Directors and Acting Nominations

[Mister Tee]

Scorsese's 5 winners is obviously quite decent, but consider this: he's had at least 2, arguably 3 additional nominees come in to Oscar night favorites, only to be upset -- Winona Ryder ('93) and Daniel Day-Lewis ('02) were clear favorites; Jodie Foster ('76) was less certain, but led in the predictions I saw that year. So, with any kind of breaks, he could be third on the all-time list already.

[criddic3]

Edward Zwick has directed four actors to nominations, with one win. Washington in 1989 for Glory*, Ken Watanabe in 2003 for The Last Samurai, Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Housou for Blood Diamond.

Ron Howard has 7, with 2 wins. Don Ameche in 1985 for Cocoon*, Dianne Wiest in 1989 for Parenthood, Kathleen Quinlan and Ed Harris in 1995 for Apollo 13, Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connolly* in 2001 for A Beautiful Mind and Paul Giamatti in 2005 for Cinderella Man.

[FilmFan720]

Thanks so much Penelope. That is a very interesting list. I hadn't realized what a feat Clint Eastwood had...5 wins out of 9 nods in 12 years. That is quite a feat.

I think William Wyler has another record that will never be touched.

[Penelope]

FilmFan, here's the list of directors and acting winners; the ties are listed chronologically; I've gone by the actual credited director, but if you wish to include uncredited work, Cukor would bump up to 8 wins (2 for GWTW, 1 for Lust for Life), Sam Wood would go to 5 wins (2 for GWTW) and Josh Logan would enter the list with 3 wins (2 for Sayonara, 1 for uncredited work on Mister Roberts).

1. William Wyler (14)
2. Elia Kazan (9)
3. Fred Zinnemann (6)
4. John Ford (5)
5. George Cukor (5)
6. Martin Scorsese (5)
7. Woody Allen (5)
8. Clint Eastwood (5)
9. Victor Fleming (4)
10. John Huston (4)
11. Sidney Lumet (4)
12. Hal Ashby (4)
13. Jonathan Demme (4)
14. James L. Brooks (4)
15. Mervyn LeRoy (3)
16. Henry King (3)
17. Sam Wood (3)
18. Billy Wilder (3)
19. George Seaton (3)
20. Daniel Mann (3)
21. Delbert Mann (3)
22. David Lean (3)
23. Robert Wise (3)
24. Richard Brooks (3)
25. Arthur Penn (3)
26. Martin Ritt (3)
27. Norman Jewison (3)
28. Alan J. Pakula (3)
29. Peter Bogdonovich (3)
30. Milos Forman (3)
31. Herbert Ross (3)
32. Robert Benton (3)

[FilmFan720]

I too had to IMDb him, but I didn't notice that. That is quite impressive. Is that the most director/actor correlations? I would assume so (I can't think of any others, but there could be some odd pair that doesn't come immediately to mind, like Robson/Kennedy).

[Mister Tee]

FilmFan, I had to IMDB it to find which 10 Robson had managed. The most amazing thing about the list is his netting four nominations (of a career 5) for Arthur Kennedy. I'll bet most people would bet Scorsese/DeNiro had a stronger correlation, but that's a mere 3-of-6.

To get back to your original question, I believe Wyler is again way out in front for wins -- 14, at my count (though that includes Come and Get It, a joint operation, I believe) -- with Kazan second at 8.

[FilmFan720]

I believe Mark Robson, however, holds the record for most Acting nominations (10) without directing a single winning performance!

[Penelope]

Also, aside from the aforementioned Stephen Frears, it should be pointed out that among this year's acting nominations...

Richard Eyre raises his tally to 5 acting nominations: Judi Dench (twice), Jim Broadbent, Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett.

Todd Field also raises his tally to 5: Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Marisa Tomei, Kate Winslet, Jackie Earle Haley.

And Bill Condon raises his tally to 5: Ian McKellan, Lynn Redgrave, Laura Linney, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson.

Conversely, Pedro Almodovar--arguably one of the world's greatest directors--scores his first acting nomination with Penelope Cruz's nod.

[Penelope]

FilmFan, I'll work on the winners list.

Others who might join the list soon: Milos Forman (8 acting nominations), Oliver Stone (8), Robert Benton (8), James Ivory (8), Mark Rydell (9), Warren Beatty (8).

[dws1982]

Clint Eastwood has nine (himself twice, Hackman, Streep, Penn, Robbins, Harden, Freeman, Swank), with five wins.

[FilmFan720]

Penelope, could you also post the number of wins a director has led actors to? I am pretty sure Wyler is also at the head of the pack, but I would love to see who the other tops are. Is it the same?

Also, who do people think will be the next to join this list? By my count, Spielberg has 8, Jim Sheridan has 8, Ron Howard has 6, Stephen Frears has 6...and it seems like all of them could keep directing Oscar bait roles in the near future. My bet is on Ron Howard. Is there someone closer I am missing?



Edited By FilmFan720 on 1170264196

[Penelope]

I spent the last couple of days compiling a spreadsheet of directors and the total nominations they guided actors to. Herewith, then, are the directors whose work resulted in 10 or more acting nominations. Ties were broken first by total wins, then alphabetically.

The #1 director is so far ahead of the pack that I doubt his record will ever be approached. The #5 director could conceivably move up a slot or two in a few months.

1. William Wyler – 36 nominations
2. Elia Kazan – 24
3. George Cukor – 21
4. Fred Zinnemann – 20
5. Martin Scorsese – 19
6. Sidney Lumet – 18
7. George Stevens – 18
8. Billy Wilder – 17
9. Mike Nichols – 17
10. Stanley Kramer – 16
11. Woody Allen – 15
12. John Huston – 15
13. Mervyn LeRoy – 14
14. Francis Ford Coppola – 14
15. Martin Ritt – 13
16. John Ford – 12
17. Norman Jewison – 12
18. Herbert Ross – 12
19. Sam Wood – 12
20. Joseph L. Mankiewicz – 12
21. Sydney Pollack – 12
22. Hal Ashby – 11
23. Clarence Brown – 11
24. Frank Capra – 11
25. David Lean – 11
26. James L. Brooks – 10
27. Richard Brooks – 10
28. Michael Curtiz – 10
29. Mark Robson -- 10