Ben Stiller Quitting Acting to Direct Full-Time?

Hollywood superstar Ben Stiller has hinted that his days on the big screen could be numbered.

The 47-year-old, best known for starring in romantic comedies, revealed that he is considering giving up acting to direct full-time as he feels more freedom in the director's chair.

During a press tour for his latest film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Stiller told the Hollywood Reporter that he felt "limited by who I am as an actor".

Stiller, who has directed five very different films over the past 20 years, said that his career would likely move into directing and said he was considering bowing out of acting for good.

"I'm not gonna be playing Lincoln in Lincoln 2," the Meet the Parents star said. "But as a director I feel much more freedom.

"There are just so many different kinds of movies that I can make that aren't limited by who I am as an actor."

"I definitely could see myself just directing, for sure. In fact, I feel like that's sort of what will end up happening as the roles dry up," he added with a laugh. "That's where I'd love to end up."

In upcoming comedy drama The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Stiller combines his acting to portray a good-hearted loner who heads off on a global trip when he learns that both he and the woman he loves are in danger of losing their jobs.

"On Mitty, there weren't a lot of days when I wasn't acting and directing," he said. "But on Tropic Thunder the days when I wasn't acting were my favorite days, because I got to just be there and stand behind the monitor and work with the actors."

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opens on December 25 in the US.