Lee Toland Krieger

You know a director's tight with his actors when he agrees to adopt one of her dogs. Such was the case when Lee Toland Krieger "rescued" Pippa from Rashida Jones. He fell for the dog in the editing room during the mad dash to finish their film, Celeste and Jesse Forever. "Pippa and I have been very much in love now for a few months," says Krieger. Shot in 22 days on a bare-bones budget, the buzzy Sundance film is about a young couple trying to remain friends after they've divorced. The cast (Jones, Elijah Wood, Andy Samberg and Emma Roberts) and a screenplay co-written by Jones, all contributed to CAJF's sure-to-be success, but Krieger is quickly becoming one of brightest stars behind the lens.

As a teenager, he scored a gig with his neighbor, producer Steve Perry. "I was reading scripts and answering the phone, but reading the material was really great for me." Then, while at USC, Krieger interned for playwright Neil LaBute, who became a sounding board for Krieger when he made his first film, The Vicious Kind, starring Adam Scott.

Even with so many blessings in his short career, Krieger, 29, is quick to point out the importance of failures amid success: "I get frustrated with people who are looking for advice that just fantasize. Go to a terrible shoot. I guarantee you'll learn something. And you just don't know what the snowball effect might end up looking like."

Lee wears a shirt by All Saints, t-shirt by Sugar High + Love Stoned and pants by James Jeans.

MEET THE REST OF OUR 2012 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE