Actors You Didn't Know Were Writers
Many actors and actresses will try their hands at directing or producing, sometimes even in films they star in. But how many actors do you know that wrote the screenplay or script for a movie? Or have a side hustle as an author?
Creativity knows no bounds with some actors—let's explore which ones let their creativity run wild off-screen, too!
James Franco
James Franco is definitely a man of many talents—whether it's acting, gardening, or writing, he can do it all. He's written the screenplays for two novel adaptations: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner and Child of God by Cormac McCarthy, which later became a 2013 thriller in which Franco acted.
His notable fiction works also include Palo Alto (2010), a collection of short stories, and Actors Anonymous (2013), which also became a movie of the same name in 2017.
Justin Theroux
Justin Theroux was once married to Jennifer Aniston, but he was also famous for acting in American Psycho (2000), Mulholland Drive (2001), Zoolander (2001), and Six Feet Under (2001). However, you may have seen Ben Stiller's war-comedy Tropic Thunder? Justin Theroux was one of the principal writers of Tropic Thunder, alongside Etan Cohen.
Rashida Jones
Best known for her role in Parks and Recreation (2009), Rashida Jones had some trouble finding future projects following that hugely successful show; so, she made her own. She wrote a romantic comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg: Celeste And Jesse Forever (2012). She would also write a comic script entitled Frenemy Of The State, inspired by Paris Hilton.
Envision Media Arts, Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012)
Danny McBride
Danny McBride usually plays a braggadocio of the highest order in his acting roles, but when he's not pushing everyone's buttons, McBride is instead tapping the keyboard and writing. He's credited as a writer on 12 currently-released films, with one upcoming flick still in the works. Notably, his work includes The Exorcist: Believer, the Halloween trilogy from 2018-2022, and two TV series: Vice Principals (2016-2017) and The Righteous Gemstones (2019-2023).
HBO, The Righteous Gemstones (2019-2023)
Jason Segel
Jason Segel is probably most famous for his roles in Get Him To The Greek (2010), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), and as Marshall in How I Met Your Mother (2005). He also wrote Get Him To The Greek and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, along with Windfall (2022), and created the TV series Shrinking (2023).
Universal, Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
Tyler Perry
The much-loved actor and filmmaker is famous for playing Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a character he created and has starred as in multiple productions. He first penned The Diary Of A Mad Black Woman in 2005, adapted from a stage play that he wrote. Perry also maintains an acting career alongside his own production company.
BET Pictures, The Diary Of A Mad Black Woman (2005)
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham was an incredibly accomplished writer well before she got into acting. She wrote a short film, Dealing, in 2006, followed by the highly-successful Delusional Downtown Divas in 2009 and her first feature film, Creative Nonfiction, later that year.
However, her breakout written work was Tiny Furniture (2010), which earned her an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. She's also the brains and the words behind the TV series Girls, which ran for five seasons between 2012 and 2017.
GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
George Clooney
Despite his prolific career as an actor, Clooney has written five movies during his career. The first was a TV-movie called Kilroy (1999), followed by the better-known Good Night and Good Luck (2005). He would also write the screenplays for The Ides of March (2011) and the very popular war film, The Monuments Men, in 2014. His most recent accreditation is the 2017 crime/comedy with Matt Damon, Suburbicon.
Matteo Chinellato, Shutterstock
Jim Rash
What? Community's Dean Pelton is also a writer? Yep! Jim Rash was a guest writer on Saturday Night Live in 2006. Afterward, he also wrote the drama The Descendants (2011), starring the aforementioned George Clooney. His other writing credits include The Way Way Back (2013) and a more recent 2022 project—Downhill—which he wrote the screenplay for.
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is another actor who started off by making his own luck by writing, directing, and starring in the 1996 thriller, Sling Blade. He also wrote a short called The Last Real Cowboys in 2000 and a horror movie called The Gift. His last two accredited writing roles were Camouflage and Daddy and Them from 2001, before he took an 11-year writing hiatus. He would later write the comedy/drama Jayne Mansfield's Car in 2012.
