10 Unexpected Actors Making Directorial Debuts In 2019

6. Chiwetel Ejiofor - The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

Booksmart Olivia Wilde
Fox

Like Dev Patel, Chiwetel Ejiofor comes across like he has much more going on upstairs than your average movie star. Again then, it’s not the transition into directing which is surprising so much as it is the timing which might catch people off guard.

Both writing and starring as well as directing, this tale of a Malawian boy learning how to build wind turbines for his village follows some fairly standard story beats, but does the simple stuff well.

The movie is already out and the reception of fans and critics mirrors the movie’s safe but competent feel. 7.6 on IMDb and 68 on Metacritic is nothing to sniff at, with that IMDb score beating Chiwetel Ejiofor’s five most recent films, including Doctor Strange.

Ejiofor has a fairly eclectic back catalogue when it comes to acting, reaching from Sherlock Gnomes to Love, Actually to 12 Years A Slave with several blockbusters thrown in the mix too. He could well get back behind the camera, and don’t be surprised if he brings something completely different this time.

It’s perhaps not as layered as you’d expect from Ejiofor, but it’s a lot sweeter too.

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