Some of the directors made screen appearances as fillers only. Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg had walked on in the music video of Michael Jackson's haunting song "Liberian girl".
Bollywood boasts of some great director-actors in the past who left their indelible mark in cinematic history. The two names that instantly come to mind are Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt.
Raj Kapoor, known as the showman of the Hindi film industry, directed and acted in almost all his movies like "Sangam", "Awara" and "Shri 420". Guru Dutt made some of the masterpieces that gave him cult status. Dutt's untimely death was a mighty blow to the industry but his films "Kagaz Ke Phool", "Jaal" and "Pyasa" are regarded as the epitome of excellent craftsmanship.
Then comes Vijay Anand, one of the immensely talented directors, who was also a fine actor. He played a few noticeable roles in "Kora Kagaz", "Tere Mere Sapne" and the eccentric detective Sam D'Silva in the television series "Tehqiqat".
His nephew and internationally acclaimed director Shekhar Kapoor has also acted in a few films like "Drishti", "Gawahi" and also chipped in as a truck driver in his controversial flick "Bandit Queen".
Another Bollywood big shot Subhash Ghai flashes in a scene or two in all his films. Satish Kaushik is also on the list of director-actor. He is best known for his on-screen rapport with Anil Kapoor and Govinda.
Salman Khan's brother Sohail Khan debuted as a director and gave hits like "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" and "Hello Brother" but later on took to acting. His forthcoming film is action-packed drama "Fight Club".
Even Karan Johar, today's most happening director, played himself in the recently released "Home Delivery".
Mahesh Manjrekar nowadays shuttles between acting and direction. Remember his outstanding and hilarious performance in Sanjay Gupta's "Kaante", which brought the whole house down?
If seasoned actors like Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah can wield the megaphone then why not vice versa.