Orson Welles had a long and illustrious career spanning several decades and several forms of popular media. He began his career acting at the Gate Theatre in Dublin in 1931. He founded his own repertory company in 1937, which soon got a radio show. The success of the company's War of the Worlds adaptation brought Welles Hollywood offers. The contract he signed with RKO in 1939 gave him unprecedented creative control. While he would continue to act in radio and theater throughout his life, movies took up the majority of his creative output.

RELATED: 10 Hollywood Legends Who Never Won An Oscar

His credits vary widely from starring performances to one-off cameos. Here are Orson Welles' 10 best movies, according to IMDb.

Othello (1951) - 7.6

Orson Welles as Othello looking upset

Welles directed, adapted, and starred in this Palme d'Or-winning adaptation of Shakespeare's play. The film took nearly three years to produce and production stopped several times when Welles ran out of funds. While the film was well-received in Europe, the film's American release was a disaster.

The cut was plagued by technical issues, including a soundtrack that drops out whenever there is no action. Welles' daughter Beatrice supervised a restoration in 1992, but it was criticized for being based on the American cut rather than the European cut. The Criterion Collection released a Blu-ray with both original cuts in 2017.

The Muppet Movie (1979) - 7.6

Welles is one of several Hollywood stars who makes a cameo appearance in The Muppet Movie. He appears toward the end of the film as Hollywood executive Lew Lord. He signs the Muppets to a contract, who then attempts to make a film out of their road trip. Their first take blows a hole in the studio roof and a rainbow shines on the Muppets.

RELATED: Every Muppet Movie, Ranked By Rotten Tomatoes

The name of Welles' character is a reference to the head of one of the studios that co-produced The Muppet Show.

The Little World of Don Camillo (1952) - 7.7

The Little World of Don Camillio is one of the most successful films in Italian history and spawned four sequels. Welles appeared in the original film as the narrator and the voice of Jesus Christ.

Welles appears as Christ when Christian political leader Don Camillo (played by Fernandel) refused to have a rival political leader's son baptized in his church. Christ appeals to Camillo and the child is eventually baptized. Welles also directed the English-language dub.

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - 7.7

The Magnificent Ambersons is considered one of the great "incomplete" films. The film strays far from Welles' vision after RKO revoked his final cut privilege. The studio cut an hour of footage from the adaptation of Booth Tarkington's novel and substituted a happier ending. It then destroyed the hour of cut footage.

Welles made several attempts to recover and reconstruct the footage but to no avail. The film we have today is still considered among the best by many critics.

A Man for All Seasons (1966) - 7.7

A Man for All Seasons

Welles has a supporting role as Cardinal Wolsey in this 1966 adaptation of Robert Bolt's play. The film covers Sir Thomas More's (played by Paul Scofield) disagreements with King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) over the direction of the English Church during the English Reformation. Wolsey attempts to procure an annulment for Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon but fails before dying.

The movie won six Oscars: Best Picture, Director (Fred Zinnemann), Actor (Scofield), Adapted Screenplay, Color Cinematography, and Color Costume Design.

Chimes at Midnight (1965) - 7.8

Welles considered Chimes at Midnight his crowning achievement. The adaptation of Shakespeare's Henriad and Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles stars Welles as Falstaff, the companion of Prince Hal. Welles portrayed Falstaff on stage in 1939 and 1960 to little, if any acclaim; the 1960 run was his final on-stage performance.

RELATED: 10 Best Shakespeare Film Adaptations

The film adapts part of Henry IVRichard IIHenry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. It was hard to obtain for decades due to legal disputes over ownership but became widely available in 2016.

The Trial (1962) - 7.8

Welles wrote, directed, and starred as the Advocate in this adaptation of Franz Kafka's novel. He first sought Jackie Gleason for the role of the Advocate, but Gleason rejected the part. Welles also dubbed the lines of 11 different actors; his dubbing of Anthony Perkins' lines was so good Perkins himself could not identify where his voice was dubbed over.

No copyright notice was ever filed on the film, so it remains in the public domain. This is fitting, as The Trial began as an attempt to adapt a work in the public domain.

Touch of Evil (1958) - 8.0

One of the last classic noirs, Welles directed, wrote and starred in this adaptation of Whit Masterson's novel. Welles was initially attached to star, but stories disagree on how he came to direct the film. Fellow star Charlton Heston claimed he would be more interested in the role of Ramon Vargas if Welles directed; the other story states that Welles wanted the worst script his producer had just to prove he could make a good movie out of a bad script.

RELATED: The 10 Best Film Noir Movies Of All-Time

The film was released as a B-movie coupled with The Female Animal. The two movies had the same cinematographer and Animal's director reshot portions of Touch of Evil.

The Third Man (1949) - 8.1

Orson Welles as Harry Lime in The Third Man

Welles starred as central character Harry Lime in this classic noir. The film centers around Holly Martins (Harry Cotton), a friend of Lime's who arrives in Vienna to find that Lime has died.

Martins decides to investigate Lime's death. It is revealed the Lime had stolen and diluted penicillin and sold it to military hospitals. Lime reappears, very much alive, and tries to escape from Martins in a classic chase.

Citizen Kane (1941) - 8.3

Welles' oblique biography of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst is considered by many to be the greatest American film ever made. Not bad for a directorial debut.

Welles claimed he based the title character on several American titans of industry, but it was easy for Hearst to see that he was the primary inspiration. He supposedly tried to get the film destroyed, even offering RKO a large sum in exchange for the negative. RKO said no; the rest is history.

NEXT: 10 Behind The Scenes Stories That Deserve Their Own Movies