Many directors have played a pivotal role both behind the camera and in front of the lens, from Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper to the films of early pioneers like Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin. An innovative filmmaker often stands the test of time, with work remaining relevant and great over the years and even reaching new generations. Superb work will undoubtedly live on, and largely because of the director's vision. A possible argument as to why directors star in their own projects could be because they simply can't envision or trust anyone else in the role and deeply want to play the character they've written themselves.
Sometimes it may just be an ego trip, or a method of control. Director Quentin Tarantino appears (or is heard) in almost all of his movies, assigning small cameo roles to himself, the same way Alfred Hitchcock did. These directors undoubtedly ensure that all of their projects depict the initial vision that they've laid out. Quentin Tarantino and the other filmmakers on this list all have one central thing in common-- they all create their work on their own terms and are unapologetic while doing so. Below are some of the greatest filmmakers in history who also star in their own directorial projects.
7 Alfred Hitchcock
Studying this man's catalog in film school is life for film students. Throughout a career that spanned over six decades, Alfred Hitchcock has cultivated more than 50 feature films, many of which are still widely watched and studied today. The director created a kind of cinematic Where's Waldo? game by inserting himself into just about all of his films, but his most prominent appearances were in the all-time classic series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, airing on both CBS and NBC from 1955 to 1965. The television anthology series is created, hosted, produced, and stars Hitchcock himself, initially appearing in silhouette from the right edge of the screen, immediately shifting to center screen to open the series. Hitchcock thoroughly provides a synopsis on the stories he'll be navigating viewers through, and presents the dramas, thrillers, and mysteries in delightful ways.
6 Orson Welles
Staring repeatedly in high own work, Orson Welles is remembered for his long-time innovative and avant-garde work in radio, theater and film. Whether it's Citizen Kane, Lady from Shanghai, Chimes at Midnight, or Touch of Evil, Welles utterly controlled his productions by directing, producing, writing, and acting in most of his films. Sometimes considered the greatest American film ever made, Citizen Kane highlights the rise and ultimate fall of newspaper mogul Charles Foster Kane (Welles). Welles seemed to adore hamming it up and acting, writing himself in as the most interesting character in all of his films (like Falstaff, or Hank Quinlan).
5 Kenneth Branagh
British actor and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh has directed and acted in several film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, including Henry V ('89), Much Ado About Nothing ('93), Othello ('95) and Hamlet ('96), with two additional installments following in the early 2000s, Love's Labour's Lost ('00), and As You Like It ('06). He has also directed and starred in a series of romantic thrillers and drama mysteries, working with esteemed American and British actors in his Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, writing himself in as famed detective Hercule Poirot, of course.
4 Charlie Chaplin
The grandfather of all things comedy, Charlie Chaplin gained a tremendous level of fame during the silent film era, and it's still okay to have a crush on the genius (don't judge). Deemed one of the greatest pioneers of silent film, he starred in 10 of the films he wrote, produced, and directed. In The Great Dictator, Chaplin actually takes on two roles, a Jewish barber and a parody of Adolf Hitler. There was only one film of his that Charlie Chaplin didn't star in, A Countess From Hong Kong, and it's the least-known and weakest of his works, indicating that Chaplin was on to something when he put himself in front of the camera.
3 Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton, also known for his silent films, has directed and starred in over 25 of them, from shorts to features. His signature style included the incorporation of physical comedy and slapstick into his incongruously melancholic and downcast features. Perhaps he didn't trust anyone else to perform the complicated and dangerous stunts he subjected himself to (without a stunt double), choosing instead to hang off of buildings and have houses collapse on him according to his own strict vision.
2 Tyler Perry
Most of us will remember Tyler Perry for his role as Mabel "Madea" Earlene Simmons, a character both created and portrayed by him on stage and in film. Madea is a tell-it-like-it-is kind of character, regularly being tough on family friends, enemies, and really anyone around. While initially critically despised, his work seems to be appreciated more over time and with added life experiences. Often critiqued for his portrayal of Black bodies onscreen, Perry has regularly become the subject of many popular and unpopular opinions.
Although these criticisms are ongoing it's important to take a look at how men and women of color, more so Black women, are depicted as either being too strong or too aggressive, underlying a series of flaws within them in mainstream society as a whole. There are two sides to this debate, but many women of color defend Perry by emphasizing the accuracy of many instances Perry commonly depicted, not relating the intent behind his written characters as racially or ethically motivated. In 2019, Perry made history by being the first African-American individual to own a major film studio in Atlanta, Georgia, and he has no intention to stop appearing in his own films, with A Madea Homecoming set to release this year.
1 Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino has directed, produced, and written a total of 10 films, though he's credited in several additional projects as a writer and actor; it's hard to forget his disturbing character in From Dusk Til Dawn. Tarantino is among an elite group of directors who are never afraid to step in front of the camera, appearing in his projects with more or less obviousness; he actually went to acting school after dropping out of high school and before creating films. His projects are mostly characterized by non-linear storylines, dark humor, artificial violence, constantly emerging dialogue, odes to pop culture, and recreations of history.
His most prominent roles in his films occur in Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and, of course, his characters in Django Unchained. He portrayed Australian miner Frankie as he transports Django to a mining company where he would eventually be sold and worked to death. His second appearance in the film depicted Robert, known as Bag Head #1, in the epically funny scene where Spencer “Big Daddy” Bennet (Don Johnson) and his henchme go from discussing how to attack Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) and Django (Jamie Foxx) to complaining about how horribly executed their bag-masks were. They were right, those bag masks were not cute one bit, but Tarantino nailed the bagged performance.