10 actors who wrote episodes of the shows they star in
Once someone arrives in Hollywood, it can be easy for them to move from job to job assuming they have talent. This is true for actors, especially when they spend several years playing the same role in the same show.
In fact, the actors of blockbuster shows often jump behind the camera as soon as possible. While most opt ​​for the director’s chair because it is primarily related to their acting skills, some make the jump into the writer’s chair. Sometimes actors only write one or two episodes of their shows, while other actors become a hybrid actor-writer, creating their own shows that they star in.
ten Freddie Highmore – ‘Bates Motel’ and ‘The Good Doctor’
Freddie Highmore is on course to become a major actor in Hollywood within the next two years. Not only is he a successful actor who started out as a child, but he also became familiar with directing and writing for television.
Highmore first got the chance to write for television by appearing as Norman Bates on Bates Motel. He ended up writing two episodes of the series: “Unfaithful” and “Inseparable”. He returned to the writer’s chair on The good doctor write the first episode of season two “Hello”.
9 Mindy Kaling – “ The Office ” and “ The Mindy Project ”
Mindy Kaling has certainly made a name for herself both on camera and behind. In fact, she has become a very successful showrunner after creating several successful TV shows in recent years.
Kaling got her TV writing star on hit NBC sitcom Office. In addition to portraying Kelly Kapoor on the series, Kaling has written over twenty episodes for the series, including the episode where Jim and Pam get married and “Michael’s Last Dundies”. After Office, Kaling created his own show The Mindy project where she starred and wrote several episodes.
8 Aziz Ansari – ‘Master of None’
Aziz Ansari is best known for playing Tom Haverford on one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time, Parks and recreation. While several of his Parks and recreation The cast mates were given the chance to write an episode for the series, Ansari did not.
It wasn’t until Ansari created his own show Master of None that Ansari became a television writer. Since the inception of the Netflix show, Ansair has written most of the episodes alone or with one of the two co-writers, Alan Yang or Lena Waithe.
7 Amy Poehler – “Parks and Recreation†and “The Mighty B!â€
As many know, Amy Poehler made her debut in the world of sketch comedy, which is why it’s no surprise that Poehler was also very successful behind the screens as a writer. She started writing on television Saturday Night Live where one of his political skits became the biggest viral video of the year.
After SNL, Poehler created the children’s animated show The Might B! where she not only wrote but also provided the voice of the main character. She then moved on to Parks and recreation where she played the main character, Leslie Knope. During his stay, Poehler wrote six episodes of the series, including co-writing the finale.
6 Chris Colfer – ‘Glee’
Chris Colfer rose to fame playing Kurt Hummel in iconic teenage musical drama Joy. Colfer appeared in 116 episodes over the course of the series and has become an iconic and inspirational character for thousands, if not millions of viewers.
By appearing on Joy, Colfer had the opportunity to put his writing skills to the test when asked to write an episode. He wrote the season five episode “Old Dog, New Tricks”, where his character ends up landing a lead role.
5 Issa Rae – ‘Insecurity’
Like most recent successful people in Hollywood, Issa Rae began his hugely successful career as a writer-actor hybrid. She created and starred in her own web series The Misadventures of the Clumsy Black Girl who launched his career.
Since then, Rae has continued to act and write in tandem. Most notably, she created her own HBO show, Precarious, where she is not only the creator, but also the lead and chief writer of the series. She also wrote and appeared on the web series Little horrible.
4 Ramy Youssef – ‘Ramy’
Ramy Youssef is fast becoming another powerful showrunner in the television industry. However, Youssef made his acting debut by landing the lead role in the sitcom Nick at Nite. See daddy run and a recurring role in the hit series Mr. Robot.
After her on-screen success, Youssef created the hit original series Hulu Ramy. Inspired by his own life, Youseff not only created the series, but he also plays a fictional version of himself and has written, directed and produced several episodes of the series.
3 Rachel Bloom – “ Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ”
Rachel Bloom made her Hollywood debut as an animated writer for the series Allen Gregory. She went on to write and perform various characters in Adult Swim’s Robot chicken.
Bloom made her big breakthrough in 2015 when she created the CW romantic musical drama series Crazy ex-girlfriend. Not only does Bloom portray the main character, Rebecca Bunch, but she also has 13 of the 16 episodes, including the series premiere and the season finale.
2 Seth MacFarlane – ‘L’Orville’
Seth MacFarlane is another Hollywood elite who started out in the animation world. In fact, MacFarlane started out as an animator before moving on to the writer-actor title he now holds.
MacFarlane took his big break in 1999 when he created the animated series Family guy where he both wrote and portrayed several characters including Peter, Stewie and Brian Griffen. While most of MacFarlane’s work is in the animated world, he recently created the live-action show. L’Orville where he both writes and acts in the series.
1 Esther Povitsky – ‘Alone Together’
Esther Povitsky may be new to Hollywood, but she’s already carved out a place for herself in the competitive television industry. As an actress, Povitsky is used to juggling acting and writing, which has made her appear on TV so seamlessly.
She got to test her writer-actor hybrid in 2018 when she co-created the comedy series Freeform. Alone together. Povitsky played a fictional version of herself on the show and all of them ended up writing 3 episodes of the show that spanned two seasons.
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