10 Great Directors Who Acted In Other Peoples' Movies

3. David Cronenberg - Nightbreed

Though a pivotal helmer in horror circles, David Cronenberg wasn't exactly in demand as an actor. So it may have set studio alarm bells ringing when Clive Barker cast him in Nightbreed, the 1990 big screen take on his novel Cabal. Not only did he put him in the film, he made him the main villain of the piece. Barker's script featured the rugged Boone (Craig Sheffer), whose psychotherapy sessions took a bizarre turn when Doctor Decker (Cronenberg) informed him he was a murderer. This turned out to be a plot by Decker to get someone apprehended for his own terrible crimes, committed as masked maniac Buttonface. Luckily - at least in a sense - Boone became hospitalized, which started the journey to the city of Midian, where monsters lay. It was certainly a gamble throwing Cronenberg into the mix, and while the movie didn't succeed it gained an army of followers, ensuring his onscreen contribution to the cult saga passed into history. Other small parts came and went, but on the whole the Canadian chillmeister has remained in the director's chair.