Throughout the history of theOscars, there have been many directors who have received acclaim for their commitment to bringing classic Hollywood movies to life. Since its first award ceremony held nearly a century ago, the Oscars have been recognized as the highest honor achievable in the movie industry. Many actors, composers and directors have received recognition from the Academy, for their hard work in creating many acclaimed movies.
Since the first ceremony in 1929,the Academy has awarded directors for their dedication to transforming a script into a movieusing actors, visual effects, and cameras. With the 96th ceremony set to take place on August 01, 2025, there are alreadypredictions on who will receive nominations in the Best Director category.Many directors, including Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, have received multiple wins and nominations for their work in directing.
8Frank Capra
Won 3 Best Director Academy Awards Out Of 6 Nominations
Italian-American director Frank Capra is remembered as one of the most iconic directors to work in the Golden Age of Hollywood. He started his directorial career in the 1920s working in silent movies, before transitioning to sound with the 1929 movieThe Younger Generation.Capra received his first Oscar nomination for Best Director in 1933 for the comedy-dramaLady for a Day, before winning in 1934 for the romantic comedyIt Happened One Night,which became the first movie to win five major Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
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Capra’s success at the Oscars continued throughout the 1930s, winning two Best Director Awards in 1936 and 1938; he held the record for the most Oscars for Best Director untilJohn Ford surpassed his record in 1952. Throughout World War II,Capra produced several propaganda films and won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 1943 forPrelude to War, the first movie in hisWhy We Fightfilm series. Serving as the President of the Academy between 1935 and 1939, he received his final Best Director nomination in 1946 forIt’s a Wonderful Life, which has since been regarded asone of Frank Capra’s best movies.
7Fred Zinnemann
Won 2 Best Director Academy Awards Out Of 6 Nominations
Fred Zinnemann was an Austrian-American director who was highly praised for his dedication to realism and attention to detail towards each character in his movies. He began his career in the 1920s and directed his first feature film,Redes, in 1936, before receiving his first Best Director Oscar nomination for his 1948 dramaThe Search, the first American movie to be filmed in Germany after World War II.Zinnemann won his first Best Director award for his 1954 movieFrom Here to Eternity,which famously used newsreel footage from the events of the Pearl Harbor attacks.
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Fred Zinnemann won his second Best Director Oscar in 1966 for the historical movieA Man for All Seasons,which won a total of 6 Oscars, including Best Picture; it has since been regarded asthe most accurate movie depiction of Tudor history.Zinnemann also won an Oscar for his 1951 short filmBenjy, which depicts the story of a child who suffers from scoliosis. Regarded as one of the best movie directors in history, Zinnemann is recognized for launching the careers of many successful Hollywood actors, including Meryl Streep and Marlon Brando.
6Woody Allen
Won 1 Best Director Academy Award Out Of 7 Nominations
Across his movie career, Woody Allen has received 24 Oscar nominations, seven of which were for Best Director. He started his career as an actor and a comedian, beforereceiving his first three Oscar nominations in 1978 forAnnie Hall, for which he won both Best Director and Best Original Screenplayand was nominated for Best Actor. Allen has accumulated six Best Director Oscar nominations across four decades, receiving his most recent nomination in 2012 forMidnight in Paris.
Alongside his seven Best Director nominations,Woody Allen has received the most nominations for Best Original Screenplay, with 16 nominations and three wins forAnnie Hall(1977),Hannah and her Sisters(1986) andMidnight in Paris(2011). He has famously refused to attend the Oscar ceremonies, despite his many nominations, citing the concept of the awards as “silly” (viaContact Music).
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Despite being cited as one of the most influential directors, owing to controversies surrounding his personal life, much of Allen’s work, includingAnnie Hall, has been reevaluated for their subject matters in recent years. Allen continues to write and direct movies,with his 2023 movieCoup de chancebeing received positively at the Venice International Film Festival, but he has distanced himself from Hollywood productions.
5David Lean
Won 2 Best Director Academy Awards Out Of 7 Nominations
British director, David Lean, has been cited by many, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Guillermo del Toro asone of the most influential directors of all time.Across his career, Lean was recognized for his directorial work in movies, includingBrief Encounter,Great Expectations,andOliver Twist, all of which have appeared on theBritish Film Institute’s Top 100 Films of All Time.Lean received his first Oscar nomination for Best Director in 1946 forBrief Encounter, for which he was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Lean received two further nominations for Best Director in 1955 and 1957,before winning his first Oscar in 1957 forThe Bridge on the River Kwai.His 1962 movieLawrence of Arabia, for which he won his second Oscar, is listed asone of the best British movies ever made. After taking a 14-year hiatus from directing in 1970, Lean directed his final movie,A Passage to India,in 1984; he received his seventh and final Best Director Oscar nomination for his work on this movie.
