Reservoir Dogs: Quentin Tarantino & 9 Other Directors Who Made Their Directorial Debut Before They Were 30
Directing a movie is hard work. Directing a movie before you're 30 is even harder. Various modes of entertainment are dominated by various age groups. For example, pop stars - and musicians - typically skew younger. It's certainly not unheard of for a 14-year-old kid to become worldwide famous thanks to their music. But on the other hand, filmmaking and directing are typically performed by older demographics.
But not these movies. These movies were directed by young, assured, and supremely confident people.
These are ten directors who made their directorial debut before they turned 30.
10 Quentin Tarantino
Everyone knew that Quentin Tarantino would be a star director. Not just due to the quality of his movies, but for the way he came across as a filmmaking prodigy. Tarantino's first major release, Reservoir Dogs, premiered at Sundance on January 21, 1992. Tarantino was born on March 27, 1963, making him just 28 years old when the movie was premiered. Not only did he need to direct actors double his age, he needed to directors legendary actors like Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, and Lawrence Tierney!
9 Steven Spielberg
Spielberg is a legendary director - perhaps one of the greatest of all time. And it all started from a very young age. Spielberg made his directorial debut with Duel, a movie about a deranged truck driver who terrorizes an everyday businessman. Duel was released on November 13, 1971, just one month before Spielberg's 25th birthday. Jaws, his first major hit, was released on June 20, 1975, when Spielberg was just 28 years old.
8 Orson Welles
Welles created what may very well be the greatest movie ever made before he turned 30. Born May 6, 1915, Orson Welles was just 25 years old when Citizen Kane was released. But just barely. Not that that matters. Citizen Kane premiered at the Palace Theatre on May 1, 1941 - just five days before his 26th birthday. The movie was instantly acclaimed and has since been heralded as a revolutionary film that essentially changed the way that movies were made.
7 John Singleton
John Singleton made history with Boyz n the Hood. Starring Cuba Gooding Jr, Ice Cube, and Laurence Fishburne, Boyz n the Hood chronicles the gang culture that permeated South Central Los Angeles in the early '90s.
The film was released in July of 1991, when Singleton was just 23 years old. At the 64th Academy Awards, Singleton was nominated for both Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, making him the youngest director to have ever been nominated for the esteemed award.
6 Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi is one of the most imaginative directors of our time, and he made his major-studio debut in 1981 with The Evil Dead. Raimi was born on October 23, 1959 and The Evil Dead premiered on October 15, 1981 - just days before his 22nd birthday. This makes sense, considering The Evil Dead is essentially just a group of friends goofing around and making a movie. He would also go on to direct both Crimewave (1985) and Evil Dead II (1987) before he turned 30.
5 Greta Gerwig
Greta Gerwig has directed three films - Nights and Weekends, Lady Bird, and Little Women. All have been well-reviewed, and what makes this particular filmography so unique is the nearly ten year gap between movies. Nights and Weekends debuted at SXSW in March 2008 and was distributed through IFC Films on October 10. Gerwig was born on August 4, 1983, making her 24 when the movie premiered and 25 when it released through IFC.
4 Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith is the epitome of a homegrown director. At the time of Clerks, Smith was working in the same convenience store and scrapped up enough money to make the movie by selling his comic books and maxing out credit cards.
The entire thing was filmed on a budget of roughly $30,000. It was released to wide acclaim on October 19, 1994, when Smith was 24 years old. He would go on to make Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma before he turned 30.
3 Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez is a very popular and esteemed director, having done many outlandish films like Planet Terror, Spy Kids, and From Dusk Till Dawn. His directorial debut was El Mariachi, the first of his famous Mexico Trilogy. The movie debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 15, 1992, when Rodriguez was 24 years old. He completed Roadracers, Desperado, and From Dusk Till Dawn before he turned 30.
2 Ryan Coogler
Coogler is an esteemed director known for Creed, Black Panther, and his directorial debut, Fruitvale Station. The latter chronicles the final days and killing of Oscar Grant, a young African American who was shot in the back by a white police officer. The movie premiered at Sundance on January 19, 2013, when Coogler was 26 years old. His following film, Creed, was released when Coogler was 29. Sylvester Stallone had just turned 30 when the first Rocky was released in 1976.
1 Sarah Polley
Polley is widely known for starring in Dawn of the Dead, but she has quite a brilliant filmography as director. Her first feature film was Away from Her, an indie drama about an old couple suffering under the effects of Alzheimer's. The movie premiered at TIFF on September 11, 2006, when Polley was just 27 years old. Quite ironic, considering the subject matter. The movie was critically acclaimed, and Polley was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.