10 One-and-Done Movies Directed by Actors

by Patrick Bromley

When what they really want to do is direct. Once.

I was watching 1975's Posse recently and thinking that Kirk Douglas should have directed more movies, which is what inspired this list. Joke's on me, of course, because Kirk Douglas did direct more movies -- one, at least, Scalawag in 1973. That makes him ineligible for this list, but it got me thinking about other actors who directed one movie and then never directed again. Here's a list of 10 of them!

1. One-Eyed Jacks (1961, dir. Marlon Brando)

The sole directorial effort of Marlon Brando is a revisionist western about a bandit seeking revenge on his former mentor (Karl Malden) after being betrayed. Apparently, Brando only took the job directing after clashing with multiple writers and directors (this was before the Eastwood Rule), but he does a fine job both in front of and behind the camera. History has vindicated him as well, as the movie entered the Criterion Collection in 2016 and the National Film Registry two years later. This was the last movie to be shot in VistaVision until The Brutalist in 2024.

2. Harlem Nights (1989, dir. Eddie Murphy)

The only movie ever directed by Eddie Murphy came around the height of his powers but also kicked off a nearly 10-year dry period when the movie was poorly reviewed and accused of pure hubris. Murphy writes, directs, and stars in a movie that casts three generations of legendary black comics -- Murphy, Richard Pryor, and Redd Foxx -- in a period piece about gang warfare in 1930s Harlem. It's never funny enough to be pure comedy but too funny to be taken completely seriously, making it a kind of fish/fowl that alienated both audiences and critics alike. Apparently Murphy didn't really like the experience of directing a movie and opted not to do it again, which is too bad because I think Harlem Nights rules.

3. Man of Tai Chi (2013, dir. Keanu Reeves)

Keanu Reeves used all the martial arts training he received while making the Matrix trilogy to put together a team that could tell this story about a man (Tiger Chen) who becomes involved in an underground fighting tournament in order to earn money to restore his temple. Reeves does an incredible supporting turn as the guy running the fighting ring. The martial arts action is predictably amazing given Reeves' own background and the team with which he was working, but even the scenes without fighting have a snap to them that suggest Reeves would do well with more turns behind the camera. I hope he directs again.

4. Return to Me (2000, dir. Bonnie Hunt)

One of 2000's great romantic comedies comes from character actor and (later) talk show host Bonnie Hunt, who also gets big laughs co-starring in the story of a widower (David Duchovny) who finds new love with the recipient of his dead wife's heart (Minnie Driver). While there are more fantastical elements than I might prefer in my traditional romantic comedies, I find Return to Me endlessly charming: the two stars glow, the supporting casts steals every moment they can, the Chicago details are wonderful, and Hunt directs with one foot in romantic fantasy and one foot in the practicality of day to day life. She has such a light touch with this material (which she and regular collaborator Don Lake co-wrote), which is exactly what it requires. Like almost everyone on this list, she should have directed more movies.

5. Lost River (2015, dir. Ryan Gosling)

Back when I used to have a different read on Ryan Gosling, I thought his lone directorial effort was the perfect reflection of who I thought he was: stylish, full of promise, kind of mannered, pretty pretentious. I know I was wrong about Gosling (sorry, Erika); I would have to revisit Lost River to see if my mind has changed about his movie. I remember it showing real artistry and vision and that Gosling showed great promise as a filmmaker and a creator of striking images, but that it felt a little hollow. Maybe that's a faulty memory on my part. I'd be down for a revisit.

6. A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996, dir. Martin Lawrence)

Comedian Martin Lawrence took his superstardom for a test drive by directing this comic thriller in which he plays a man so wonderful and sexually appealing that one of his many conquests (Lynn Whitfield) is driven insane when she can no longer get that dick. Obviously it's Lawrence doing his version of Fatal Attraction (he gets sole story credit and co-screenplay credit), with Whitfield giving her all in the Glenn Close role and Regina King providing welcome support as the woman with whom Lawrence finds real love. For some reason, I went to see this movie first show, first day.

7. Nothing But Trouble (1991, dir. Dan Aykroyd)

My kingdom for the R-rated "gore cut" of Valkynvania, director Dan Aykroyd's lone directorial effort that was dulled down and re-titled at the request of the studio. Much of the weirdness remains. Chevy Chase and Demi Moore are a yuppie couple who run afoul of the law in a small town and are subject to potential punishment courtesy of Dan Akyroyd, buried under prosthetics as an ancient judge, plus John Candy in multiple roles and even Digital Underground. The movie doesn't work and the stars feel mostly stranded in a material they recognize as DOA, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth watching as a very singular curiosity. I'm drawn to repeat viewings even when I know what I'm in for.

8. Whip It! (2009, dir. Drew Barrymore)

Elliot Page plays a young woman who gets into the world of competitive roller derby in this charming comedy drama from Drew Barrymore, who co-stars as one of Page's teammates alongside Kristen Wiig, Eve, and my girlfriend Zoe Bell. It's too bad that Barrymore hasn't made more movies because she mostly nails this one. It has energy and heart and dares to be about young women in a way not a lot of movies do.

9. Jojo Dancer Your Life is Calling (1986, dir. Richard Pryor)

I only recently discovered this autobiographical drama from Richard Pryor thanks to the Criterion release and was kind of blown away by how messy and raw it is. He directs and plays a not-super-fictionalized version of himself, a rising comedian raised in a brothel and gradually alienating himself with sex and drugs. Pryor used the film to confront the truth of the "accident" that nearly killed him just a few years before, and even though he's not able to totally get there as an actor or a filmmaker, the realness of the swing makes the movie kind of great.

10. Night of the Hunter (1955, dir. Charles Laughton)

This is the one that for sure belongs on the list because it's usually considered the greatest one-and-done movie of all time regardless of having been directed by actor Charles Laughton. Seeing as how it feels like one of the best movies ever made each time I watch it, I'm inclined to agree.