Director and all-round legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg has had a legacy in cinema that has transcended several generations. While names like Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Elia Kazan, and John Ford represent filmmakers of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Steven Spielberg is known and recognized for his contribution as one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era of filmmaking. Spielberg-directed movies have grossed over $10 billion at the Box Office.
With a half-a-century filmmaking career, Steven Spielberg has directed over 30 feature films. Over the years, the filmmaker built a working relationship with several actors, screenwriters, filmmakers, and cinematographers. As one of the auteur filmmakers of his generation, Spielberg’s personal influence and artistic control are often achieved with his collaborators understanding his needs and visions. Over the years, these have been Steven Spielberg’s top 6 actor frequent collaborators.
Richard Dreyfuss – 3 Movies
The first time Richard Dreyfuss starred in a Steven Spielberg movie was in Spielberg’s thriller Jaws (1975). Dreyfuss’s career was on the rise at that point, having landed a few lead roles, including the Box Office juggernaut American Graffiti (1973). Jaws (1975) was an astronomical success, grossing a massive $476.5 million on a $9 million budget. With the success of Jaws, it’s a no-brainer that Spielberg cast Richard Dreyfuss in the lead role of his next film. Dreyfuss played Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), with the movie grossing $306.9 million on a $19.4 million budget. Richard Dreyfuss’ third collaboration with Spielberg was in the 1989 romantic fantasy drama Always.
Mark Rylance – 3 Movies
Steven Spielberg first cast British actor and playwright Mark Rylance in his 2015 historical drama Bridge of Spies. Cast in a supporting role, Rylance portrayed Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel. Spielberg and Rylance collaborated again the next year in Spielberg’s fantasy adventure, The BFG (2016). Cast as the titular character, Rylance voiced the character using motion capture. Mark Rylance was also cast in Spielberg’s Ready Player One (2018). Besides these three collaborations, the duo have not worked together.
Mark Ivanir – 3 Movies
Steven Spielberg has also collaborated with Ukrainian-born Israeli actor Mark Ivanir. Known for playing supporting roles, Ivanir first starred in a Spielberg film in 1993. Ivanir was cast as Marcel Goldberg in the epic historical drama, Schindler’s List (1993). Almost a decade later, Spielberg cast Ivanir as Goran in his Tom Hanks-led cast film The Terminal (2004). In Spielberg’s 2011 animated action-adventure film The Adventures of Tintin, Ivanir was part of the film’s voice cast. Mark Ivanir voiced the Afgar Outpost Soldier/Secretary.
Sasha Spielberg – 4 Movies
Actress Sasha Spielberg is Steven Spielberg’s second child and first daughter. Her mother is actress Kate Capshaw, Spielberg’s second wife, who he has been married to since 1991. Sasha Spielberg made her acting debut in 1999 director Peter Chan‘s The Love Letter, playing the Girl with Sparkler, a movie in which her mother played the lead role. However, her sophomore film role was in her father’s movie, The Terminal (2004). The next year, Spielberg cast his daughter again in a minor role in Munich (2005). Sasha also made an appearance in Spielberg’s next film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Sasha appeared in a minor role as a Woman with a Package in Spielberg’s political thriller The Post (2017).
Harrison Ford – 6 Movies
Unsurprisingly, Harrison Ford is one of Steven Spielberg’s biggest collaborators, having starred in and reprised his role as the lead character in the Indiana Jones franchise. Ford appeared in all five installments of the franchise from 1981 to 2023. His only other collaboration with Spielberg was in the famous science fiction film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Spielberg had cast Ford as Elliot’s principal, who reprimanded her for failing biology. However, Harrison Ford’s scenes were removed from the final cut. The scenes are included in other media releases. Although his face isn’t shown in the original film, it still counts as a credit for the actor.
Tom Hanks – 6 Movies
Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks has starred in six of Steven Spielberg’s movies. Hanks played the lead character, John H. Miller, in Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998). Starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Walken, Hanks played a supporting role as FBI agent Carl Hanratty in Catch Me If You Can (2002). Tom Hanks played another leading role in Spielberg’s The Terminal (2004). Although he only appeared in a cameo in Steven Spielberg’s short film, A Timeless Call (2008), it still counts as one of their collaborations. Hanks returned to play the lead roles in two of Steven Spielberg‘s mid-2010 movies, Bridge of Spies (2015) and The Post (2017).
Follow Us
