A Fun Challenge

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I know of five directors who have acted in their own movies:

Alfred Hitchcock

Mel Brooks

Clint Eastwood

Danny Devito

Can you name anyone else and the movie?

Comments

Well, the two best known...

that come to mind are the academy award winning tripple crown winners:

Orson Wells - Citizen Kane
Woody Allen - Annie Hall.

There are others, of course

Like Leonard Nimoy and William Shattner (Star Trek movies, of course)

Sydney Pollack in the film Tootsie

comes to mind.

John Houston in The Treasure of the Siera Madre, though his part was minor. Both he and his dad, Walter Houston won Oscars. John nearly pulled off the same trick with Angelica Huton late in his life.

John in Wauwatosa

P.S. My sister mentions that Woody Allen had made a *few* as did Charlie Chaplin, nearly all sients in his case. Silent star and some talkies/TV, Buster Keaton did some also I belive. Unfortunately so did Jerry Lewis.

John in Wauwatosa

Kevin Smith

Piper's picture

Kevin Smith :)

  • Clerks
  • Mallrats
  • Chasing Amy
  • Dogma
  • Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back
  • Clerks 2
  • Clerks TV Show
  • "Degrassi: The Next Generation" (Guest Director I believe. IMDB Only lists it as acting in tho)

He played "Silent Bob" in all of those.

He also directed the 2007 pilot of the show "Reaper" where he played "(voice) (uncredited) .... Jewish Guy"... Not sure if that counts :)

-HuGgLeS-
P/KAF


"She was like a butterfly, full of color and vibrancy when she chose to open her wings, yet hardly visible when she closed them."
— Geraldine Brooks


I just was reading today...

Frank's picture

Jerry Lewis - Nutty Professor, The Big Mouth, Cinderfella, The Bellhop (I think that's the title) and some others..

Frank

Hugs

Frank

No Capes!

Brad Bird voiced Edna Mode in The Incredibles.

8 more

M. Night Shyamalan - Vick Ran in Lady In the Water and every other film
Kevin Spacey - Bobby Darin in Beyond the Sea
Uwe Boll - Himself in Postal
Helen Hunt - April Epner in Then She Found Me
Edward Burns - Mickey Fitzpatrick in She's the One
Quentin Tarantino - Warren, in Death Proof from Grindhouse
Jean-Luc Godard - L'idiot et le prince in Keep Up Your Right
Eddie Murphy - Quick in Harlem Nights

listed as 8 of the 10 Worst Performances by Directors Acting in Their Own Films

Woody Allen and Clint Eastwood, both mentioned previously were the other 2

I won't give them away, but this site lists over 100 ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_directors_who_appear_in...

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

Holly

Here's three

Peter Jackson had cameos in each of the Lord of the Rings.

John Milius in The Wind and the Lion.

Mel Gibson in Braveheart.

Here is an odd one

Richard Bachman AKA Steven King He plays a cameo appearance in Most of his movies
IT- he was the pizza delivery man

The answers to all of life's questions can be found in the face of a true friend

The answers to all of life's questions can be found in the face of a true friend

I got one not listed in the Wikipedia list....

Piper's picture

Vin Diesel :)

  • Strays (1997) .... Rick
  • Multi-Facial (1999) .... Mike
  • Hannibal the Conqueror (2011) (announced) .... Hannibal Barca

Admittedly the Hannibal role is only (announced) and not even (pre-production) yet, but still, I'm quite proud of my find :) I even only used IMDB to verify :) I was actually thinking he directed the new Fast and Furious movie to be released soon, but he only acted and produced :)

-P/KAF


"She was like a butterfly, full of color and vibrancy when she chose to open her wings, yet hardly visible when she closed them."
— Geraldine Brooks


Kevin Costner & Ed Wood

Kevin Costner
Open Range (2003)
The Postman (1997)
Waterworld (1995) (uncredited)
Dances with Wolves (1990)

Edward D. Wood Jr.
Glen or Glenda
Plan 9 from Outer Space
"Necromania" A Tale of Weird Love!
Plus several others

The Internet Movie Database is great for this kind of stuff.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000248/

Into the Night

erin's picture

John Landis. Like Hitchcock, it's almost easier to find one he directed and is in, than one he's not.

Barbra Streisand - Yentl, The Mirror Has Two Faces and Prince of Tides

Elaine May - A New Leaf

Harold Ramis - Groundhog Day and others

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

This is getting to be too

Piper's picture

This is getting to be too easy.... I think we should create a thread on Directors NOT in their own movies!

Steven Soderbergh

  • Ocean's Eleven (2001) (uncredited) .... Vault-Bombing Thief
  • Schizopolis (1996) (uncredited) .... Fletcher Munson/Dr. Jeffrey Korchek

Admittedly, the Shcizopolis is Written, Directed, Produced all by him... But they are ALL listed as uncredited.... Weird....

P/KAF


"She was like a butterfly, full of color and vibrancy when she chose to open her wings, yet hardly visible when she closed them."
— Geraldine Brooks


Directors

Marion Morrison aka John Wayne

Tha Alamo

The Green Berets

The Comancheros (uncredited)

I know there are some people here that don't like him but oh well.

Melanie

Hey

You cannot speak his name without the proper tone of respect in your voice. Penance must be paid by the violaters as soon as I can figure out what it should be. :))

Here's a couple more....

Billy Crystal - Forget Paris
Dan Ackroyd - Blues Brothers 2000

Kate
"While the rest of the human race are descended from monkeys, redheads derive from cats."

Kate
"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes." William Gibson

Ron Howard

He played uncredited roles in a number of films he directed, but was the lead in Grand Theft Auto.

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Hitchcock did cameos in every one of his films !

This led to problems when he filmed "Lifeboat". The entire film is set in a lifeboat of survivors from a U-boat attack. How could he do a cameo in this film, with a very limited cast?

Hitchcock's solution - He included a photo of himself in a newspaper we briefly see.

Polanski in Chinatown

laika's picture

He was the lttle creep who sliced open Jack Nicholson's nose.

Scorsese acted in one or two of his first films but decided he stunk as an actor.

I guess Orson Wells has been mentioned, but he was incredible in Touch of Evil.

~~~hugs (hi i'm back temporarily on a friend's machine) Laika

.
"Government will only recognize 2 genders, male + female,
as assigned at birth-" (In his own words:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1lugbpMKDU

Orson Welles

Orson Welles is another who appeared in almost every movie he directed. Add to his list The Magnificent Ambersons, The Stranger, The Trial, Lady From Shanghai, MacBeth, Othello and Chimes at Midnight. Sorry, I'm kind of a nut about his work. Call me weird :)

Never let it be said that I don't enjoy the occasional delusion of grandeur

Never let it be said that I don't enjoy the occasional delusion of grandeur

You're Weird .....

Piper's picture

You're Weird ..... :)

(always happy to oblige)

-P/KAF


"She was like a butterfly, full of color and vibrancy when she chose to open her wings, yet hardly visible when she closed them."
— Geraldine Brooks


Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks - That Thing You Do! also written and directed

Jodie Foster - Little Man Tate and Home for the Holidays

hugs,

Jenna from FL

Hugs,
Jenna From FL
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It is a long road ahead but I will finally become who I should be.