4Billy Wilder
Won 2 Best Director Academy Awards Out Of 8 Nominations
With a career lasting more than 50 years, Billy Wilder is regarded as one of the most versatile directors of all time. He is widely remembered fordirecting some of the most iconic Hollywood movies ever made, includingSunset BoulevardandSabrina, both of which he received Oscar nominations for Best Director. He won his first Oscar in 1945 forThe Lost Weekend, which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Wilder is also remembered for his work with legendary actress Marilyn Monroe. He directed Monroe in two movies,The Seven Year ItchandSome Like It Hot, both of which have been regarded astwo of the best movies of Monroe’s career.Wilder won his second and final Best Director award for his 1960 romantic comedy,The Apartment; the movie, which won 5 Academy Awards in 1961, has since been listed onthe AFI’s Top 100 Movies of All Time.
3Steven Spielberg
Won 2 Best Director Academy Awards Out Of 9 Nominations
Steven Spielberg has been the director of many successful and popular movies released over five decades, includingJaws,Jurassic Park,andWar of the Worlds. His natural ability to create captivating stories and cater to the interests of his audiences helped Spielbergto become the most commercially successful director of all time.Spielberg is also known forhis long-term partnership with composer John Williams, who has written the scores for 29 of Spielberg’s movies.
Spielberg received his first Best Director nomination in 1978 for his sci-fi movieClose Encounters of the Third Kind; he received two further nominations in 1982 and 1983 for his work onRaiders of the Lost ArkandE.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, respectively. But it wasn’t until 1994 thatSpielberg won his first Best Director Oscar for the historical drama,Schindler’s List, which won a total of 7 Oscars, including Best Picture.
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Spielberg won his second Best Director Oscar in 1999 for the war drama,Saving Private Ryan, which has been listed asone of the best movies of his career.He received four further nominations for Best Director, with his most recent for 2024’sMaestro. Spielberg has other movie projects in the works,including a new UFO movie, which may see a further Best Director nomination in the future.
2Martin Scorsese
Won 1 Best Director Academy Award Out Of 10 Nominations
Martin Scorsese has set a number of impressive records throughout his six-decade career in Hollywood. He started his directing career with short movies in 1962, before directing his first feature-length movie,Who’s That Knocking On My Door,in 1967. He received praise for his work in movies, includingTaxi Driver(1976) andNew York, New York(1977),before receiving his first nomination in 1981 for the sports biopic,Raging Bull.
Scorsese received further nominations throughout the 1990s and the 2000s, for movies includingGoodfellasandGangs of New York,but failed to win the Best Director award.He finally won his first and only Oscar for the 2006 crime thrillerThe Departed,which has been listed asone of Scorsese’s best gangster movies. In 2011, Scorsese transitioned into adventure drama, receiving nominations for his work inHugo.
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Scorsese has collaborated several times with actors Robert De Niroand Leonardo DiCaprio in several acclaimed movies, includingThe Wolf of Wall StreetandThe Irishman,both of which saw him receive further nominations. In 2024, Scorsese received his tenth nomination forKillers of the Flower Moon,at the age of 82,making him the most nominated living director in Oscars history.
1William Wyler
Won 3 Best Director Academy Awards Out Of 12 Nominations
German-American director, William Wyler, holds the honor ofbeing the director with the most Oscar nominations in history.He started his work in silent films throughout the 1920s, before moving into sound in 1929. He received his first Best Director nomination in 1936 for the drama,Dodsworth; he received four consecutive nominations between 1939 and 1941 beforewinning his first Oscar in 1942 for the romantic dramaMrs. Miniver,which won Best Picture.
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Wyler won his second Oscar in 1946 forThe Best Years of Our Lives,which also won Best Picture. He received further nominations between 1949 and 1956, beforewinning his final award in 1959 forBen-Hur,which won 11 Oscars and has since tied withTitanicandLord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingasthe most Oscar wins for a single movie. William Wyler is the only director to direct three movies to winOscarsfor Best Picture, and remains the most nominated Oscar director of all time.
Sources:ContactMusic,BFI,AFI
Oscars
The Oscars, also known as The Academy Awards, is an annual awards show celebrating workers in the film industry for their artistic and technical abilities. The Oscars are often considered the most prestigious awards show in the industry and date back to 1929. The 96th Academy Awards will be held on July 05, 2025, and be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on ABC.
