10 Great Movies Made By Actor-Writer-Directors

Being a good director is one thing. The ability to function as writer, director and actor all on the same film is about being on another level entirely. Not many attempt it: directors sometimes write and writers sometimes direct, but most filmmakers decline to step in front of the camera as well as call the shots behind it. And, those that do aren't always particularly successful. There are some actor-writer-directors, however, who can triple threat their way to making not just capable, but downright formidable movies. They're a rare breed: a specialist in three very different art forms, who somehow have the skill and the patience to do all three at once. For this list, writer-directors who make cameos as actor don't count, so Quentin Tarantino doesn't get a pass here (though considering how poor of an actor he is, QT probably wouldn't get a pass even if he was the star of his movies). There'll also only be one film permitted per person. So, now that the rules are established, here are ten great movies made by actor-writer-directors. 10) The Gift (Joel Edgerton) You cannot overestimate what Joel Edgerton achieved with The Gift. As actor, writer, director and producer, Edgerton - on a measly $5 million budget - completed filming on the movie in a month, had completed editing on the film by June, and had the whole thing in cinemas in August. And he did all that on his first time behind the camera. That The Gift turned out so great feels almost like just a welcome bonus. The movie is a remarkable achievement for a first-time filmmaker: a deliberately-paced, intelligent, at-times scary, at-other-times darkly comic thriller that features career-best work from all three principle actors (Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Edgerton himself). If this is what Edgerton managed on his first try, just imagine what he'll be able to do going forward. 9) Zoolander (Ben Stiller) It might be crude, it might be silly, but Zoolander is still one of the best comedies to come out of the studio system in recent times. (Potential proof of its genius: the fact that Terence Malick, acclaimed arthouse filmmaker who's a genre unto himself, loves it.) And, while we all know that Ben Stiller is the star, not many people know that he also co-produced, co-wrote and directed the film himself. Bouncing back from the disappointment of The Cable Guy, Zoolander was Stiller's way back in with both audiences and critics. Underwhelming sequel be damned: the original Zoolander is some kind of masterpiece of dumb comedy, revelling in the stupidity of the material so gleefully that it becomes a smart satire of the fashion industry and of vapid Hollywood itself. 8) The Town (Ben Affleck) Out of all the movies he's made as a filmmaker, it's the one least-remembered that's actually Ben Affleck's best. Gone Baby Gone was Affleck's big comeback, the one that proved he was capable of so much more, while Argo was the one that sensationally won him the Best Picture Oscar. Now Affleck's set to write, produce, star in and direct the next Batman standalone, and it seems we've all but forgotten his gritty sophomore effort, The Town. It's a shame, too, because The Town might be Affleck's most assured movie as writer-director, a mini crime epic in the Michael Mann mold. It also features one of Affleck's best performances, a minimalistic, hardboiled turn to match the surroundings. If he brings this kind of form to his Batman movie, Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe might be yet heading for recovery. 7) Good Night, and Good Luck (George Clooney) As a filmmaker, George Clooney has failed to live up to the early promise: The light, entertaining Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and the multi-Oscar nominated Good Night, and Good Luck were followed by the mediocre Leatherheads, the forgettable Ides of March and, his low point, 2014's interminably dull The Monuments Men. As a filmmaker, it feels like Clooney has regressed rather than evolved. Still, Clooney's second film, Good Night, and Good Luck, proves the King of Hollywood has it in him to make something magnificent. As an actor, he blends in as part of the ensemble, but it's as director and co-writer that Clooney's the star of Good Night, and Good Luck, conjuring up a witty, thoughtful and good-looking (the monochrome photography is excellent) movie beyond what most full-time writer-directors can do. 6) Reds (Warren Beatty) Over the last couple of decades, Warren Beatty has barely been seen on the big screen. He's also only made two films in that time (one as actor-writer-director), while his upcoming project - Rules Don't Apply - feels almost like an ironic joke: a biopic of celebrity playboy-turned-recluse Howard Hughes. In 1981, however, when he directed, produced, co-wrote and starred in Reds, Beatty was still one of the biggest stars in the world. Justifiably so, given what an achievement the film is. Reds is a David Lean-esque romantic epic, made by a more politically-conscious filmmaker than Lean ever was. The Academy certainly thought Reds was worth the blanket praise it received from critics, gifting it nine Oscar nominations, including one for Beatty as actor and three wins, including one for Beatty as director. 