A List: Best Movies by Actors Turned Directors
By J. Don Birnam
November 12, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Who is the Babe Ruth of movies? Is there anyone in the film world that has excelled both as an actor and a director? If you have any thoughts, let me know on Twitter.
Angelina Jolie's By the Sea is the big-name opener this weekend, but early word-of-mouth is that it will not fare much better than the disappointing life-saga Unbroken. Kudos to Angelina, in any event, for following her passion to be a director, particularly given the well-documented challenges that women face in doing so.
In honor of Angelina's latest attempt, I looked back at some of the best movies by actors turned directors. The list, as you know, is plentiful, from Redford to Eastwood to Gibson and Affleck. Trivia: all four of these gentlemen have won Oscars for Best Director, but never taken home a statuette for Best Actor. Indeed, no individual has ever won an Oscar for directing and acting, so right now there is no official Bambino in movie-land (Ruth was, by contrast, both a batting champion and an ERA-leader when he played).
Winnowing this list down was no easy, task, so I have resorted to my tried and true method: arbitrary rules. The main rule I will employ to knock out pesky (and great) entries is simple: if they are known for their dual roles as an actor and director of their own movies, then they are out. Sorry, Woody Allen. Anyway, we've already dedicated a whole column to Woody, and no one doubts his greatness. This probably also knocks out Orson Wells and Ernst Lubitsch (who starred in most of the silent movies he directed).
I'm also going to take points away from individuals who were known mostly as an actor but ventured into directing sporadically. Did you know that Ben Stiller directed movies? Exactly. Other famed directors, Elia Kazan comes to mind, began their careers as stage actors or bit-part players. But name a movie in which Elia Kazan was an actor. Exactly. And while Richard Attenborough did win an Oscar for directing Gandhi, he does not have a robust directorial career outside that. What I’m looking for here is individuals who had real roles in both chairs, but began as actors.
Some dishonorable mentions first. You won't find Stallone on my list, as I’m not a big fan of his directorial turns in all the Rocky sequels, nor do I think one lauded movie, Dances With Wolves, deserves Costner a spot on the list, even though it's the 25th anniversary of its release this week. Mel Gibson gets closer, with daring epics Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, and Apocalypto showing directorial risk-taking, but, again, I’m personally not enamored with any of those three.
On the other side of the ledge, we must mention, of course, this year's Best Director contender Thomas McCarthy, who has wowed us with his appearance in The Wire, but also in a long list of movies from Syriana to Michael Clayton to 2012. Yet, his directorial credits are award-worthy, from the indie cult-classic The Station Agent, to the beautifully nuanced The Visitor, and now as writer and director for the Best Picture front-runner, Spotlight.
In past columns I've also expressed my admiration of Boston crime dramas Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone, directed by famed actors Clint Eastwood and Ben Affleck, respectively. Those would appear on the list today, but they will yield to others in the interest of novelty. I’ve also expressed admiration in past columns for two Rob Reiner films, When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men, and he is an accomplished actor in his own right, with film roles going back as early as the 1960s and as recent as The Wolf of Wall Street.
In seventh place is Ordinary People, by Robert Redford. While I love that Best Picture winner, one of the most moving family dramas of the 20th Century, Redford’s directorial career didn’t really go many other places outside that film. And the movie that is in sixth place is They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, by acclaimed director/actor Sydney Pollack. From Tootsie to Out of Africa, Sydney Pollack is arguably one of the most populist versatile directors of all time, and his acting credits are even longer. But, since I’m so partial to that movie, eponymous with our Oscar Watch column, I’ll leave it now to avoid stating the obvious - that is likely one of the best movies ever directed by an actor.
5. Good Night, and Good Luck by George Clooney
Could George Clooney become the Babe Ruth of movies one day? He already has an acting Oscar for his supporting turn in Syriana, and a directing bid is not out of the question given the success of the McCarthy-era black-and-white drama, Good Night, and Good Luck. Clooney also directed himself in the movie, which is an incisive look into a sinister era in politics in America (similar to this year’s Oscar contender, Trumbo). Clooney exhibits a masterful directorial style that matches his acting - sly, witty, and charming, all while captivating you into what is strictly a dialogue-driven film.
And, like many actors-turned-directors in this list, Clooney wears his politics on his sleeves. The persecution of journalists by the Communist witch-hunters is odious, but the heroes are not god-like, they are simply humans with their heads on their shoulders. In thus presenting Edward Morrow, Clooney avoids the pitfalls that befall many dramatist-turned-helmers: excessive sentimentality that would take the viewer out of the movie.
