Directing Acting Winners / Nominees - The Updated List
Monday, April 26, 2021 at 8:30PM 
By Ben Miller
The Oscars are so stat heavy, it’s difficult to keep up with the bevy of information. One of those stats that gets lost in the noise is the more complicated numbers around acting nominations by director. If you’ve read my previous piece last year, I am somewhat of an expert in this field, and this year’s set of nominees provides some interesting stats...
First-Timers
Shaka King (Judas and the Black Messiah), Florian Zeller (The Father) and Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) join a list of 39 other directors who have directed two Oscar nominated performances that resulted in one victory. In the same realm, George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) and Darius Mauder (Sound of Metal) join 60 other directors with two nominated performances, but no wins.
Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) joins a list of 33 other directors who have directed a single actor to a nomination and a win. She joins Rupert Goold and Todd Phillips from 2019. Regina King (One Night in Miami), Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Jason Woliner (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), and Kornei Mundruczo (Pieces of a Woman) join a list of 199 directors who have guided a single nominated performance.
Returning
Following the nomination for Andra Day, Lee Daniels (United States vs Billie Holiday) has now directed three nominations. Monique’s victory in 2009 is the only win. He is one of 21 directors with one victory in three nominations. Noah Baumbach joined that list in 2019.
Two acting nominations directed by David Fincher (Mank) moves him into a tie for 62nd all-time with seven nominated performances. He joins three other directors, including Alexander Payne, who've helmed seven acting nominations and zero wins. He is also tied for the fourth most nominations without a winning performance.
Glenn Close’s nomination for Hillbilly Elegy puts Ron Howard in a tie for 35th all-time with nine nominated performances. He is tied with ten other directors, including Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino. Howard’s films have garnered two Oscar wins. Additionally, Howard is tied for ninth all-time in the Best Supporting Actress category, with four nominated performances.
|
Rank |
Director |
BSAS Noms |
Wins |
|
1 |
William Wyler |
12 |
2 |
|
2 |
Woody Allen |
10 |
4 |
|
3 |
Elia Kazan |
8 |
4 |
|
4 |
Martin Scorsese |
8 |
1 |
|
5 |
Mike Nichols |
8 |
1 |
|
6 |
John Huston |
5 |
2 |
|
7 |
Sydney Pollack |
5 |
1 |
|
8 |
Robert Altman |
5 |
0 |
|
9 |
Fred Zinnemann |
4 |
2 |
|
10 |
Peter Bogdanovich |
4 |
2 |
|
11 |
George Stevens |
4 |
1 |
|
12 |
Mervyn LeRoy |
4 |
1 |
|
13 |
John Ford |
4 |
1 |
|
14 |
David O. Russell |
4 |
1 |
|
15 |
Herbert Ross |
4 |
1 |
|
16 |
Ron Howard |
4 |
1 |
|
17 |
Delbert Mann |
4 |
1 |
|
18 |
Rob Marshall |
4 |
1 |
|
19 |
Steven Spielberg |
4 |
0 |
Female Directors
Following nominations for the actors in films of Zhao, Regina King and Fennell, 35 women have directed nominated performances. Of those 35 women, 21 have only directed one nominated performance, while 28 have only had performances nominated for one film.
Barbra Streisand and Greta Gerwig lead with four nominations each, but have yet to win. McDormand’s win is the eighth Oscar win directed by a woman, out of 57 nominations. Jane Campion is the only one who has directed multiple Oscar wins.
|
Rank |
Director |
Count |
Wins |
Ratio |
|
1 |
`Barbra Streisand |
4 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
2 |
`Greta Gerwig |
4 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
3 |
`Jane Campion |
3 |
2 |
66.7% |
|
4 |
`Randa Haines |
3 |
1 |
33.3% |
|
5 |
`Marielle Heller |
3 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
6 |
`Niki Caro |
3 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
7 |
`Kimberly Peirce |
2 |
1 |
50.0% |
|
8 |
`Valerie Faris |
2 |
1 |
50.0% |
|
9 |
`Debra Granik |
2 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
10 |
`Elaine May |
2 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
11 |
`Kathryn Bigelow |
2 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
12 |
`Lisa Cholodenko |
2 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
13 |
`Martha Coolidge |
2 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
14 |
`Penny Marshall |
2 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
15 |
`Chloe Zhao |
1 |
1 |
100.0% |
|
16 |
`Patty Jenkins |
1 |
1 |
100.0% |
|
17 |
`Phyllida Lloyd |
1 |
1 |
100.0% |
Black Directors
Shaka King, Regina King and Wolfe are the 11th, 12th and 13th Black directors to direct a nominated performance. Of the 25 nominations, 19 have come since 2013.
