10 Actors Who Had Awesome Directorial Debuts

By Audrey Fox /

6. Richard Ayoade - Submarine

Richard Ayoade is probably one of the smartest actors of his generation in the industry today (he even went to Cambridge and performed with Footlights), so it makes sense that he would be eager to experiment with other aspects of filmmaking. He's well known these days for a slightly subversive sense of humor as seen in The Mighty Boosh and The IT Crowd, but it's been clear for quite some time that he has an interest in working behind the camera as well. For a number of years now, he's been directing music videos for Arctic Monkeys, Super Furry Animals, and Vampire Weekend, each displaying a natural skill and a dynamic use of the camera. It was inevitable that he would transition into feature films at some point, which he did in 2010 with Submarine. The film is characteristically eccentric, centering around a Welsh teenager who wants to lose his virginity and see his struggling parents reconcile. We can't wait to see what Ayoade comes out with next.