# The Best Director Oscar winners of the 2000s

The directors who won the Academy Award for Best Director for films from 2000 to 2009, from Steven Soderbergh to Kathryn Bigelow.

- 361 votes · 10 items
- Mar 20, 2026 · adriana blanco
- https://even.best/en/l/1169/the-best-director-oscar-winners-of-the-2000s

## Top 10

1. **Steven Soderbergh — Traffic** (54 · ▲57 ▼3) — 2000 film. Drug trafficking between Mexico and the United States.
2. **Ron Howard — A Beautiful Mind** (38 · ▲50 ▼12) — 2001 film. Mathematician John Nash.
3. **Clint Eastwood — Million Dollar Baby** (29 · ▲33 ▼4) — 2004 film. His second Oscar as director.
4. **Ang Lee — Brokeback Mountain** (28 · ▲31 ▼3) — 2005 film. Two cowboys in love in Wyoming.
5. **Roman Polanski — The Pianist** (24 · ▲36 ▼12) — 2002 film. A survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto.
6. **Peter Jackson — The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King** (24 · ▲27 ▼3) — 2003 film. Eleven Oscars, tying the record.
7. **Kathryn Bigelow — The Hurt Locker** (15 · ▲20 ▼5) — 2009 film. The first woman to win Best Director.
8. **Martin Scorsese — The Departed** (12 · ▲19 ▼7) — 2006 film. His first Oscar, after five directing nominations.
9. **Joel and Ethan Coen — No Country for Old Men** (12 · ▲16 ▼4) — 2007 film. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh.
10. **Danny Boyle — Slumdog Millionaire** (11 · ▲15 ▼4) — 2008 film. A boy from the Mumbai slums on a quiz show.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.