10 Movie Directors Who Dated Their Stars

Alfred Hitchcock had a thing for blondes. Not only did he cast Hollywood starlets like Tippi Hedren and Janet Leigh in his film, but he often had other, less-professional designs on them. As recounted in the Toby Jones-starring The Girl, Hitch often got as dangerously obsessed with his female actors as the more psychotic male characters in his movies, often attempting to wield his directorial powers over them so they'd give him a chance (because, really, have you ever seen the guy? He made some great films, but we're glad he stayed mostly behind the camera...). It's like a more extreme example of the infamous "casting couch", where aspiring young actors trade, ahem, favours for starring roles. That's the darker side of relationships in tinsel town. For others, the Los Angeles landscape isn't full of predatory men taking advantage of young women - or vice-versa. Instead, it's simply a melting plot of talented, beautiful people who sometimes bang each other. And who sometimes end up doing more than banging! As in, they get married and stuff. There might be a weird power dynamic involved in a director dating the star of their film, but that hasn't stopped literally dozens of such pairings cropping up over the years. We guess it kinda makes sense: you spend all day, for months on end, with each other, eventually you're gonna develop some feelings. Although sometimes it can lead to actors comparing their directors to Hitler. It probably helps if you like being bossed around. Some of these pairings have made tabloid headlines, some have been brief dalliances, whileas somehow have blossomed into life long unions. Or as long as "life long" unions in Hollywood tend to last, anyway. There are stars and visionaries of the modern day, and relationships which have weathered the storm since the black-and-white era (sort of). These are ten directors who ended up dating their stars, for better or for worse.