With three nominations, Daniels is now tied with Barry Jenkins, Steve McQueen and Spike Lee for the most nominated performances from a Black director. Shaka King and Wolfe move into a tie for fifth with Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington, each with two. Regina King joins Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Dee Rees and Kasi Lemmons with one nominated performance.
|
Rank |
Director |
Count |
Wins |
Ratio |
|
1 |
*Barry Jenkins |
3 |
2 |
66.7% |
|
2 |
*Lee Daniels |
3 |
1 |
33.3% |
|
3 |
*Steve McQueen |
3 |
1 |
33.3% |
|
4 |
*Spike Lee |
3 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
5 |
*Antoine Fuqua |
2 |
1 |
50.0% |
|
6 |
*Denzel Washington |
2 |
1 |
50.0% |
|
7 |
*Shaka King |
2 |
1 |
50.0% |
|
8 |
*George C. Wolfe |
2 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
9 |
`*Regina King |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
10 |
*Jordan Peele |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
11 |
*Ryan Coogler |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
12 |
`*Dee Rees |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
13 |
`*Kasi Lemmons |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
History
William Wyler continues to be the king of this statistic. He directed 36 nominated performances and 14 winners, holding significant leads over his next highest competion. The only active directors in the top 30 are David O. Russell, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese.
|
Rank |
Director |
Count |
Wins |
Ratio |
|
1 |
William Wyler |
36 |
14 |
38.9% |
|
2 |
Elia Kazan |
24 |
9 |
37.5% |
|
3 |
Martin Scorsese |
24 |
5 |
20.8% |
|
4 |
Fred Zinnemann |
20 |
6 |
30.0% |
|
5 |
George Cukor |
19 |
5 |
26.3% |
|
6 |
George Stevens |
19 |
2 |
10.5% |
|
7 |
Woody Allen |
18 |
7 |
38.9% |
|
8 |
Sidney Lumet |
18 |
4 |
22.2% |
|
9 |
Mike Nichols |
18 |
2 |
11.1% |
|
10 |
Billy Wilder |
17 |
3 |
17.6% |
|
11 |
Stanley Kramer |
16 |
2 |
12.5% |
|
12 |
John Huston |
15 |
4 |
26.7% |
|
13 |
Clint Eastwood |
14 |
5 |
35.7% |
|
14 |
Mervyn LeRoy |
14 |
3 |
21.4% |
|
15 |
Francis Ford Coppola |
14 |
2 |
14.3% |
|
16 |
Steven Spielberg |
14 |
2 |
14.3% |
|
17 |
Martin Ritt |
13 |
3 |
23.1% |
|
18 |
John Ford |
12 |
5 |
41.7% |
|
19 |
David O. Russell |
12 |
3 |
25.0% |
|
20 |
Herbert Ross |
12 |
3 |
25.0% |
|
21 |
Norman Jewison |
12 |
3 |
25.0% |
|
22 |
Sam Wood |
12 |
3 |
25.0% |
|
23 |
Clarence Brown |
12 |
2 |
16.7% |
|
24 |
Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
12 |
2 |
16.7% |
|
25 |
Sydney Pollack |
12 |
2 |
16.7% |
Until next year…
Reader Comments (16)
Who is Barbara?
Peggy Sue, it's Barbra Streisand.
Herbert Ross directed more Oscar-winning performances than Spielberg and Coppola? That's surprising.
This is amazing. I once tried to compile a list like your last table and was exhausted after Fred Zinnemann. It is painstaking work you've done here, and I appreciate it.
I'm sure @Peggy Sue meant to say something positive about your post before asking "Who is Barbara?" Even something simple like "Good job on correctly spelling Peirce and Cholodenko."
(Note: It's Barbra Streisand, Kathryn Bigelow, and Phyllida Lloyd. And in the First Timers section, you listed Aaron Sorkin's nominated actor instead of his film.)
@Brevity
I am notoriously bad at spelling.
Ben, please, don't take it badly! I was making a silly joke. We do need a lot of humor after last year and THAT telecast.
@Peggy Sue
Not taken badly at all. Thanks
Thanks Ben for this data! I LOVE IT! I'm such a geek hahaha
Love this stuff, too. Thanks!
Great job.
You should post Chalamet dancing Statistics. 😜
I was looking at some of these stats just yesterday. One thing I couldn’t find - who has directed more acting nominees than Fincher, Payne, et al without a win?
Also notable: the only male actor to win an Oscar for a performance directed by a woman is Alan Arkin... and that was a male/female director team on Little Miss Sunshine.
@Peter
Alexander Payne, Frank Lloyd and William A. Wellman are tied with Fincher (0/7)
Gregory La Cava is 0/8. Otto Preminger is 0/9.
John Cromwell and Mark Robson are tied at 0/10
The only other active directors with five or more nominations and no wins are Todd Field (0/5) and Ang Lee (0/6)
Weird seeing Scorsese with so many supporting actress moms considering he is known for his male dominated movies.
@Ben - Thank you! I think Ang Lee is at 5 not 6 (2 for S&S, 3 for Brokeback).
Two other crazy stats along these lines I discovered:
1) Only 4 living directors have directed at least 3 different actors to acting wins in at least 3 different movies: Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood... and Tom Hooper!
2) Wes Anderson has never directed an Oscar-nominated performance
I love those stats. Thanks !
Another one : David Fincher has now directed 5 actors to Lead Acting nominations, consecutively ! Pitt, Eisenberg, Mara, Pike, Oldman.
I think only William Wyler also achieved that feat.