Music videos are part artistic expression and part promotional tool. Most are middling at both missions, and few are so beguiling that they convert nonfans into captivated audiences. But that’s exactly what happened when Lady Gaga strutted through her 2010 “Telephone” video wearing little more than police tape and a lusty smirk. The result was an eye-popping 108 million hits on YouTube; for director Jonas Åkerlund, that’s business as usual. “Videos are all about making an impression in the moment,” he says. “If you’re lucky, you make a classic that people talk about for years.”

In his 22-year career, the Swede has worked with big-name artists like Rihanna and Ozzy Osbourne; his “Ray of Light” video for Madonna won a Grammy. For Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me,” he delivered a one-two punch: The singer knocks out a sequined doppelgänger that’s rendered with the kind of cinematic magic usually reserved for summer blockbusters.

Åkerlund likes to thrill audiences with splashy visual effects; he also has a knack for persuading mainstream artists to show a bit of edge (how else to explain the eye-popping Sapphic scenes between Gaga and Beyoncé in “Telephone”?). “I have to sell my idea,” he says, “but they want it to be sold. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything anyone’s regretted.” Åkerlund is now adding the commitment of a feature film to the instant gratification of making music videos: He’s directing Small Apartments, a quirky comedy featuring Johnny Knoxville. After so many years of pushing artists beyond their comfort zones, the challenge for Åkerlund now will be finding something this jackass hasn’t already done.