Directors who directed nominated performances in consecutive films

[dws1982]

William Wyler: The Letter/The Little Foxes (Bette Davis), Mrs Miniver (Greer Garson)

Wyler also had Supporting Actor nominees (two winners) on three consecutive films: Friendly Persuasion (Perkins), The Big Country (Ives) and Ben-Hur (Griffith).

[Greg]

Warren Beatty: Heaven Can Wait (Buck Henry),

That should be Jack Warden.

[Mister Tee]

Thanks for doing the research, here.

If you hadn't yourself pointed out that Starting Over was only a Brooks-written film, I might have thought he qualified, and wondered why I didn't think of him (memory blurs with time). He also got a best actress nomination for Helen Hunt in As Good As It Gets, but, unfortunately, the misbegotten I'll Do Anything came in between.

If you disregard his earlier documentary entry, Bennett Miller directed best actor nominees in his first three feature films: Capote, Moneyball and Foxcatcher.

[Okri]

From the TAR thread (to avoid highjacking)

This is clearly jumping ahead, but, based on these reviews, it appears like Todd Field will have, in only three movies, generated three lead actress nominations -- which feels like it must be some sort of rarity?

My first instinct was to look at classic Hollywood. The hindrance here, of course, is that they made a tonne of movies and often had one film interrupting the run. I have yet to find an example within their first films, but consecutive releases (any performing category)

William Wyler: The Letter/The Little Foxes (Bette Davis), Mrs Miniver (Greer Garson)

George Stevens: The More the Merrier (Jean Arthur), I Remember Mama (Irene Dunne), A Place in the Sun (Shelly Winters)

David Lean: Bridge on the River Kwai (Sesue Hayakawa), Lawrence of Arabia (Omar Sharif), Doctor Zhivago (Tom Courtenay), Ryan's Daughter (John Mills)

Sidney Lumet: Murder on the Orient Express (Albert Finney), Dog Day Afternoon (Al Pacino), Network (Peter Finch/William Holden), Equus (Richard Burton)

Warren Beatty: Heaven Can Wait (Buck Henry), Reds (Jack Nicholson), Dick Tracy (Al Pacino). If you're including efforts he produced, drop Dick Tracy (because Ishtar is after Reds), but add on Bonnie and Clyde (Gene Hackman, Michael J. Pollard) and Shampoo (Jack Warden).

James L Brooks: Starting Over (Jill Clayburgh, writer only), Terms of Endearment (Shirley MacLaine/Debra Winger), Broadcast News (Holly Hunter). Probably the closest to Field given that these were his first films.

Martin Scorsese: Goodfellas (Lorraine Bracco), Cape Fear (Juliette Lewis), The Age of Innocence (Winona Ryder)

That was fun