Directors Who Were Nominated for an Oscar on Their First Try

Orson Welles was an American renaissance man, a gifted actor, painter, writer, pianist, and magician. After his radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’s “War of the Worlds” frightened America into thinking that the nation was really being invaded by extraterrestrials, the 26-year-old Welles went to Hollywood and tried his hand at directing. His first effort was “Citizen Kane,” a drama about a narcissistic newspaper mogul, based on William Randloph Hearst. It lost money, but eventually it grew in stature and is now regarded by many film experts as the greatest movie ever made. Welles did win an Oscar for “Citizen Kane” – the only one in his long career – for Best Original Screenplay.

Delbert Mann had 66 directorial credits over his 45-year career, including stints in early television. His feature film directorial debut was for “Marty,” about a lovelorn Bronx butcher, and it won him his only Academy Award. “Marty” also won three other Oscars.

“12 Angry Men” was the first of five Academy Award directorial nominations for Sidney Lumet. The film, about 12 jurors deciding the fate of an accused murderer, was typical of Lumet’s cinematic vision, seeking justice while challenging society’s institutions. His other films of note included “The Verdict,” “Network,” and “Serpico.”

The British director Jack Clayton – whose film career began in 1929 as a child actor and went on to encompass roles as a film editor, cinematographer, and production manager, among other things – ended up with 10 directorial credits to his name. His first one was “Room at the Top,” about a young accountant scheming to marry the daughter of a rich factory owner even as he falls in love with an older woman. He lost to veteran director William Wyler, whose “Ben-Hur” won 11 Academy Awards in 1959.

Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins co-directed one of cinema’s greatest musicals, winning one of 10 Oscars for “West Side Story.” This was the first of two directorial Academy Awards for Wise, who also won, on his own, for “The Sound of Music” in 1966. “West Side Story” was one of just three directorial film efforts for Robbins, who was better known as a theatrical producer and choreographer.

“David and Lisa,” an independent motion picture about mental illness, was Frank Perry’s directorial first bow as a feature filmmaker and earned him his only Oscar nomination. Perry ended up with 21 directorial credits. Among his more noteworthy efforts were “The Swimmer” and “Mommie Dearest.” (Singer Katy Perry is his niece.)

In Mike Nichols’ film debut, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, he directed heavyweights Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in a searing film about the dissolution of a middle-aged couple’s marriage. It was the first of Nichols’ five Oscar nominations, and he would later win for the iconic counterculture film “The Graduate” in 1968.

Warren Beatty shared directorial credit and an Oscar nomination with Buck Henry for this film in which he plays a football quarterback removed from his body by an overzealous angel before he was meant to die, then returned to life in the body of a murdered millionaire. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won one (for Best Art Direction). Beatty would eventually win a Best Director Oscar for the film “Reds” in 1982. Henry only directed one other movie, this time by himself – a Bob Newhart comedy called “First Family” (1980) – but he and collaborator Calder Willingham were nominated for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for “The Graduate.”

Robert Redford had already starred in a series of blockbuster films before he went behind the camera in his directorial debut, “Ordinary People,” about how the death of a family’s eldest son fractures the relationships of the survivors. The movie won four Academy Awards, including a Best Director Oscar for Redford. He received a second Best Director nomination for “Quiz Show.”

The prolific James L. Brooks won two Academy Awards for his work on “Terms of Endearment,” as a director and writer. He would receive two other Oscar nominations for writing. Brooks has also won many Emmy Awards for his work on “The Simpsons,” “Taxi,” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

British filmmaker Roland Joffé has been nominated for two Best Director Oscars. His first was for “The Killing Fields,” about the takeover of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge in 1975 that killed two million people. The movie won three Academy Awards, but not for direction. Joffé was also nominated for “The Mission” in 1987.

Kenneth Branagh, who’s been nominated for eight Academy Awards, received his first directorial and acting nominations for his stirring adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV.” He’s up for another Best Oscar for director this year for “Belfast.”

Kevin Costner, already a matinee idol (“Field of Dreams,”Bull Durham,” and “The Untouchables”), turned his directorial debut into an Oscar winner with “Dances With Wolves,” about a U.S. soldier who becomes an outcast after he befriends Native Americans in the 19th century. Costner has only directed three films to date, but is in planning stages for a fourth.

When John Singleton was nominated for an Oscar in his directorial debut “Boyz N the Hood,” a semi-autobiographical film about growing up on the hardscrabble streets of the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles, he made history as the first African-American to be nominated for t4hat honor. Singleton would later focus more on television work such as “Snowfall” and “Empire” before he died in 2019 at age 51.

The Australian-born film helmsman made his directorial debut with “Babe,” about a pig raised by sheepdogs on an English farm who learns to herd sheep. Noonan also received a Best Writing nomination for the movie. Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart” won five Oscars the same year “Babe” was nominated.

Peter Cattaneo’s directorial debut was “The Full Monty,” about six unemployed Englishmen who form a male stripteаse act to raise money for one of their own so he can visit his son. The motion picture came out the same year as James Cameron’s “Titanic,” which swamped it, winning 11 Oscars.

Sam Mendes’ directorial debut was “American Beauty,” a sardonic commentary on American suburban culture. It is the British director’s lone Oscar win to date, and the film won four other Academy Awards. He also was nominated for a Best Director Academy Award for “1917.”

“Being John Malkovich,” a surreal film about a puppeteer who discovers an entry into actor John Malkovich’s head, was Spike Jonze’s first directorial effort. He lost to Sam Mendes, himself taking his director’s first bow for “American Beauty.” Jonze also directed the live-action family movie “Where the Wild Things Are,” based on the characters from the Maurice Sendak children’s book.

Britain’s Stephen Daldry has been nominated for three Best Director Oscars. His first was for “Billy Elliott,” about a boy caught between his love of dance and the conflicts in his family. He was also nominated for “The Hours” and “The Reader.” Daldry has won Emmy Awards for his work on the long-running Netflix series “The Crown.”

Rob Marshall has 11 directorial credits thus far, including “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.” His directing debut was in 2002 for “Chicago,” the cinematic version of the Broadway hit, which lost to Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist.”

Tony Gilroy received his first directorial and writing Oscar nominations for “Michael Clayton,” about a law firm fixer sent to remedy a situation about a chemical company named in a class-action lawsuit. The film won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Tilda Swinton. Gilroy also directed “The Bourne Legacy.”

Benh Zeitlin is one of the youngest people on the list. He was 30 when he was nominated for his first directing Oscar for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” – which also gained him an Academy Award nomination for writing. “Beasts of the Southern Wild” is about a young girl dealing with her father’s failing health and environmental changes that unleash prehistoric creatures.

Jordan Peele’s directorial debut “Get Out” was a mystery/thriller and commentary on racial relations in America. Peele won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for “Get Out,” the first African-American to do so.

Emerald Fennell is the lone woman on the list, and the youngest. She did not win for Best Director but did so for Original Screenplay. “Promising Young Woman” is about a young woman, traumatized by a tragic event, who seeks vengeance against those who wronged her.