Steven Spielberg's reliance on actors made Fabelmans one of his best films.

Steven Spielberg has made many brilliant films in his decades-long career. From shooting one of the first major movies in the ocean to bringing the dinosaurs to the big screen through Jurassic Park, Spielberg's filmography includes highly acclaimed films of all kinds and genres. While the shadows of his life and upbringing can be felt in many of his films, it is his film, The Fabelmans, that is closest to Spielberg's heart.

Loosely based on his life and upbringing, the semi-autobiographical novel highlights Spielberg's family and his love for the craft of filmmaking. But making the film could have seriously backfired and ruined his career had Spielberg not been directing.

Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans is a semi-autobiographical film based on the director's life and adolescence. A deeply personal story, it's also a film Spielberg has wanted to make for the longest time, pretty much since 1999 (via The New York Times Magazine). Still, when it came to finally making the film, Spielberg adopted an unusual strategy.