10 Unexpected Actors Making Directorial Debuts In 2019
2. Christoph Waltz - Georgetown
Christoph Waltz is arguably the least surprising actor on this list to go into directing, but what might be surprising is how poorly it’s being received. After two Oscar wins for Supporting Actor in 2010 and 2013, there was no doubting Waltz’s talent, but early reviews for Georgetown suggests he should stick to what he’s best at.
Waltz stars in the movie too, playing the central character in the biographical story of Ulrich Mott, a social climber in Washington DC who marries an elderly widow to gain her wealth and access to her sphere of influence.
It hasn’t received wide release yet, but it’s the sort of bubbling under movie which needed critical acclaim to hook audiences in. There’s nothing wrong with this especially; it worked particularly well for American Sniper’s shock box office run. But that acclaim just hasn’t arrived, and Georgetown looks set to fall well short of Waltz’s expectations.
Early Metacritic sits at a lowly 46 right now, with most reviews complaining about the choppy tone, poor pacing and the frustrating way it presents itself; all problems that give license to blame the director.