I've directed enough in the theatre and a couple of films to know that - to feel fairly secure that if I find a story that I really like I can probably get it done somewhat. ↗
The thing I hated about it was that you live in your trailer all the time and then they call you and you do maybe two dozen lines. Then they do that for three hours and you wait and wait and wait, and I don't like waiting. ↗
I'm not saying that Sam J. Jones was Flash Gordon - there's no such thing. No actor can be the person, that's a bunch of crap. People pay to see an actor be himself, whether he plays Hamlet or whatever. ↗
Working on the accent helped, enormously. I will tell you that when I brought Michael a correct "British" accent, one that my dialect coach was happy with, he hated it. ↗