As you may or may not have noticed, there seems to be a recent trend in Hollywood of actors making directional debuts on their own TV shows. While we have certainly seen mega-movie stars such as Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Angelina Jolie transition from acting in front of the cameras to being behind the lens, this rising popularity in the Hollywood industry seems to blur the old lines between director and actor or actress.
Actors and actresses have been widely depicted as obedient and subordinate to directors in the past, doing everything as commanded with little to no say in the final product. Directors undeniably have artistic control and vision, so perhaps this recent switch in the director’s chair is a way to give actors more agency and decisiveness in their own artistic work.
While there are undoubtedly countless examples to draw upon, these are a few of the actors-turned-directors within TV shows that I adore.
1. Jussie Smollett
On Fox’s popular TV drama Empire, starring the dynamic duo Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard, Jussie plays Jamal, a soulful R&B singer and the second son in the Lyon family. Just like his character, Jussie has come out as gay and emphasizes the importance of love and kindness. The actor is currently directing the fourteenth episode which has not aired yet, but has been highly anticipated by Empire fans. The overall message will still be the same: the Lyon family will prevail together throughout all the hardships that come their way.
2. Gina Rodriguez
As our hilarious leading lady in the CW show Jane the Virgin, Gina Rodriguez has taken the helm for one episode in season four. She talked about the lengthy preparation she had to do before cameras started rolling, researching legendary directors and memorizing the whole script by heart. She has realized that directing is actually liberating and freeing to her, allowing her to communicate directly with her writer’s vision for her character Jane. It was a somewhat daunting task since she still played the lead role, but she was able to find an organized flow that enabled her to balance her duties as both a director and an actress. In the show, Jane is now a busy mother, balancing her romance novel tour with taking care of her family and son, and in addition, processing her complicated romantic situation.
3. Lana Parilla
After playing nearly seven years of Regina Mills (aka Snow White’s Evil Queen) on Once Upon a Time, Lana Parilla is finally making her directional debut in season seven! She has always been one of the central characters with dramatic, memorable monologues, casting enchantments and fighting heroes and villains in the most fantastic, glamorous wardrobe ever. (I could simply do a whole article on the Evil Queen’s fashion.) Stepping behind the camera is certainly a huge, important milestone for Lana since she and her character have come such a long way since the pilot. This is also particularly sentimental to the cast and crew because it will be Once Upon A Time’s 150th episode overall, which makes Lana’s achievement as a director on her beloved show even more touching to her OUAT family.
4. Tom Cavanaugh
Tom plays the mysterious genius Dr. Harrison Wells (on the hit DC Superhero show The Flash (also starring Grant Gustin as Barry Allen aka The Flash). Barry, as The Flash, is currently facing a seemingly undefeatable adversary who threatens his life, superpower, and everyone that he loves. Tom has directed a few short indie films before, but directing an episode of The Flash marks the first time he’s taken on the role for a previously established, hit tv series. It may be amusing for fans to imagine Tom’s immediate transition from portraying the serious (sometimes awkwardly funny) doctor on screen to the man behind the cameras calling all the artistic shots, but it certainly makes us appreciate his special Flash episode even more.
5. Clark Gregg
Marvel comics fans have undoubtedly seen Agent Phil Coulson fighting onscreen alongside the Avengers and Nick Fury. In this newest season of Agents of Shield, the inhuman director took upon another kind of directing—the behind-the-scenes production of one of the most intense action-packed episodes of the entire show. As always, the lives of the Shield agents and the rest of the world is at stake, but there is so much going on that makes shooting almost overwhelmingly difficult. As he shared in his recent TVLine interview, there were martial arts, wire fighting, green screen and super powers blasting places apart…which will surely provide fans with an abundance of visual satisfaction.
It is definitely interesting to compare these actors/directors’ on screen images to the production images. It allows us to be more aware of the para-social interaction that we may have towards fictional characters: the belief that actors equal the exact characters they play on screen. No matter what the actors’ intention and motivations may be in taking a stab at directing right now, it creates a quirky dynamic on and off screen that is amusing and inspiring.