factors play into me doing a movie.”

His next picture puts Tim on screen with Gwyneth Paltrow. Shot earlier this year with the working title Love Don’t Let Me Down, it may have a new name. The film database IMDb.com lists it as Country Strong. The movie features Tim in the role of a manager for a country singer on the downside of her career. It’s a nifty blend of music and movies, which seem to work together for him in real life.

“I do think singing and acting help each other,” Tim said. “Expression is expression, and art is art. I do movies and find that other part of myself, which helps me with music. Singing and acting are kissin’ cousins, at least. In both cases, you’re trying to create empathy more than anything. In the studio singing a song, I’m in the dark in this little room off to myself, and each song is a mini-movie. You could take any country song — just about any song of any kind, really — and make a two-hour movie out of it.”

IMDb has Country Strong pegged to a Dec. 22 release date.

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