When it comes to making movies, the most forward-facing job on the set is acting. Most audiences think of actors first when they imagine watching a movie, and there's no denying that many films wouldn't be as successful as they are without talented actors bringing the stories to life. On the other hand, most films wouldn't even exist at all without a director leading the charge. And in some rare cases, the actor and director are the same person.

Directors acting in their films is a storied tradition in Hollywood, going back to the days of silent pictures and pioneer filmmakers like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Over the years, other actors have joined in on the fun. Some of them, like Penny Marshall, kept their acting roles small so as not to detract from the other primary members of the cast. Others, like Clint Eastwood, cast themselves in the starring role.

10 Kevin Costner Revived the Western by Stepping Behind the Camera

Some actors pick up a camera at the start of their career, others at the end, and some, like Kevin Costner, do so at the peak. In the early '90s, Costner directed and starred in the Oscar-winning film Dances With Wolves. Some cinephiles will never forgive the movie for preventing Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas from claiming the industry's top prize that year, but here's the thing: Wolves is an incredibly well-made film worthy of its success. Not only is it a sweeping epic like they used to make during the Golden Age of Hollywood, but it's also chockful of fantastic performances, including Costner.

Even more impressive is Kevin Costner's and Dances With Wolves legacy. When he made the film, Westerns were practically dead and buried in Hollywood; the last one to win Best Picture had been Cimarron in 1931. Kevin Costner changed all of that. Within two years, another Western took home the Oscar for Best Picture in the form of Unforgiven. Perhaps more importantly, starring and directing in this film linked him forever to the Western genre, which he capitalized on by leading the charge with the far more somber Open Range. Now, he's returning to the genre again with what he hopes will be the biggest hit of his career, Horizon.

9 Danny DeVito Starred and Directed in Films With Cult Appeal

Long before becoming a supporting actor associated with one of the longest-running and funniest sitcoms of all time, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Danny DeVito was a big-time leading man who frequently stepped behind the camera to direct numerous television episodes. Then, in 1987, he directed his first feature film, Throw Momma From the Train. Wildly stylized and absurdly irreverent, no one expected DeVito to handle the film with such panache, and the fact that he also starred in the leading role as a despondent son being pushed around by his bully of a mother made audiences all the more impressed by the accomplishment.

Following the success of Throw Momma From the Train, Danny DeVito turned more of his attention to directing and expanded upon his artistry with 1989's romantic comedy The War of the Roses. While those two films were undoubtedly DeVito's biggest success stories when working behind and in front of the camera, he subsequently helmed other films like Matilda and Death to Smoochy, which have their collections of die-hard fanbases. Better yet, if DeVito is to be believed, a sequel to Throw Mama from the Train might be coming.

8 Warren Beatty Assisted the Directorial Staff Long Before He Directed

In many ways, Warren Beatty considered himself a director long before he ever directed a film of his own. As one of Hollywood's most gigantic stars of the '60s and '70s, he had been the driving force behind projects like Bonnie and Clyde and Shampoo and, at times, meddling on those sets as well. In 1981, he got the opportunity to officially direct his first feature film all by himself, the result of which was Reds. This historical epic set during the Russian Revolution was not only thrilling, it featured a romance for the ages between Beatty's John Reed, an American journalist in love with Bolshevism, and Diane Keaton's suffragist, Louise Bryant.

After the massive success of this epic film, Warren Beatty began winding down his career and practically only acted in movies he directed, whether it was the colorfully exuberant Dick Tracy, the also incredibly critically acclaimed political satire Bullworth, or his most recent film, 2016's Rules Don't Apply co-starring Lily Collins.

7 Takeshi Kitano Provided a Jolt to the Japanese Film Industry

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese film and television legend. Something of a Renaissance Man, "Beat" (as he's often known) appeared in a few movies before jumping behind the camera to direct himself for the first time in 1989's Violent Cop after the film's original director stepped down at the last second. Honestly, it's hard to imagine what the Japanese film industry would have been like these past few decades had that not come to pass.

Between Violent Cop and more notable films like Fireworks and Brother, Beat Takeshi crafted his own style. One that frequently jumped back and forth between stoic moments of poetry combined with outbursts of extreme and sometimes surreal violence. By doing so, he firmly established himself as one of Japan's best-living actors and one of their best directors.

6 Mel Gibson Understands Action as an Actor and Director

There was a time when Mel Gibson wasn't only one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation but also one of its most promising directors. In 2024, that time has passed (for various reasons), but he had endless potential back then. Sure, the first film he directed and starred in, The Man Without a Face, was somewhat underwhelming. His sophomore effort, though, he knocked right out of the park. You've probably heard of it. A little movie called Braveheart.

Braveheart wasn't just a success; it was a phenomenon. Not only directing the film but starring in it as the medieval Scottish independence leader William Wallace brought Mel Gibson box office success and Oscar glory. Gibson's talent for staging sweeping action scenes was utterly unexpected. Then, he shocked the world again with the release of The Passion of the Christ. He might not have appeared on-screen in that one, but it was every bit the unprecedented box office hit that Braveheart had been. Soon, he'll return to theaters again with the Mark Wahlberg thriller Flight Risk.

