15 Great Movies That Feature The Director Starring In Their Own Movie

It’s not uncommon for an actor to direct themselves in a movie, and these movies often produce deeply personal results. Actors have been doubling as directors ever since the silent era. Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin were two of the biggest movie stars of the time, and they both directed themselves on multiple occasions. Although the landscape of Hollywood has changed drastically since then, this practice persists to the present day.

These days, it’s not unusual for an actor to step behind the camera later in their career. People like Ben Affleck, Denzel Washington and Bradley Cooper have all transitioned to directing after starting out as actors, and they have frequently acted in their own movies. Pulling double duty on a movie eliminates the problem of an actor’s vision not aligning with a director’s, so it’s no surprise that there have been so many brilliant movies with the same person both behind and in front of the camera.

15 A Haunting In Venice (2023)

Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot movies have been a mixed bag so far, but A Haunting in Venice is a delightful mystery. Branagh stars as the famous Belgian detective, and he is surrounded once more by an excellent ensemble cast. Tina Fey plays his old friend and a potential suspect, and Michelle Yeoh, fresh off the back of her Oscar win, captivates as a mystic. A Haunting in Venice is seeped in retro charm just like Branagh’s previous two movies, but it has the added element of supernatural danger. Branagh gets the chance to show that he could be a capable horror director if the mood strikes him.

14 Woman Of The Hour (2023)

Anna Kendrick

Anna Kendrick’s most popular movies include comedies and musicals, like the Pitch Perfect series. This makes her directorial debut a little surprising, but Woman of the Hour has been earning impressive reviews since being released on Netflix in October. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival way back in September 2023. Woman of the Hour is based on the true story of Rodney Alcola, a serial killer who appeared on The Dating Game in 1978. Unlike most other serial killer movies, Kendrick tells the story from the position of a potential victim. This gives Woman of the Hour a nervy atmosphere, and Kendrick delivers a compelling performance.

13 Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Clint Eastwood

With the release of Juror #2, Clint Eastwood is still making movies at 94 years old. With dozens of directorial features to add to his decades-long career as a movie star, very few people in Hollywood have been so successful in both disciplines. Eastwood combines a legendary acting career with a legendary directing career. Million Dollar Baby is one of the best examples of what he can do in both arenas. The boxing movie won Best Picture, and it earned Eastwood a Best Director award as well as a Best Actor nomination. 20 years later, there’s still no other sports movie quite like it.

12 Tropic Thunder (2008)

Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller directed 1994’s Reality Bites before making some of his biggest hits. By the time he made Tropic Thunder, he had a couple more directorial efforts under his belt, as well as a long list of popular comedies, including Zoolander and Dodgeball. Tropic Thunder remains one of his funniest movies, pulling together an outstanding cast to satirize the Hollywood machine. Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. join Stiller in playing exaggerated comedic versions of themselves, but the movie’s biggest surprise is Tom Cruise, who reminds everyone of his comedic chops as the foul-mouthed studio executive Les Grossman.

11 Citizen Kane (1941)

Orson Welles

Orson Welles was just 25 years old when he made Citizen Kane, but he was no rookie. He had already made a name for himself in theater and radio, and he took to the medium of film with ease. Decades later, Citizen Kane is still regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time. Welles’ roman à clef is a precise character study that somehow feels universal. For such a mature and complex work to have come from a first-time director is remarkable, and Citizen Kane has influenced more mature filmmakers for years. One aspect of the movie which often goes overlooked is just how darkly funny it can be, like when Kane stands to applaud his wife at the opera, knowing that he has staked his entire reputation on her poor talents.

10 Police Story 2 (1988)

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan directed many of his own movies in Hong Kong, cultivating a style that complemented his remarkable martial arts skills with physical comedy inspired by silent-era stars such as Buster Keaton. He co-directed the first Police Story with Chi-Hwa Chen, but he took on the sequel on his own. Police Story 2 delivers the same exhilarating action as the original. The story follows a disgraced detective trying to claw his way back to the top. Ultimately, the plot isn’t what’s most important. The central appeal of the movie comes from watching Chan and his stunt team repeatedly pull off the impossible.

9 A Quiet Place (2018)

John Krasinski

Before A Quiet Place, John Krasinski was most famous as Jim from The Office. Creating a strikingly original horror movie is just what he needed to separate himself from the sitcom, and A Quiet Place soon spawned an entire franchise. A Quiet Place wasn’t Krasinski’s first directorial feature, but it was his first huge hit. He pays homage to the history of the horror genre, but many of the most memorable moments from A Quiet Place are all of his own making. Krasinski acts alongside his wife Emily Blunt, and their real-life relationship makes the movie’s parable of parental anxiety even more pressing.

