You Most likely Forgot These 10 Stunning Actor-Director Collaborations Even Occurred

Through the years, some actor-director pairings have been so surprising, they make us do a double-take and surprise, “Did that actually occur?” From acclaimed auteurs teaming up with motion stars to legends of Japanese cinema casting mainstream Hollywood actors, these shocking collaborations have left us genuinely surprised.

Whether or not it’s Martin Scorsese recognizing a pop star on {a magazine} cowl and deciding she was excellent for his subsequent movie or Vin Diesel teaming up with the director of 12 Indignant Males for a courtroom drama, Hollywood has by no means shied away from surprising casting decisions. A few of these odd pairings have flown underneath the radar, however they’re properly price remembering.

10

Vin Diesel & Sidney Lumet

Discover Me Responsible (2006)

As a star recognized for blockbuster franchises and motion films, many might be shocked to study that Vin Diesel labored with the legendary director of socially aware dramas like 12 Indignant Males and Canine Day Afternoon, Sidney Lumet. Nonetheless, the 2 got here collectively in 2006 for Discover Me Responsible, a courtroom comedy-drama primarily based on the longest Mafia trial in American historical past.

With Diesel because the real-life gangster Jackie DiNorscio, Discover Me Responsible instructed the story of him representing himself in courtroom as he and 19 of his colleagues have been on trial for racketeering. Diesel gave a convincing efficiency that showcased his dramatic skills, and this shocking addition to his filmography makes us want he would problem himself extra usually with severe roles.

9

Rihanna & Luc Besson

Valerian and the Metropolis of a Thousand Planets (2017)

Luc Besson has been behind a number of the most acclaimed motion and sci-fi films of the previous 30 years, and basic releases like Léon: The Skilled acted because the breakout position for youngster star Natalie Portman. Nonetheless, many can have forgotten that Besson additionally labored with pop sensation Rihanna on his divisive sci-fi Valerian and the Metropolis of a Thousand Planets.

This disappointing house opera was bursting with potential because it tailored a beloved French graphic novel collection, but it was woefully miscast, and the addition of names like supermodel Cara Delevingne and singer Rihanna didn’t do the movie any favors. There was hope Valerian might match the attraction of Besson’s basic launch, The Fifth Factor, however the outcomes have been underwhelming.

8

Michael Jackson & Francis Ford Coppola

Captain EO (1986)

Francis Ford Coppola directed a number of the most acclaimed films of all time, as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now stand as defining films of the Seventies. Whereas Coppola has loads of undisputed classics, he’s additionally been concerned in some very uncommon tasks, together with the Disney theme park brief movie Captain EO starring none aside from Michael Jackson.

This 17-minute brief was proven at a number of Disney parks from 1986 to 1998 and instructed the story of Captain EO (Jackson) and his ragtag crew on an interstellar mission. With components of Star Wars and different basic sci-fi films, Captain EO was a wierd film musical that paired two unlikely masters of their craft for a fun-filled journey in house.

7

Richard Gere & Akira Kurosawa

Rhapsody in August (1991)

With Richard Gere as a mainstream American film star and Akira Kurosawa because the filmmaker behind Japanese samurai epics like Rashomon, these two vastly totally different creatives really feel like an unlikely pair. But Gere appeared in Kurosawa’s Rhapsody in August, which instructed the story of an aged hibakusha who misplaced her husband within the atomic bombing of Nagasaki caring for her grandchildren.

When this aged lady discovers her long-lost brother was residing in Hawaii, she decides to go to him and meets his son, Clark, performed by Gere. To see Gere seem on this meditative Japanese-language launch was a hanging cross-cultural anomaly, though it aligns completely with Gere’s fame as a practising Buddhist.

6

Billy Ray Cyrus & David Lynch

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Whereas most will know Billy Ray Cyrus because the “Achy Breaky Coronary heart” singing father of Miley Cyrus, lovers of the late nice filmmaker David Lynch will know him as Gene in Mulholland Drive. As a wierd, surreal, neo-noir that’s usually ranked as one of many biggest movies of the twenty first century, this isn’t the place you’d count on to see Cyrus.

