Oscar winner Natalie Portman is about to take on a challenging role for her next feature. She will write, direct and star in a film adaptation of Israeli author Amos Oz's autobiographical novel, "A Tale of Love and Darkness."

Portman expressed her interest in adapting Oz's memoir into film 6 years ago. She received a grant amounting to NIS 2,550,000 from the Jerusalem Film Fund. Filming will be set in Jerusalem and was tentatively scheduled to start in January.

Oz's memoir was set in the 1940s and told the story of his mother's mental illness and his father's helplessness, while the historic events of the period unfolded. The actress will portray the role of Oz's mother.

The film marks Portman's directorial debut for full length film. In 2009, she directed and wrote one of the 11 short films in the romantic comedy-drama anthology, "New York, I Love You."

The Israeli-born actress was fluent in Hebrew and spent several months studying at Jerusalem's Hebrew University after she graduated from Harvard. She has a son named Aleph with husband Benjamin Millepied, the choreographer in "Black Swan."

She was rumoured to star in David Fincher's "Gone Girl" alongside Ben Affleck. Other actresses that were attached to the film were Charlize Theron and Emily Blunt.

Portman was just one of the many actors who took interest in working behind the camera. Some became successful in both ventures, being an actor and director, while there were others who were just better at being actors.

Click on the slideshow to see who were the actors who also dabbled into filmmaking.

Israel New York