4. Awakenings by Penny Marshall
Speaking of women directors (and I hope you were not expecting Barbara Streisand's Yentl on the list), Penny Marshall's psychological, creepy study of reality and what it means to be alive is one of the most memorable movies directed by an actor. Marshall only gets to fourth on the list because her screen credits are scarcer - sure, she is beloved for her title role in TV's Laverne & Shirley, but her notable movie roles are limited to The Odd Couple and How Sweet It Is! To accompany the 1990 Best Picture nominee (for which she shamefully failed to get a Best Director nomination), she also directed hits like A League Of Their Own and, of course, the Tom Hanks hit, Big. Marshall thus showed her versatility, from easy comedy to wartime drama, but it is with the hospital drama Awakenings that she shone the brightest. Obtaining stunning performances from a gifted cast that included Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, and Max Von Sydow, she conveys well the profound experiences that the individuals in the story lived through, and leave you itching to know more.
3. Iron Man by Jon Favreau
I don’t really think that Iron Man is a better movie than the last two I just listed, but as an actor/director, Jon Favreau is truly impressive. Sure, he may not have the cachet of Costner or Gibson, but let's not forget that Iron Man took the comic book hero genre to a whole new level, and perhaps ushered in a new era for Hollywood box office. Whatever else you may think of comic book movies, the achievement is deserving of a spot today.
Favreau also directed a beloved Christmas classic, Elf, which features his signature quirky and silly comedic style. On top of all this, the list of movies in which Favreau has turned in strong roles stretches all the way back to Rudy, and makes it all the way to The Wolf of Wall Street (that movie again!). He also directed himself in his movies, of course, and it is in the well-received Iron Man that he finessed his careful but not-overly serious style.
2. Dead Man Walking by Tim Robbins
The Directors' branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences likes to think of itself as progressive and forward thinking. They routinely nominate foreign-auteurs or ingénue newcomers over well-known names. But, by contrast, when it comes to gender-diversity, their record is, to be blunt, abysmal. What else explains that Penny Marshall's movie gets in to the Picture but not Director category, while Robbins' does the exact opposite?
Anyway, rant aside, Robbins' career has spanned a successful turn as an actor, winning an Oscar for his chilling portrayal of the not-all-there brother in Mystic River, but also at least two movie masterpieces. Indeed, this entry probably should read Cradle Will Rock, the movie Robbins directed after Dead Man, a brilliant social commentary about life in the 1930s. But, to be fair, Dead Man Walking is noteworthy because Robbins directed his then-partner, Susan Sarandon, to a Best Actress Oscar, and because Robbins pours his heart out with his signature methodic and thoughtful style. Wearing his politics on his sleeve like Clooney, Robbins does not hesitate to show his distaste for the death penalty while exposing the evil nature of the individual on death row. The result is one of the most heart-wrenching and haunting movies you will ever see.
1. Reds by Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty's roles as an actor are awards-worthy. The horny teenager in Splendor in the Grass, the anxious villain in Bonnie and Clyde, the flamboyant womanizer in Shampoo. His turns as a director are awards-worthy. The dramatization or reinvention of It's a Wonderful Life in Heaven Can Wait. The important, timeless political drama Reds (for which he did win an Oscar), the mafia biopic Bugsy and, yes, even the much-maligned but on-the-nose Bulworth (his last serious project until an upcoming unnamed 2016 film).
It is Reds that stands out, however, because of the vastness of its scope, the sheer majesty of its production values, the richness of the performances, and the importance of the story. It tells the story of John Reed, a real-life American journalist (a profession that appears a lot, it seems, in movies by directors that were actors, from Spotlight to Good Night) that joins the Russian Revolution after 1917, on the side of the Reds, and the challenges he faces throughout his life both to understand his own politics and the currents that are sweeping the world. With stunning performances by Beatty himself, as well as Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson (as Eugene O’Neill), Gene Hackman, and Maureen Stapleton, among others, the movie chronicles a historical event that was pivotal in 20th century history that has by now been largely left to obscurity given the decline of communism.
But nothing is better about Reds than Beatty's directorial style, which is apparent throughout. His tendency to over-dramatize and preach are there, but they work in the context of the subject matter. Beatty’s compulsive attention to detail is evident in the lack of a misstep anywhere in the production. And, most of all, his love for film, the art of film, and the importance of film all combine to give the movie a majestic feeling where majesty is deserved.
Beatty may never be crowned the Babe Ruth of movies with awards in both roles by the highest body in charge of awards, but, he arguably is such a talented maker of motion pictures anyway.
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