10 Best Movies Directed by Actors Who Didn't Star in Them

Actors stepping behind the camera is hardly new, but when they choose not to appear on screen the choice often signals a different kind of commitment. Remaining offscreen can make a project feel less like a vanity venture and more like a focused directorial statement, and in several notable cases it has produced truly outstanding films.

Paul Newman’s The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds showcases surprisingly subtle, understated direction that drills into the dramatic core of every scene and elevates the performances of Joanne Woodward and Nell Potts. Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge turns the real-life story of Desmond Doss into a harrowing, emotionally stirring war film whose brutal, relentless combat sequences and intimate character work make it one of the decade’s best war biopics.

Kristen Stewart’s The Chronology of Water marks a confident directing debut, centered on Imogen Poots and guided by a female-gazey, artistically sharp perspective.

actor directors, offscreen, paul newman, marigolds, joanne woodward, imogen poots, mel gibson, hacksaw ridge, desmond doss, kristen stewart