Actor-Director Collaborators

We often see actors who like to work with the same co-stars. While that deserves it’s own list, it actually spurred the idea for this list. Directors also have their actor preferences. In this list, I’m going to highlight some of the most prominent examples of this. I’ll be discussing 20 different directors and their most frequent collaborator. This isn’t necessarily the top 20, just the 20 I considered the most notable. It’s also worth noting each director will only appear once, but I may mention a few actors. I also only mention partnerships that occurred 6 or more times.

Yasujiro Ozu & Chishu Ryu (52)- I’ll admit I’m not familiar with these two names. But they take the cake as the most frequent collaborators. Ozu & Ryu are a Japanese actor & director who made 52 films together. That’s a lot of films. The first of their films together came out in 1928, with the latest coming out in 1962. Their most well-known movies include ‘Late Spring,’ ‘Tokyo Story,’ & ‘An Autumn Afternoon.’

John Ford & John Wayne (21)- Wayne is not actually John Ford’s most frequent partner. In fact, he would be 8th on the list, 1st would be Jack Pennick who appeared in 41 Ford films. No offense to Pennick & those other 6, but come on, it’s John Wayne. I’m putting him. Some of their notable films together include ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,’ ‘Stagecoach,’ ‘The Searchers,’ & ‘The Quiet Man.’

Sam Raimi & Bruce Campbell (13)- Similar to the previous entry, Raimi’s top partner would be Scott Spiegel with 20 films together. Secondly we have Bruce Campbell, who is a more familiar name so I’m going with him. Campbell appeared in the ‘Evil Dead’ trilogy in the lead role of Ash, and also had cameo appearances in the ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy, & ‘Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.’ Another actor worth mentioning is J.K. Simmons (6) who also appeared in the ‘Spider-Man’ films as well as Raimi’s films ‘For the Love of the Game’ & The Gift.’

Robert Rodriguez & Danny Trejo (11)- Between 1995 & 2013, Danny Trejo appeared in 11 of Robert Rodriguez’s films including: ‘Despeardo,’ ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico,’ the ‘Spy Kids’ trilogy, & the ‘Machete’ films. Other actors that Rodriguez has collaborated with often in the ‘Spy Kids’ and ‘Mexico’ trilogies include: Cheech Marin (7), Antonio Banderas (7), Salma Hayek (7), & Alexa PenaVega (6)

Martin Scorsese & Robert De Niro (11)- One of the all-time partnerships. You can actually find a whole article on Wikipedia entitled ‘Martin Scorses and Robert De Niro’ because they’re just that iconic. The 11 films these two have done together include some films that are considered the best ever like, ‘Taxi Driver,’ ‘Raging Bull,’ ‘Goodfellas,’ ‘Casino,’ ‘The Irishman,’ ‘The King of Comedy,’ & ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ Another one of Scorsese’s frequenters is Leonardo DiCaprio (7), and this duo also has a Wikipedia article. Their films are ‘Gangs of New York,’ ‘The Aviator,’ ‘The Departed,’ ‘Shutter Island,’ ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ ‘The Audition,’ & ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’

Wes Anderson & Bill Murray (9)- Wes Anderson is one of the directors that always pulls from the same ensemble of actors. His filmography is studded with actors appearing over and over like Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, & others. But Bill Murray takes the lead having appeared in every film from ‘Rushmore’ to ‘The French Dispatch.’ This number will rise to 10 when Murray appears in ‘The Phoenician Scheme.’

The Coen Brothers & Frances McDormand (9)- I guess the Coen Brothers most frequent collaborators would be each other, but I digress. But when it comes to actors that star in their films, Frances McDormand appears in 9 films between 1984 & 2021. Other frequents are John Goodman (6), Steve Buscemi (6), & Bruce Campbell (5), who is also becoming a frequent collaborator with this list, making his 2nd appearance.

Tim Burton & Johnny Depp (8)- I’ve become well aware of how repetitive my entries and vocabulary have become, and well, if you hadn’t you will now. Tim Burton uses the same actors in a lot of his films & also uses the same stylistic choices, which makes all his films feel connected. Depp starred in 8 Burton films between 1990-2012, starting with ‘Edward Scissohrands,’ which interestingly enough Depp wasn’t the first choice for. Curious who that was? Stay tuned for an upcoming list of actor’s who declined iconic roles. Burton’s number two with 7 films is Helena Bonham Carter. The two enjoyed their partnership so much, that they were actually real life romantic partners from 2001-2014.

Alright I’m breaking here to tell you that at this point I will just start listing the actors and directors and some of their notable films, with minimal commentary.

Guillermo del Toro & Ron Perlman (8)- Films include: ‘Blade II,’ ‘Hellboy,’ ‘Pacific Rim,’ ‘Nightmare Alley,’ & ‘Pinocchio’ Other actors: Doug Jones (6)

Dennis Dugan & Adam Sandler (8)- Films include: ‘Happy Gilmore,’ ‘Big Daddy,’ ‘Grown Ups,’ & ‘Just Go With It’ Other actors: Rob Schneider (6)

Richard Linklater & Ethan Hawke (8)- Films include: the ‘Before’ trilogy, ‘Boyhood,’ & ‘Fast Food Nation’

Christopher Nolan & Michael Caine (8)- Films include: 'The Dark Knight’ trilogy, ‘Inception,’ ‘The Prestige,’ & ‘Interstellar’ Other actors: Cillian Murphy (6)

Justin Lin & Sung Kang (8)- Films include: ‘Better Luck Tomorrow,’ 5 different ‘Fast & Furious’ films, & ‘Magnum P.I.’

James Gunn & Michael Rooker (7)- Films include: ‘Super,’ ‘The Suicide Squad,’ & ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy’ trilogy. Other actors: Nathan Fillion & Sean Gunn, 6 each, 7 when the new ‘Superman’ comes out.

Quentin Tarantino & Zoë Bell (7)- Films include: The ‘Kill Bill’ duo, ‘Inglorious Basterds,’ ‘Django Unchained,’ & ‘The Hateful Eight’ Other actors: Samuel L. Jackson (6)

Judd Apatow & Leslie Mann (6)- Films include: ‘Knocked Up,’ ‘Funny People,’ & ‘This is 40’ The couple has been married in real life since 1997 and have two daughters.

James Cameron & Bill Paxton (6)- Films include: ‘The Terminator,’ ‘Aliens,’ & ‘Titanic’

Ryan Coogler & Michael B. Jordan (6)- Films include: ‘Fruitvale Station,’ ‘Creed,’ the ‘Black Panther’ duo, and an upcoming untitled vampire film

Harold Ramis & Brian Doyle-Murray (6)- Films include: ‘Caddyshack,’ ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation,’ & ‘Groundhog Day’

Steven Spielberg & Tom Hanks (6)- The GOAT director & GOAT actor. Films include: ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ ‘Catch Me If You Can,’ & ‘Bridge of Spies’