10 Famous Actors Who Tried To Direct Movies (And Failed)

4. Brief Interviews With Hideous Men - John Krasinski

Brief Interviews With Hideous Men likely features about a half-dozen actors that you personally like. Go ahead, look at the cast list. So why haven't you heard more about this movie adaptation of David Foster Wallace's short story collection? Probably because it was directed and adapted by John Krasinski, best known as Jim on the U.S. version of The Office. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and barely made a blip on the radar, scoring a dismal 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Months later the 80 minute movie was released to only 2 theaters in the U.S. and grossed just $33,745. Why did it do so poorly? Simply put, Krasinski's adaptation of Wallace's very funny book just wasn't very funny. Krasinski later directed 3 episodes of The Office, but the 2012 drama Promised Land that he co-wrote with Matt Damon ended up being directed by veteran Gus Van Sant. Damon was originally slated to make his directorial debut on the movie, but perhaps he took a look at his co-writer's attempt at directing his first film and decided to call in his old Good Will Hunting buddy instead.