He's a super-director on a working vacation, by the looks of it. It's Taika Waititi, the New Zealand-born director-writer-producer who is both an indie darling and a key force in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

He plays the main villain in the Ryan Reynolds comedy "Free Guy," due out in August. It's pretty rare that Waititi acts in a movie without also working behind the camera, and based on the trailer (and his back-and-forth with Reynolds on social media), he seems to be enjoying the experience.

But that's not to say he's a novice on screen. He has nearly as many acting credits as directing ones and brings a unique comedic voice to the roles he plays. It just so happens that those roles are usually smaller and in films he made himself.

He's best known as the director of the 2017 megahit "Thor: Ragnarok," in which he also voiced the character of a rock monster named Korg. Korg turned up again in "Avengers" Endgame" (2019) and will do so again in next year's "Thor: Love and Thunder," which Waititi is also writing and directing.

Waititi gave himself a larger on-screen role in "What We Do in the Shadows," the 2014 mockumentary about vampires surviving modern-day urban life, which made him the sought-after cinematic voice he is today.

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