In Hollywood, it's not unusual to find hyphenates wearing multiple hats: An actor who directs; a writer who acts; or a director who writes. Those who multitask can be massively rewarded, critically and financially, for taking on more than one role. But there are a rare few who can fill all three -- and not just fill them, but hit a home run in all three roles, any time. These are the Triple Threats:

Woody Allen
Do we even need to list all the movie Allen has pulled triple duty on? Do we have the space? The director-writer-actor has famously put out a movie a year since 1977's Oscar winning Annie Hall, with room for new plays, articles, and books in between. From his first film (1966's What's Up Tiger Lily?) to his most recent (2008's Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Allen has pulled at least double duty in all of his films. Though he's started to relegate starring roles to other actors (starting with 1994's Bullets Over Broadway), the trademark Allen rhythm and humor always shines through.

Kenneth Branagh
Though he may owe a little bit to a Single Threat by the name of William Shakespeare, Branagh is possibly the most successful classically trained Triple Threat since Laurence Olivier. Rocketing to fame by writing, directing and starring in the pitch perfect adaptation of Henry V (1989), he continued with the box office hit Much Ado About Nothing (1993), and the slightly less successful Hamlet (1996) and Love's Labours Lost (2000). With upcoming gigs directing Marvel Comics' Thor (2010), and starring in The Boat That Rocked (2009), Branagh seems to have put his favorite collaborator aside for the moment... but we know he'll return to Stratford-upon-Avon before too long.

George Clooney
No one ever thought that Clooney, with his movie-star good looks and playboy rep, would be able to pull off directing a Charlie Kaufman screenplay. Yet that's exactly what Clooney did, with the well-regarded Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002). Having pulled off the seemingly impossible, Clooney pushed himself even further, to write and direct the black and white period piece Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) and the football comedy, Leatherheads (2008). Of late he's been wearing his political activist hat, but here's hoping he returns to big screen soon.

Christopher Guest
A comedy veteran, having appeared in classics This is Spinal Tap (1984) and The Princess Bride (1987), it wasn't until late in his career that Guest found his triple-threat calling. Embracing the mockumentary aesthetic of Spinal Tap, Guest wrote (outlined, technically), directed and starred in several heavily improvised films, including local theater parody Waiting for Guffman (1996); dog-show send-up, Best in Show (2000); and 2003's folk tribute, A Mighty Wind. Though Guest has sworn off making more mockumentaries, we expect that whatever Guest does next will flex at least two of his triple threat muscles.

Jon Favreau
Favreau was a struggling actor in Los Angeles when he wrote the enduring and influential indie hit Swingers (1996), and starred in it with his friend Vince Vaughn. Not only did it start a swing revival, but the poster design, look and rhythm of the movie have influenced independent movies for the past decade. Over time, Favreau has relegated himself to supporting roles in movies like Four Christmases (2008) and The Break-Up (2006), while watching his star rise as a director with modern Christmas classic Elf (2003), and the mega-hit Iron Man (2008). Meanwhile, as a writer-actor, he continues to team up with buddy Vince Vaughn, in Made (2001), and the upcoming Couples Retreat (2009).

Mel Gibson
Before his public meltdown, Gibson was well on his way to becoming one of the most respected Triple Threats of our time. The Man Without a Face (1993) showed (no pun intended) a different side of the comic actor, and that he could work as well behind the camera as in front of it. This set the stage for 1995's Braveheart, which dominated the Academy Awards, and rocketed Gibson to the top of the Triple Threat charts. Then came the massive, controversial hit The Passion of The Christ (2004), which firmly divided the entire movie-going public, and after that, his meltdown, which over-shadowed Apocalypto (2006). Will Gibson ever get back to the Triple Threat heights he reached with Braveheart? If that movie taught us one thing, it's that Hollywood loves an underdog, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Sean Penn
Penn has spent his entire career moving himself as far away from the stoner Spicoli (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, 1982) as he can, by immersing himself in some of the most serious movies of our time. Clearly it's working for him on screen -- he has five nominations and two wins. Behind the screen, whether he's writing and directing movies like the nature exploration flick Into the Wild (2007), dealing with loss in The Crossing Guard (1995) or the pain of being alive in The Indian Runner (1991), Penn is as grim (and talented) as they get.

Kevin Smith
He may be Silent Bob on screen, but Smith is one of the most verbal triple threats around. Best known as the writer-director-actor of low budget indie hits Clerks (1994), Mallrats (1995) and Chasing Amy (1997), he's more recently moved away from the interconnected universe of his early movies, and stayed behind the camera (and word processor) for Jersey Girl (2004), and Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008). He's also appeared in other directors' movies, like Catch and Release (2007) and Live Free or Die Hard (2007). Not content to be labeled as "the talky director," Smith continues to broaden his horizons.

Sylvester Stallone
You wouldn't know it from his action rep, or mumble mouth delivery, but Stallone is one of the most successful, and prolific Triple Threats in Hollywood history. From directing, writing, and starring in Rocky's II, III, IV and Balboa (1979, 1982, 1985, 2006), taking triple duty in 2008's Rambo, 1993's Cliffhanger, and the upcoming all-star The Expendables, Stallone has been single-handedly crafting hits for over 30 years, with no signs of stopping. Let's just hope he never again becomes a Quadruple Threat, and sings like he did in Rhinestone (1984).

Ben Stiller
The son of two comedy legends, who are successful double threats in their own right (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara), Stiller had big shoes to fill. To continue a tortured metaphor, he grew out of those shoes long ago. Not only is he one of the most consistently successful comic actors at the box office for hits like Meet the Parents (2000) (a franchise which shows no sign of stopping) and Night at the Museum (2006), but his Triple Threatness shows through in enduring parodies Zoolander (2001) and Tropic Thunder (2008), which managed to single-handedly rehabilitate the public's perception of Tom Cruise.