In Mulholland Drive, Cyrus proved his means to step outdoors of the mainstream and embrace the dreamlike cinematic world of Lynch. Nonetheless, Cyrus has been vital of the impact of the position on his profession, and he even blamed Lynch (by way of AV Membership) for setting in movement a domino impact that may break his life.

5

Marlon Brando & Frank Oz

The Rating (2001)

Marlon Brando, whose naturalism and methodology fashion in On the Waterfront helped outline fashionable performing, hardly appears a possible match for puppeteer-turned-director Frank Oz. Nonetheless, the pair got here collectively in 2001 for what can be Brando’s ultimate movie position within the heist movie The Rating.

Brando’s eccentric conduct led to clashes with Oz, and co-star Robert De Niro needed to take over directing, with Ouncesinstructing him by way of an assistant director (by way of Montreal Gazette.) Whereas there have been loads of behind-the-scenes troubles, The Rating was nonetheless a vital success, and it was thrilling to look at the younger and previous variations of Vito Corleone share the display screen.

4

Lindsay Lohan & Paul Schrader

The Canyons (2013)

Paul Schrader’s erotic thriller The Canyons featured an unusually numerous assortment of peculiar, notable names. With a screenplay by the American Psycho writer Bret Easton Ellis and starring Lindsay Lohan, The Canyons obtained poor critiques, though Lohan’s efficiency was the one side that critics singled out for reward.

The Canyons coincided with a succession of downturns in Lohan’s profession, as her private life, authorized issues, and arrests meant she was not gaining lead roles in mainstream comedies. Whereas Lohan working with Schrader got here out of left area, it additionally proved she was able to engaged on mature dramas and showcased a aspect to her we hadn’t beforehand seen.

3

David Bowie & Christopher Nolan

The Status (2006)

The late glam rock icon David Bowie’s profession slowed down through the 2000s as he stopped releasing new music and solely acted sometimes. That’s why it got here as such a shock to see him painting the real-life inventor Nikola Tesla in Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi psychological thriller The Status.

The Status

9/10

Launch Date

October 20, 2006

Runtime

130 minutes

The casting of Bowie was a stroke of genius, as his otherworldly aura completely represented the bizarre attraction of the eccentric inventor. Nolan said that Bowie was the one individual he had in thoughts to painting Tesla (by way of IGN) and that he flew out to New York to pitch the position to the musician in individual.

2

Paris Hilton & Sofia Coppola

The Bling Ring (2013)

The melancholic tone of Sofia Coppola’s movies could seem worlds other than the flashy, tabloid-fueled persona of Paris Hilton, but she was central to The Bling Ring and its exploration of the hole attract of superstar tradition. As a real goal of the true thefts that impressed the film, Hilton stood as each the topic and image of the fame-obsessed world the movie critiques.

Hilton’s look in The Bling Ring is an fascinating one as a result of it showcases her as a self-aware star who acknowledges the irony of her position on this film. Hilton wasn’t the one one who had a cameo look in The Bling Ring, as Coppola’s frequent collaborator Kristen Dunst additionally confirmed up as herself.

1

Gwen Stefani & Martin Scorsese

The Aviator (2004)

Whereas Gwen Stefani bought her begin with No Doubt, it was in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator that she made her main performing debut. Stefani’s position within the movie took place by happenstance, as Scorsese noticed her on the duvet of Teen Vogue (by way of MTV) and instantly thought she’d be excellent to seem on this Howard Hughes biopic alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.

With little performing expertise, Stefani was an fascinating selection for the position of the movie star Jean Harlow, as her platinum blonde hair powerfully embodied the glamour of previous Hollywood. Whereas there was loads of hype round Stefani’s look on the time, The Aviator stays her most substantial position, and it didn’t kickstart a significant performing profession.

Sources: Montreal Gazette, IGN, MTV