5) Do The Right Thing (Spike Lee) Though he's lost his way in recent years (his acclaimed 2015 semi-musical Chi-Raq notwithstanding), Spike Lee was in the beginning a fearsome chronicler of African-American life. Probably the pinnacle of this early period for Lee is Do the Right Thing, an oh-so of its time 1989 drama depicting racial tensions in one Brooklyn borough on the hottest day of the year. Packed with characters great and small, all angry or outraged in their own way, at the center of Do the Right Thing is Lee's Mookie, a pizza delivery man that explodes in the final act. The likes of Danny Aiello and Samuel L Jackson are typically excellent, but does Spike make a great, or even good actor? Not particularly, but his presence in the lead role helps make the film feel even more personal and honest. 4) The Tenant (Roman Polanski) Even before Roman Polanski became a controversial figure privately, he was an enfant terrible of the screen: butchering innocents in Macbeth, cooking up satanic myths in Rosemary's Baby, and personally playing the "midget" who slices Nicholson's nose in Chinatown. The latter's probably Polanski's most memorable appearance in front of the camera, but it's no more than a cameo. In The Tenant, however, Polanski is very much the star. As with Do the Right Thing, Polanski's decision to cast himself in The Tenant gives the film a more personal angle. In this case, it turns the movie into a meta-study of the filmmaker himself. It's not just arty cerebral fare though: The Tenant, claustrophobically set almost entirely in one Parisian apartment block, is the kind of brave psycho-horror that might find you questioning the director's sanity. 3) Manhattan (Woody Allen) Though like Roman Polanski he's now mired in controversy, Woody Allen has still made plenty of standout movies as actor-writer-director in his time; probably more than anyone else, in fact. Allen's always been his own writer on movies he's directed of course, and from 1969 to 2003 he was often the star as well. As such, singling out one of Allen's as actor-writer-director is difficult when there are literally dozens to choose from. Some would say Annie Hall is Allen's greatest work, or that one of his "early, funny ones" like Sleeper takes the prize. However, it's Manhattan, a film which Allen himself hated and which he wanted buried by the studio, that looks more and more like his defining work. If nothing else, it's certainly his finest love letter to the city he adored; a gentle, sometimes sad comedy-drama in which every shot looks like it belongs on a New York City postcard. 2) This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner) Not many filmmakers make legitimately great movies on their first go. Fewer still make great debut pictures in which they also feature as one of the main actors. Rob Reiner actually went one better: with his first movie, which he starred in, co-wrote and directed, he not only made one of the greatest comedies of all time, but he also popularized a whole new genre in the process. This Is Spinal Tap, Reiner's mockumentary (a term he invented) about the sights, the sounds and the smells of a hard-working rock band on the road, is one of the most iconic and quotable comedy movies ever made. In front of the camera he largely plays the straight man, setting the members of 'Spinal Tap' up for some devastating one-liners, but behind the lens Reiner is a master of comedy, encouraging some of the funniest moments ever in cinema. 1) Citizen Kane (Orson Welles) There are numerous great films that Orson Welles made as actor-writer-director. There's 1947's delirious film noir The Lady from Shanghai; the sweaty, seedy thriller Touch of Evil; the peerless black comedy The Trial; the groundbreaking, mind-bending "documentary" F for Fake; and any of the three unconventional Shakespeare films he created. But how could any but Citizen Kane be listed as Welles' greatest achievement, especially when the film has been so influential on so many other great filmmakers since? Today, and likely for as long as we remember him, Kane remains Welles' defining movie as both actor and filmmaker. It's a masterpiece, perhaps the greatest movie of all time - and just one man played a huge part in making it that way.