AR Films, Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012)
Danny Strong
You've likely seen Danny Strong in something over the last two decades—after all, he does have 40 acting credits to his name, including hit shows like Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls, and Mad Men. He prefers to do his most notable work behind-the-scenes and was the writer for two-time Emmy Award-winning Game Change, a political drama based on the 2008 election campaign. He also wrote Recount (2008), another political drama based on the 2000 Florida election recount, and the first movie in the highly-acclaimed, award-winning The Hunger Games franchise.
Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins has been on your screens for 30 years, but you might not know his off-camera writing credits include movies like 1992's Bill Roberts, Dead Man Walking (1995)—he was nominated for an Oscar for that one—and the 1999 comedy/drama, Cradle Will Rock.
Chris Harte, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Tina Fey
Tina Fey is a name most people would recognize anywhere, and certainly people know what she looks like. But she was a writer long before she appeared on anyone's TV screens. She began writing for Saturday Night Live in 1997 and, by 2003, she was the head of writing at the show. By 2004, she had written the eponymous Mean Girls screenplay.
She would go on to create and write the hilarious 30 Rock (2006) and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015-2019) and the TV movie based on the series in 2020. Her most recent work includes Mr. Mayor (2021-2022).
Tom McCarthy
Tom McCarthy is best known for his writing on the indie movie scene, but has done some big-name acting in films such as Meet The Parents (2000) and the 2007 crime thriller Michael Clayton. His writing resume on the indie scene, however, is almost unrivaled. It includes The Station Agent (2003), The Visitor (2007), and Win-Win (2011). He has also received high praise for his work on Million Dollar Arm (2014), and even worked on the Disney hit, Up (2009).
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck became an overnight sensation in the late 1990s when he and Matt Damon wrote Good Will Hunting (1997), which earned them an Academy Award for the Best Original Screenplay. The two actors have been long-time friends and even have a production company together—Artists Equity—which produced the 2023 film Air.
Affleck has also written four films independently: Gone Baby Gone (2007), Live By Night (2016), The Town (2010) and The Last Duel (2021).
Miramax, Good Will Hunting (1997)
Matt Damon
Matt Damon, like Ben Affleck, first rose to prominence with his screenplay, Good Will Hunting, in 1997. Alongside that success, Damon co-wrote the screenplay for an action/thriller, Gerry, in 2002, followed by the corporation-versus-the-people hit, Promised Land, in 2012.
Miramax, Good Will Hunting (1997)
Sylvester Stallone
Sly Stallone is an action movie extraordinaire, but he's also a dab hand at writing: He actually wrote all of the Rocky films and all of the Rambo series. He also wrote the screenplays for the Creed series and the The Expendables series.
United Artists, Rocky III (1982)
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig starred in Bridesmaids (2011) and Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar (2021), but she also co-wrote the screenplays for both films. Prior to the success of Bridesmaids, Wiig wrote the SNL production A Very Gilly Christmas (2009) and a short film entitled Confessions Of A Tooth Fairy, in 2006.
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson has an acting filmography list as long as a piece of string, including an Academy Award for Best Actress (for Howard's End). However, Thompson has also proven herself as a screenwriter, penning Bridget Jones's Baby (2016), Last Christmas (2019), and the early 2000s film series, Nanny McPhee.
Universal, Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)
Ricky Gervais
We had to include Ricky Gervais on this list somewhere. He has a list of writing credits and accolades a mile long. From The Office (2001) to After Life (2019) and everything in-between with hits like Cemetery Junction (2010) and The Invention of Lying (2009), Ricky Gervais is one of the all-time greats.
Matt Hobbs, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ben Stiller
Eternal funnyman Ben Stiller has starred in some comedy classics over the years, like Zoolander (2001), which spawned a successful film series. He also starred in Tropic Thunder (2008), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), and the Night At The Museum (2006) series.
