How TV Actors Direct Scenes They’re Starring In

As more and more TV actors branch out to direct the very show they star on, one actress is revealing how the double duty is pulled off. Kira Kosarin, who can most recently be seen as grown-up Betsy Kelso on That ‘90s Show, answered a fan’s question on social media about filming a scene in an episode that she’s directing. The actress has been filming the new Thundermans series, continuing her role as Phoebe Thunderman from the Nickelodeon series and the recent Nickelodeon and Paramount+ movie The Thundermans Return. In addition, she has also been in the director’s chair and giving fans a behind-the-scenes look.

As for how she’s able to act and direct at the same time, Kosarin explained in an Instagram reel that she’ll put her stand-in in, or “second team.” She continued, “She will play my part and rehearse the scene with the other actors so that I can see the scene without being inside the scene. Then I’ll go into the set with a monitor (basically an iPad), where I can see what all five cameras are seeing and then I can call action and cut from inside the set while I’m acting. I’ve done it, it’s a little silly to say my last line and then go, ‘And cut!’ but it works.”

“But there are also a couple of people in the crew who I can ask to do it for me, especially if me saying, ‘Action,’ would mean that you would see Phoebe’s mouth moving when it’s not supposed to,” Kosarin continued. “So, first A.D. (assistant director), he can call action and cut. My camera coordinator can also call action and cut. My camera coordinator, in general, is watching to make sure that all five cameras are doing what we planned for them to be doing and make sure that the plan that we set together is being executed. He’s talking to all the camera operators while we’re filming takes, too, in case anything needs to be adjusted on the fly. After I do the scene, I can go back to the monitors and watch playback and make sure that everything looked the way that I want it to. And then we’ll do another take.”

“I also have our script supervisor who’s super helpful with keeping track of things, so basically, I think the biggest key to being able to direct in a scene that you’re also in is just knowing how to utilize the team around you to the best of their ability,” Kosarin explained. “One of the great things about episodic television is that there is a big team of people all working together to make a product. So you gotta know how to lead, but you also gotta know how to let the people around you do the jobs that they’re great at. And let people help you.”

It sounds like quite a lot of work, but it also shows just how vital the crew is on a TV show and any set, really. It seems like a lot of actors these days are directing, producing, or even writing on their show, so it’s always exciting to see them branch out into something different and learning more about the craft. This marks Kira Kosarin’s first time directing, and just from the posts she’s been sharing, it looks like she’s been having fun and learning a lot.