Filmmaking is a team effort. Everyone has to depend on each other to get the best possible outcome on the screen in front of audiences. Making movies is an already monumental task so any way possible to make it easier or more streamlined is a welcome idea. It is the reason why much of the time directors will work with the same cinematographers, musicians, producers, and so on. But the most visible duo to the audience is the director/actor duo.
There are many all-time great director/actor collaborations in cinematic history like Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart, or John Ford and John Wayne. A great duo like those is a recipe for amazing cinema. But even though most of the great cinema collaborations are in the past, that doesn't mean that there aren't any great current duos and even future duos.
5 Jordan Peele and Daniel Kaluuya
This highly talented new duo is a remembrance that there's a long history of great directors and actors breaking out together. With Get Out and Nope under their belts, it's hard to deny that these two found their way into super-stardom together, and rightfully so. The sunken place scene in Get Out alone is a perfect example of why they're so good together. Jordan Peele's dark and witty dialogue which is rarely seen in horror movies with Daniel Kaluyya absolutely sells the scene with an all-time great film close-up that has become an iconic horror image. These two together have made horror history and will most likely continue to do so. It's hard to believe that they won't be working together again in the future, they're just working too well with each other to not continue to collaborate.
4 Noah Baumbach and Adam Driver
Noah Baumbach is an incredibly underrated comedic filmmaker who is often overshadowed by Wes Anderson-who he often collaborates with as well. His movies are funny, witty, emotional, intellectual, and perfect for Adam Driver. Like Noah Baumbach, Adam Driver isn't talked about enough for his acting prowess as he is easily one of the most well-rounded actors in movies today. The quick, witty, and nuanced screenplays of Baumbach like When We're Young and Marriage Story could be difficult for some actors to convey. But with Adam Driver being a great comedic actor and an underrated dramatic actor, he has a perfect balance.
3 Guillermo Del Toro and Doug Jones
This is a case of what would one be without the other. They'd most likely still be successful as they are super-talented people, but it's hard to think of one without the other. Guillermo Del Toro has unique visions for his projects that require unique people with specific abilities, specifically with the portrayal of monsters in his movies combined with special effect work. But no need to fret, Doug Jones is quite possibly as close to perfect of a fit for Del Toro as anyone could be. Pan's Labyrinth with Doug Jones as the Fauno and Pale Man, Hellboy where Jones played Abe Sapien and a number of other monsters, and Shape of Water where Jones plays the Amphibian Man, are just some of their amazing collaborations together. Hopefully, there are many more on the way because there are just not enough of these two.
2 Bong Joon-Ho and Song Kang-Ho
It is fantastic and horrible that these two became known to American viewers after the massive success of Parasite. It's great because they are both generational talents that make everything they're involved with better. But it's horrible because it took so long as they've had great collaborations before Parasite. Memories of Murder was the first big collaboration between the two with the movie really showing off what those two can do and will do. For further Bong Joon-Ho and Song Kang-Ho viewing, The Host and Snowpiercer are two more great movies with their collaborations. But to be fair, Bong Joon-Ho doesn't really have a movie that isn't great. Although Bong Joon-Ho's next movie, Mickey17, doesn't seem to have Song Kang-Ho attached, there should be more to come.
1 Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise
These two have made action cinema perfection together. Tom Cruise was always a dedicated actor to making the highest quality action cinema as possible. But there's only so much an actor can do to make an action movie great. It needs a director to share a vision and dedication to the craft of action cinema. Tom Cruise found his perfect director in Christopher McQuarrie, who had previously written Valkyrie and Edge of Tomorrow, both starring Cruise. It was when they collaborated on Mission impossible: Rogue Nation that audiences got a glimpse of what these two can do together. Everything these two collaborate together with turns into action cinema gold and there is more on the horizon with two more Mission Impossible movies on the way.