He's credited as a writer for each of the Zoolander movies and Tropic Thunder. He has an 'in development' political thriller in the works called Bag Man—centering around Richard Nixon's Vice-President, Spiro Agnew.
DreamWorks, Tropic Thunder (2008)
Tom Hanks
One of the best actors of all-time that has starred in some of the all-time classics, Tom Hanks is also a gifted screenwriter, with accreditations for the rom-com Larry Crowne (2011), That Thing You Do (1996), and a 2020 war film entitled Greyhound. He also helped to write an episode of the HBO epic Band of Brothers (2001).
Universal, Larry Crowne (2011)
Paul Rudd
The man who made a name for himself in slapstick romantic comedy movies of the early 2000s is now infamous as Ant-Man from the Marvel series. But he didn't just star in it: Rudd co-wrote the screenplays for Ant-Man (2015), and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). He also created the TV series Party Down (2009).
Marvel, Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Angelina Jolie
It doesn't get much more recognizable than Angelina Jolie. She has a plethora of acting credits to her name and a career that spans decades. However, did you know that she also co-wrote the screenplays for In The Land of Blood And Honey (2011), or the 2017 war thriller set in Cambodia, First, They Killed My Father?
Jolie's UNICEF ambassadorship doubtlessly gives her unique insight into war and conflict that allow her to pen such powerful movies.
Kenneth Branagh
You may not think of Kenneth Branagh as an esteemed writer, as he's better known for his adaptations of Shakespeare's Hamlet (1996) and Henry V (1989). But the British actor actually wrote an adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (1993), A Midwinter's Tale (1995), and a semi-autobiography feature in 2021—called Belfast—about his upbringing in Ireland.
Adam Sandler
He used to be one of the funniest men in Hollywood. And during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Sandler was almost unrivaled in the comedy world, with hits (that he wrote) like Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), and The Waterboy (1998). Sandler's certainly a prolific writer.
It seems as though, for Sandler, that late 1990s/early 2000s run of successful comedies was the peak of his writing career—although he has received many other accreditations since then, Sandler's movies haven't quite reached the popularity of those early days.
Universal, Billy Madison (1995)
Steve Coogan
British actor Steve Coogan made a name for himself as Alan Partridge, a parody character (of a British journalist) created by Steve Coogan—and an inspiration for Jonathan Pie. In the US, Coogan might be best known for his writing of Philomena (2013), The Trip (2014) and The Lost King (2022).
John Cusack
Known for starring in 1990s and early 2000s hits like High Fidelity, John Cusack is also a talented writer. Not only did he write High Fidelity, (2000), he also wrote Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), War, Inc. (2008), and We Are Not Animals (2013).
Touchstone, High Fidelity (2000)
Jordan Peele
Made infamous by Key and Peele, Jordan Peele's comedic work needs no introduction. But the acclaimed actor and comedian, famous for SNL, also wrote the psychological/horror thriller Get Out (2017). There are rumors that Peele is considering writing a sequel. We're really excited to see that!
Steve Martin
Steve Martin has been around in Hollywood for what seems like eternity, and each film or TV role seemingly makes his talent shine a little brighter. His most recent writing includes the hugely popular Netflix series, Only Murders In The Building (2021), but he has also written The Pink Panther series from the late 2000s and Three Amigos!, a 1986 classic Western comedy.
Twentieth Century, Only Murders in the Building (2021– )
"The Holdovers" Screenwriting Fiasco
Paul Giamatti's The Holdovers (2023) has been embroiled in a legal battle with San Francisco-based writer Simon Stephenson (who wrote Paddington 2), who has accused the studio of plagiarizing his work "line by line".
Which of these actors' writing talents do you remember the most? Are any of your favorite movies written by an actor that's dabbled in writing? Head to the comments' section to let us know!
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