Directing Bug Has Bitten Child Star Peter Billingsley

“Couples Retreat” marks the directorial debut for Peter Billingsley, the former child star who, unlike a lot of child actors, still enjoys a career in Hollywood. It doesn’t hurt that his debut behind the camera involved directing his comedy star friends on location in Bora Bora.

“Let me tell you, it’s not a bad thing, spending a month in Bora Bora,“ Billingsley deadpanned in a recent telephone interview. The film comes out this week on DVD.

The 37-year-old Billingsley was just 12 when he rocketed to fame in 1983 as Ralphie, the kid in “A Christmas Story” who wants a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas. Directed by Bob Clark and based on a novel by Jean Shepherd, the film also starred Darren McGavin and Melinda Dillon.

Billingsley made more than 100 commercials as a kid actor, many television appearances (on “Punky Brewster,“ for example, and “Who’s the Boss?“) and mostly forgettable films. While it was tempting to keep making money with those kinds of roles, in the early 1990s he decided to stop acting and learn the craft of moviemaking.

Clark was an influence, Billingsley said. “He told me, ‘Get into the editing room if you really want to know how to make movies.‘“

Billingsley did, taking editing jobs where he could find them. “I was sleeping on editing room floors for $300 a week,“ he said. He also met actor Vince Vaughn in the early 1990s while filming a “CBS Schoolbreak Special.“ They quickly became friends.

“Vince has been very supportive of my career,“ Billingsley said, adding he knew Vaughn would do well even back then. “He was very, very funny.“

Vaughn introduced him to director/actor Jon Favreau. Billingsley eventually became a producer on Favreau’s show “Dinner For Five,“ earning an Emmy nomination. He has since produced several projects involving Favreau and Vaughn, including “Made,“ “The Break-up,“ “Iron Man” and “Four Christmases.“

For “Couples Retreat,“ the pair offered him the director’s chair. The film involves four couples at a retreat in the South Pacific, and Billingsley said they shot on location in Bora Bora to get a landscape as far removed as possible from the film’s opening scenes in the Midwest. “We wanted the location to be dramatic,“ he said.

Billingsley said directing veterans such as Vaughn, Favreau, Kristen Bell, Jason Bateman, Malin Akerman and Kristin Davis made his job easy. “A lot of times you just step aside and let them do their thing, because they know what they are doing.“

Billingsley is now a partner in Vaughn’s Wild West Productions, where he said there are many projects on tap. He also would not rule out a return to the director’s chair.

“I really felt passionate about the material” for “Couple’s Retreat,“ he said. “So, yes, if I come across something like that, I am definitely interested in directing again.“