Joseph Gordon-Levitt has always been a confident man. His roles befit an actor comfortable in his ability, and his entrepreneurial side is demonstrated by his own production company – hitRECord – which he runs with his brother.

Joseph Gordon Levitt and Scarlett Johansson Can this girl change Don Jon's ways?

So it’s no surprise that, even at a relatively young age, the Dark Knight actor has stepped behind the camera to direct his first feature. Oh, and he stars in it, too.

“I think it always interested me,” Gordon-Levitt said of directing. “From the very first time I was on a set, it fascinated me to see so many people doing so many different, very specific things, all working together,” he added to Oakridger.com.

Asked if the idea of directed was a little bit daunting, the confident actor shrugged the notion off. “No, I didn’t think of it that way. An actor’s performance in a movie is not just made by the actor. So when I came up with the story for Don Jon, I didn’t want to just act in it,” he explained.

“I had ideas for what I wanted the camera to do, what I wanted to do with the editing, what I wanted to do with the music. That’s why I wanted to direct the movie, so all those things could come together.”

Watch the trailer for Don Jon:

It’s also no surprise that Don Jon is really quite good. According to the critics, Gordon-Levitt has taken a well-trodden genre and added just enough to make it unique. It’s a brave debut film, but doesn’t mess with the constructs of Hollywood too much for it to be deemed far-fetched.

“The self-assured helmer shows genuine affection for his characters, balancing their openly satiric qualities with a disarmingly sincere human center,” said Variety of the film, which also stars Scarlet Johansson. “The movie is a broad ethnic comedy, but there's nothing broad about the wicked-smart way it's executed. Even long-played-out stereotypes take on new life,” say New York Magazine.

Don Jon is out in the U.S this Friday, Sept 17.