8 Annie Hall (1977)

Woody Allen

For obvious reasons, Woody Allen’s movies aren’t as popular as they once were, but there’s no denying the quality of some of his big hits. Annie Hall remains his true masterpiece, and its frank introspection and charming dialogue have continued to shape romantic comedies for decades. Allen is a much better director and writer than he is an actor, but Annie Hall doesn’t ask too much of him. He and Diane Keaton make a wonderful pair. Even amid Allen’s cynical view of modern life, their chemistry makes their relationship seem genuine and heartwarming. Annie Hall ends on a bittersweet note that captures Allen’s melancholic exploration of the human condition.

7 Spaceballs (1987)

Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks usually gave the best characters in his comedies to other actors, but he was always on hand to take a hilarious supporting role. In The Producers, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, he only has minor roles, but he gave himself more to do in Spaceballs. He stars as President Skroob, a comically inept stand-in for the Emperor from Star Wars, and Yaddle, a constantly kvetching Yoda. Brooks is as funny as ever, but Rick Moranis truly steals the show as Lord Dark Helmet. The upcoming Spaceballs sequel faces the task of recapturing the magic without either Brooks or Moranis.

6 That Thing You Do! (1996)

Tom Hanks

Few actors have ever enjoyed a hot streak quite like Tom Hanks in the 1990s, with hits like Saving Private Ryan, Toy Story and Apollo 13 showcasing his impressive range. That Thing You Do came right in the middle of this purple patch, and it harks back to his early comedies like Big and A League of Their Own. That Thing You Do is a musical comedy set in the 1960s that follows a band trying to make it big. Hanks plays the band’s manager, and the constant friction between art and commerce provides a rich vein of comedy for the movie. That Thing You Do is a joy to watch, thanks to some charming performances, the romance of the era and a catchy soundtrack.

5 Fences (2016)

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington has directed four movies, three of which he has starred in himself.Fences is the best of the bunch, and it scored Washington Oscar nominations for both Best Picture and Best Actor. He stars alongside Viola Davis as a man struggling to raise his family in the 1950s in Pittsburgh. Fences is an adaptation of a play by August Wilson, and both Washington and Davis earned Tony Award nominations for their performances in the 2010 Broadway revival. The power of the writing combined with their performances makes Fences one of Denzel Washington’s best movies.

4 Maestro (2023)

Bradley Cooper

Before Bradley Cooper signed on as director, both Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg were interested in Maestro. Cooper had some big shoes to fill then, but Maestro‘s seven Oscar nominations prove that he rose to the occasion. Cooper stars as the composer Leonard Bernstein, and he strikes up a charming rapport with Carey Mulligan. Of course, Cooper had received critical acclaim before for directing A Star Is Born, but Maestro feels like a leap forward in both his ambition and his execution as a filmmaker. Like Bernstein himself, Cooper exudes joy in the way he plays with the boundaries and conventions of the medium.

3 Matilda (1996)

Danny DeVito

Matilda remains one of the best Roald Dahl adaptations, alongside the likes of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Danny DeVito hasn’t directed many movies, especially not during the 21st century, but Matilda shows that he isn’t afraid of indulging his stylistic impulses. Matilda captures both the darkness and the magic of Dahl’s book. While some movie adaptations water things down, DeVito seems to agree with Dahl’s idea that children don’t need to be spoken down to. DeVito plays Matilda’s father, and he also narrates the movie.

2 Pollock (2000)

Ed Harris

Ed Harris has earned four Oscar nominations. His only nomination for a leading role came in Pollock, one of just two movies he has directed so far.Pollock stars Harris as Jackson Pollock, the revolutionary American artist who was an integral part of the abstract expressionist movement. Harris delivers a spellbinding performance as the painter, showing the link between his life and his art. The scenes of Pollock painting are beautifully shot and performed. With the knowledge that Harris himself is the director, it’s hard to ignore the notion that he is drawing parallels between Pollock’s creative process and his own.

1 The Town (2010)

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck has directed himself in multiple movies, including Argo and Air. The Town marked the first time that Affleck took on both duties. Although it may have been overshadowed somewhat by the Oscar-nominated Argo two years later, The Town still deserves a lot of love. The Boston-based crime thriller delivers constant excitement, from the outstanding opening heist sequence to the bittersweet finale. Affleck stars as an experienced bank robber who starts to slip when he develops feelings for a victim of one of his previous robberies.