10 Best Performances Where Actors Directed Themselves

One of the most difficult parts of directing a movie is providing an actor with what they need to deliver the right performance, and it is even harder when the director is also the person acting. Movie stars directing themselves is nothing new, as silent film stars often found themselves in front of and behind the camera. However, it is rare that a director chooses to star in their own movie — and even more rare for it to turn out great.

Films starring their directors can easily feel like vanity projects, as though the director only cast themselves because they wanted to be the lead of the movie. Films like Tommy Wiseau’s The Room show the dangers of having a director in a lead role. However, sometimes a director rightfully recognizes that they are the best actor for the job and manages to give a fantastic performance.

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10 Kenneth Branagh As King Henry V

Henry V (1989)

The best Shakespeare adaptations provide a playground for actors to show off their dramatic chops. Director/actor Kenneth Branagh is keenly aware of that fact, as he has made several film adaptations of the Bard’s work, casting himself in nearly every one of them. While Hamlet may be his best achievement as a director, his best performance comes in Henry V, where he plays the young king trying to conquer France. It is Branagh’s first film as a director, but his years of stage acting show, and he naturally translates Shakespeare to the screen.

9 Warren Beatty As John Reed

Reds (1981)

In this over three-hour epic, Warren Beatty plays an American journalist who becomes involved in the Russian Revolution of the early 20th century. Beatty may have received an Oscar for directing Reds, but it also holds one of his best performances, balancing his captivating charisma and tender vulnerability. Not every performance Beatty gave under his direction has stood the test of time, but he is incredible in this one. Reds is a true Hollywood epic and one of the last movies of its kind.

8 Laurence Olivier As Hamlet

Hamlet (1948)

Like Branagh, Laurence Olivier directed himself in several Shakespeare adaptions, including one of Hamlet. Olivier is considered one of the best actors of his generation, and to this day, his interpretation of the Prince of Denmark is considered the definitive take on the character. In 1949, Olivier won an Oscar for this performance. It is easy to see why, as the image of him holding the skull has become entangled with both Olivier’s screen persona and Shakespeare adaptions in general.

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7 Barbra Streisand As Yentl

Yentl

Barbra Streisand is a once-in-a-lifetime star, and while she will be remembered for several other talents before her directing efforts, Yentl showcases her ability to direct, act, and sing all at once. In the film, Streisand plays a Jewish woman who disguises herself as a man to go through religious training. Her performance of “Papa Can You Hear Me” is worthy of praise on its own, but she also carries the entire film on her back by playing a character who is also playing a character. It is a layered and complex performance — one that she amazingly got out of herself.

6 Albert Brooks As Daniel

Defending Your Life (1991)

With his dry humorist take on modern life and romance, Albert Brooks directed himself in some of the most hilarious and subversive studio comedies to ever come out. While Brooks is incredible in Real Life, Lost in America, and Modern Romance, his best performance in one of his films is in Defending Your Life. Brooks stars as a recently deceased man who must stand on trial to prove that he is worthy of going to the afterlife. It is a smart and existential romantic comedy, grounded by Brooks’ performance as an everyday man who has to fight for his right to die and not be reincarnated.

5 John Cassavetes As Gus

Husbands (1970)

As both an actor and a filmmaker, John Cassavetes is an icon of independent cinema and the Hollywood new wave of the 1970s. Whether he was in front of or behind the camera, Cassavetes was great at showing the complexities of characters, and he was never afraid to make them a little unlikable. His 1970 film Husbands is a great acting showcase for him, Peter Falk, and Ben Gazzara. The film follows three men as they mourn the death of a friend and chase their desires. Like most of Cassavetes’ movies, Husbands is unconventional, but the hangout nature of the film gives the performances time to shine.

4 Bradley Cooper As Leonard Bernstein

Maestro (2023)

One of the latest actors to make the jump to filmmaker is Bradley Cooper. And while his first film, A Star is Born, is an impressive feature, his new movie, Maestro, is an improvement on every level — including his lead performance. Chronicling the story of Leonard Bernstein, Cooper plays the conductor at various points in his life. Through layers of make-up, a thick accent, and his filmmaking, Cooper gets lost in the role and becomes almost unrecognizable. Maestro is a big swing of a movie, and it is a performance that pays off, proving Cooper’s skills in front of and behind the camera.

3 Orson Welles As Kane

Citizen Kane (1941)

When Welles was just 25 years old, he co-wrote, directed, and starred in what is widely considered one of the greatest moviess of all time: Citizen Kane. Welles’ performance as Kane is magnetic, haunting, and deeply human. Part of the reason it is easy to forget how young Welles was at the time is how effortlessly he played Kane at various points in his life, including as an old man. Whenever a director casts themselves as the lead in their own movie, they are betting on themselves. Welles’ bet paid off enormously, as this is a performance that will be remembered for generations.

2 Charlie Chaplin As The Tramp

The Kid (1921)

Charlie Chaplin played the Tramp in several films, and while his physical comedy in City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator are unmatched, his performance in The Kid is touching without sacrificing what made him a star in the first place. The film has the slapstick humor and frenetic pace that one would expect from a Chaplin project. But as the story focuses on the Tramp’s relationship with an orphaned boy, Chaplin shows even more heart and pathos than usual, all without saying a word.

1 Elaine May As Henrietta

A New Leaf (1971)

Elaine May is one of the greatest living comedians and most underappreciated filmmakers of the 20th century. Despite only making four films, she left her mark on the cinematic landscape with her character details. May only starred in one of her own films: 1971’s A New Leaf. As the bumbling yet endearing Henrietta, May was able to showcase the comedic skills she had learned from her sketch work while also painting a portrait of a real human. Henrietta is the type of role May could easily get cast as, but her performance and storytelling make the character much deeper and more fleshed out than she has any right to be.