10 Great Directors Who Acted In Other Peoples' Movies

5. Ken Russell - The Russia House

He was responsible for numerous cinematic trips into the psychedelic and the deeply deranged care of such films as The Devils, Tommy and Altered States. In addition to his frequent collaborations with mercurial star Oliver Reed, Ken Russell acquired a degree of fame in cultural circles. Bearing this in mind, Fred Schepisi invited Russell to participate in his 1990 John Le Carre adaptation The Russia House. The movie starred Sean Connery, who played publisher Barley Blair, a man whose political views brought him to the attention of the Kremlin. Michelle Pfeiffer was Katya, a Russian woman carrying a document of devastating impact. Russell took the role of Walter, an intelligence agent for the Brits whose sexuality made him somewhat controversial with his colleagues. The artist used this as a springboard to do more acting, especially in later productions, which had an extremely low budget.