Top 10 Actors Turned Directors
AMC Movie List

Top 10 Actors Turned Directors

Some people really can do it all. How would you rank these hyphenated stars?

rank title points votes your vote
1 Clint Eastwood
Eastwood was nominated for Oscars for his acting in Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby and won Best Director for both. 530 642
2 Ron Howard
The former Richie Cunningham has had great success behind the camera. See A Beautiful Mind and Frost/Nixon for proof. 248 494
3 Robert Redford
The famed actor directed 1980's Oscar-winning Ordinary People, but his work has been a mixed bag since then. 105 437
4 Rob Reiner
Having worked steadily as an actor since the fifties, Reiner also directed greats like This Is Spinal Tap and Misery. 81 405
5 Ben Affleck
Both Gone Baby Gone and The Town have been rapturously received by critics; Affleck's acting career -- not so much. 77 487
6 Sofia Coppola
After bombing in The Godfather: Part III, Coppola went on to be the first American woman to nab a directing Oscar nom, for Lost in Translation. 73 443
7 Sydney Pollack
Throughout his life, Pollack starred in both his own movies and those directed by others, like Tootsie and Eyes Wide Shut. 67 385
8 Charlie Chaplin
The comedian earned an enduring reputation for his participation in films like The Great Dictator, Modern Times, and The Gold Rush. 58 456
9 George Clooney
Not content to be matinee-idol handsome, Clooney went behind the camera for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. 43 461
10 Sean Penn
With four well-received features under his belt -- including Into The Wild and The Pledge -- Penn has never stopped acting. 25 455