From Sean Penn, I thought The Pledge was excellent, of course, with an excellent score by Hans Zimmer (whom he met while working on The Thin Red Line) and Klaus Badelt; both of whom, according to Penn, worked for almost nothing on the film. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Penn had a lot of interesting things to say about working with Hans Zimmer and doing a film like The Pledge, which, also showcased one of Jack Nicholson's more interesting roles.

NP: (nothing)

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Originally posted by Spicy Ramen:
Robert Redford

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I second that.

My own personal choice would be Kenneth Branagh.

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Originally posted by SFT:
My own personal choice would be Kenneth Branagh.

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I'd pick him, too, but is he really an "actor turned director"? Hmm....a look at the IMDb tells me his is, didn't know he'd done so much acting before Henry V.

So how about actors turned composers? Is Patrick Doyle the only one?

Robert Redford? Solid film-maker, but so solid he's stolid. And that taint of mysticism he has put into everything is so boring. LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE? Watch paint dry instead, it's more exciting.

Eastwood? Now there's an interesting director who has learned the rules. But I still think he lacks imagination. It's like he's wanting to express deep concepts, but his pedestrian (and very correct) handling stifles it all.

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Originally posted by Graham Watt:
Marian, I'm not sure if Patrick Doyle can be considered a former actor. He did study drama, and was in a few of Branagh's films, but more for his operatic singing qualities.

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Others, classically trained, who started out as instrumentalists before turning to composing, include Lalo Schifrin and John Williams, who need no introduction.

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Originally posted by Graham Watt:
Marian, I didn't know Doyle was in CHARIOTS OF FIRE. Does that make him an actor?

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I taped Chariots of Fire from TV a week ago and still haven't watched it, but I just came across this in Doyle's liner notes for Henry V:

Music has always been a part of my career, but until I met Kenneth Branagh and David Parfitt and worked with the Renaissance Theatre Company I was principally an actor. Now, composition is my main occupation.

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Anyway, I bet YOU didn't know that he was born just down the road from where I came out the egg.

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Cool!

There is an old adage that Directors really want to act and actors really want to direct. Actors usually have a better chance at crossing over. Most directors seem good for nothing more than Cameos, though some like John Huston or Francois Truffaut did go from directing to acting with good results.

It's said that actors make good directors because they know something about the craft to begin with. Hard to say. Some succeed better than others. Also, ego or the love of a pet vanity project often brings actors to directing and the results of that can sometimes be rough on an audience (think TREK 5). Some try their hand at features, others just want a taste and do a few episodes of TV.