5 Stephen Chow's Energy as an Actor and Director Will Never be Topped

While his name might not be that well known in North America, Stephen Chow is one of the biggest movie stars in Asia. More than that, he's also one of the continent's more impressive directors. Chow's success has come from his ability to combine Bruce Lee-like levels of kinetic action with nonsensical comedy and outrageous satire, creating a tone and style refreshingly his own, not just as an actor but also as a director.

Chow's directorial career launched into the stratosphere when he starred in and helmed the hit action comedy Shaolin Soccer. As wildly impressive as that film was, it doesn't even hold a candle to the film he created next, quite possibly the wildest action comedy of all time (not to mention the best), Kung Fu Hustle. Both films (and the ones to come afterward) relied upon an almost cartoonish energy that moves so briskly that it's exhausting for audiences to keep up. When they arrive at the end of a Stephen Chow film, moviegoers feel like they do at the end of a roller coaster: exhilarated and looking forward to experiencing the ride all over again.

4 Charlie Chaplin Modernized Actors Directing Themselves On Screen

As one of the pioneers of actors directing themselves in feature films, Charlie Chaplin helmed most of his movies throughout his career. Making the jump from simply being an actor to also being in control of the production allowed Chaplin to become one of the biggest stars in the entire world. Some might argue that he had no inherent style of his own as a director, that he pointed the camera in one direction and shot, but the real magic behind Chaplin's directorial skillset all came down to timing.

Whether it was in the precisely timed pratfalls of Charlie Chaplin's earlier silent pictures or how he (eventually) embraced the arrival of sound, Chaplin had an inherent sense of pace and editing in films like The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator. Of course, when it comes to Charlie Chaplin's films, his performance as the recurring character of The Tramp connected with audiences the most. No filmmaker had a better idea of how to forge that connection between audience and character than Chaplin.

3 Woody Allen Is One of the Most Recognizable Actors and Directors in Hollywood

From one comedic legend to another, some would argue that much like Mel Gibson, Woody Allen's days of relevancy have ended. When he was still making films, though, few artists put as much thought and care into their work as Allen. In his earliest ventures, Allen carefully cultivated an on-screen persona that was part Chaplin's Tramp and part New York curmudgeon. His earliest films, like Take the Money and Run, Bananas, and Sleeper, were mostly high-concept comedies in a heightened-comedic world of unbelievable characters. It wasn't until he left those worlds behind for a more reality-based approach that his career truly exploded.

When films like Annie Hall and Manhattan hit theaters in the '70s and '80s, they were championed as revalatory movies by critics all around the globe. Whether he was making a point of documenting how complicated people ignore the relatively simple solutions to life's most significant problems or providing an intellectual's fantasy of the real world, nearly every movie Allen directed and starred in for two decades became a hit in genres as diverse as comedy, drama, and existential thrillers. Unfortunately, over time, his private life soon began to suck up all the oxygen in the room, and the latter entries of his filmography aren't anywhere near as acclaimed.

2 Clint Eastwood Always Knows What Notes to Play as an Actor and Director

Before directing his first feature film, Play Misty for Me, Clint Eastwood was already one of the most prominent actors in the world. He was incredibly well-regarded for his roles in Westerns, but he soon proved that he was just as good at directing movies as he was at starring in them. From the opening moments of Play Misty for Me, it was readily apparent that Eastwood, as a director, relied more on subtlety and grace than spectacle. Even more impressive was how he played with his audiences' expectations because simplicity was the last thing they expected from this action hero.

Having an inherent understanding of his appeal as an actor, Clint Eastwood alternated back and forth between what the audience wanted to see in the form of gun-slinging tough guy characters like Dirty Harry and what he knew they needed to see to keep things fresh, gritty characters of questionable morales who aren't nearly as heroic as the story might have you believe. A classic movie like Unforgiven wouldn't mean as much if Eastwood hadn't directed more conventional films like High Plains Drifter and The Outlaw Josey Wales first. Even more remarkably, the man is still directing well into his mid-90s with the upcoming Juror #2. Now that's dedication.

1 Orson Welles Paved the Way for Generations of Actor-Directors

Unlike every other actor on this list, Orson Welles acted and directed in his very first feature film, the monumental Citizen Kane. A radio star before arriving in Hollywood in 1941, Welles was also given a rarity among first-time filmmakers: total and complete creative control. No wonder the film became one of the most impressive accomplishments in directing history. And while cinephiles from all walks of life can talk endlessly about how talented a director Welles was, here's something they often forget, he was also a damn fine actor.

At only 25 years old, Orson Welles became Charles Foster Kane at various stages, from his early days as a carefree idealist to his final ones as a bitter, lonely, and rich old man. It's one of the finest and most thoughtful performances ever captured on film. Even though his later films, Touch of Evil, Chimes at Midnight, and the unbelievable faux-documentary F is for Fake, are of the highest quality, none of these films left an impact like Citizen Kane. It's too bad because if they had been, Orson Welles would have walked away with the crown as Hollywood's all-time best actor and director combination by a landslide.