10 Unexpected Actors Making Directorial Debuts In 2019

4. Rebecca Hall - Passing

Booksmart Olivia Wilde
Warner Bros.

Rebecca Hall has featured in some fantastic movies across her career, but despite turns in The Prestige, Iron Man 3, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and The Town, she isn’t really a household name.

It makes sense then, for career longevity if nothing else, that she tries her hand at directing too. George Clooney is a much bigger name, but he’s started to step away from acting roles to focus on directing more, and if Hall’s debut is a success she may well follow the same path.

This isn’t just pie in the sky speculation, either. Her father, Sir Peter Hall, has a handful of experience directing films but is a legend of stage direction, working as the lead director for both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.

It leaves Hall with big shoes to fill, and it remains to be seen if Passing can live up it them.

Based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novella (with Hall writing the screenplay), Passing is the story of a light skinned black woman trying to pass as white, while she and her childhood friend develop a mutual obsession for each other. Starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, Passing offers deep themes for Hall to explore.

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