10 Directors Who Never Topped Their First Film

1. Orson Welles - Citizen Kane

Zack Snyder Dawn of the Dead
Warner Bros.

While someone like Frank Darabont may have had the unenviable task of trying to top a silver screen directorial debut that amassed seven Academy Award nominations and cemented itself as an all-time great of cinema, the example of Orson Welles takes that situation and turns it up to 11.

For Welles, his Citizen Kane is often referred to in some circles as the greatest film in the history of cinema, period.

After working on radio and stage productions, Welles' first foray into the world of film saw him co-write, produce, direct and star in 1941's Citizen Kane. Detailing the life of fictional tycoon Charles Foster Kane, the film pulls inspiration from the lives of real life figures such as Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst and Harold McCormick.

Up until he passed away in 1985 at the age of 70, Orson Welles continued to write, direct and act, although he never quite managed to get close to the sheer perfection that is Citizen Kane. Of course, there is absolutely zero shame in that, for Welles really did hand himself an impossible task when it came to trying to create something even better than a film widely lauded as the very best movie ever.

Watch Next


Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.