Is a man who wears many hats to be envied, or pitied? It’s all a matter of perspective. Bob Balaban, for example, had success in spades. Balaban is an actor, previously appearing in popular films like For Your Consideration (2006) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

Balaban has also made quite a name for himself as a director, heading films like The Exonerated (2005) and The Last Good Time (1994). But with so many focuses, could Balaban be considered a jack of all trades, or a master of none?

Actor Mary Beth Hurt, who starred in Balaban’s 1989 picture, Parents, argued that Balaban’s s double occupation was both a help and a hindrance.

“He’s stronger, personality-wise, than you’d expect,” said Hurt during an interview with the Tarrytown Daily News. “He’s an actor and a director, which can be a plus and a minus. We had some different ideas about the character, but nothing major; he let me do what I wanted with her. And he was very organized, much more in control than I thought might be the case for a first-time director.”

Balaban seemed to take a different approach. He believed that his work directing made him a better actor. “I used to see the camera as an enemy,” said Balaban. “Now I see it as the beauty of the cameraman and the actor working together.”

Moreover, Balaban had big goals for his directing future.

“I’d like to do as a director what I did as an actor, which is not to be identified with one thing, but to be somebody who serves the material,” said the creative. “Nothing I’m looking at now is violent or supernatural. They’re all human stories. And they’re all strange.”