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Acting or Directing. Why Not Both?
Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson on the set of Summit Entertainment's The Beaver (2011). Photo by Ken Regan.
For some actors the role of a lifetime is being a real-life director. The actor-turned-director is a fascinating Hollywood sub-species, of whom only a select few have been blazingly successful. In some cases, their directing work has equaled or even surpassed their acting careers. With Jodie Foster’s third directorial effort, the much talked-about The Beaver, arriving in theaters May 6, we thought it’d be a perfect time to take a look at some of the most notable actors-turned-directors working today.
Clint Eastwood
Will the man ever stop? Now 80 years old, Eastwood is giving Woody Allen a run for his money as far as productivity is concerned. While he unofficially retired from acting with 2008’s Gran Torino, Eastwood is busier than ever—directing, on average, a film a year for the past decade. He’s also managed to cover a variety of genres, from critically-acclaimed westerns (Best Picture Oscar winner Unforgiven) and sports dramas (Million Dollar Baby; Invictus) to World War II epics (Flags of Our Fathers; Letters from Iwo Jima) and thought-provoking mysteries (Hereafter; Changeling). Eastwood’s latest film, a biopic of controversial FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role) isn’t scheduled for release until next year, but it promises to be another surefire winner. While Eastwood will always be known as the action movie star of the 1960s and 1970s, with his tough, gruff performances in Sergio Leone westerns and the Dirty Harry movies, it’s his role as a dependable, excellent director that has truly landed him a place in moviemaking history.
Robert Redford
Redford was one of the first actors to make a successful transition from leading man to accomplished director. His directorial debut, the thoughtfully restrained Ordinary People, became a critical and commercial hit, earning four Oscar wins, including Best Picture and Best Director. Since then, Redford has shown a fondness for period pieces, helming such disparate but passionate films as A River Runs Through It, The Legend of Bagger Vance and the terminally underrated Quiz Show. Redford has also shown his political streak through his work, as in Lions for Lambs, which takes aim at the U.S. government’s prosecution of the wars in the Middle East. Now in his fourth decade of directing, Redford has shown little signs of slowing down—his latest movie, The Conspirator, about the conspiracy behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, was released in April.
Ron Howard
Who would have thought that the cute little boy from the 60’s sitcom classic “The Andy Griffith Show” would become one of Hollywood’s most prolific moviemakers? After an acting career spanning over two decades (including a long-running role on another sitcom staple, “Happy Days”), Howard made the unpredictable transition into feature directing, helming films in such diverse genres as comedy (Splash; Parenthood; The Dilemma), science fiction and fantasy (Cocoon; Willow) and action-thrillers (Backdraft; Ransom; The Da Vinci Code and its sequel, Angels & Demons). Perhaps most notably, Howard has shown a knack for dramatizing true-story material, helming such award-winning, real-life stories as Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind and Frost/Nixon. Howard has also achieved much success through his production company Imagine Entertainment, which he co-founded with producer Brian Grazer, and which is responsible for the cult favorite TV series “Arrested Development” and the highly-anticipated Cowboys & Aliens. Thanks to his wide-ranging directing career, Howard has ensured no one will see him as merely “Opie Taylor” or “Richie Cunningham” again.
Sean Penn
One of the most intense actors of his generation, Sean Penn has brought a similar volatile energy to the films he’s directed, which include The Pledge and Into the Wild. Penn’s films are intense, performance-based dramas, brought to life by fantastic actors, including Jack Nicholson, Viggo Mortensen, David Morse, Catherine Keener and Penn’s former wife, Robin Wright. While most of Penn’s films haven’t made it far beyond the art-house circuit, 2007’s Into the Wild, based on the true story of a young man (played by Emile Hirsch) who decides to abandon his possessions and live in the Alaskan wilderness, became one of the most talked-about movies of the year, earning rave reviews and two Oscar nominations.
George Clooney
As a bona fide movie star, George Clooney could probably coast on a career filled with undemanding parts in mediocre films. Clearly, that’s not on his agenda. Clooney is known for his social activism and humanitarian work, and his film choices are quirkier, edgier fare (The American; The Men Who Stare At Goats) than that of most A-list actors. With Steven Soderbergh, Clooney co-founded Section Eight Productions, which has produced Insomnia and Far from Heaven, among others. The four movies directed by Clooney thus far have been surprisingly eclectic: He followed the flashy, hyper-stylized Confessions of a Dangerous Mind with the restrained, black-and-white Good Night, and Good Luck. Although Clooney didn’t have much luck with his next film, the lackluster screwball comedy Leatherheads, his latest directorial effort, the political satire The Ides of March, is set for release in October and features a dynamite cast, including (in addition to himself) Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti and Marisa Tomei.
Jon Favreau
Who’d have guessed that hapless, lovelorn Mike from Swingers would, 15 years later, be one of the most successful big-budget moviemakers on the planet? After helming the hugely successful Christmas comedy Elf, which helped launch Will Ferrell to movie stardom, and the sci-fi kiddie adventure Zathura, Favreau seemed an unexpected choice to direct a big-screen adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero, Iron Man. As it turned out, Favreau proved to be surprisingly adept at mixing the wise-cracking antics of Robert Downey Jr. with explosive, CGI-laden special effects, leading to what many deem one of the best superhero movies ever made. Favreau also helmed the sequel, Iron Man 2, and has recently finished the much buzzed-about western/sci-fi combo, Cowboys & Aliens (starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig), which hits theaters in July. Despite his big-budget directing career, Favreau hasn’t left acting behind—witness his hilarious supporting turn in I Love You, Man.
Ben Affleck
After acting in a couple of high profile bombs (Gigli; Jersey Girl; Surviving Christmas), Ben Affleck perhaps thought he should look into another career. Who’d have imagined he’d find his true calling as a director? Though Affleck has, thus far, only made two features, he’s already proven himself a moviemaking force to be reckoned with. Having grown up in the Boston area, Affleck has shown a knack for depicting the lives of lower-class Boston residents in both of his authentically gritty crime films, Gone Baby Gone and The Town.
Have a fave actor-director not included on the list? Let us know below!
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Andy Young on 5/05/11 at 4:57 pm
Great article! I would have liked to see something on some of the smaller actor/directors like Miranda July or Richard Ayoade, but excellent overview of some of the better known cases
- Comment by Macstarter on 5/06/11 at 11:15 pm
For a really good thriller you can do much worse than Frailty directed by Chit from Weird Science! Bill Paxton sure did go far!
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