# The most-nominated directors in Academy Award for Best Director history

William Wyler on top with 12 nominations, Scorsese and Spielberg behind him, and Hitchcock, Kubrick and Fellini who never won: every filmmaker with at least four Best Director nominations, with their wins, as of the 97th Academy Awards (2025).

- 65 votes · 27 items
- Jul 18, 2026 · montagnard_paris
- https://even.best/en/l/5087/the-most-nominated-directors-in-academy-award-for-best-director-history

## Top 27

1. **William Wyler** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — 12 nominations, 3 wins: Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Ben-Hur (1959).
2. **Woody Allen** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — 7 nominations, 1 win: Annie Hall (1977).
3. **John Ford** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — 5 nominations, 4 wins: The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Quiet Man (1952).
4. **George Stevens** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — 5 nominations, 2 wins: A Place in the Sun (1951), Giant (1956).
5. **David Lean** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — 7 nominations, 2 wins: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
6. **Billy Wilder** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — 8 nominations, 2 wins: The Lost Weekend (1945), The Apartment (1960).
7. **Fred Zinnemann** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — 7 nominations, 2 wins: From Here to Eternity (1953), A Man for All Seasons (1966).
8. **Mike Nichols** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — 4 nominations, 1 win: The Graduate (1967).
9. **Martin Scorsese** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — 10 nominations, 1 win: The Departed (2006).
10. **Frank Capra** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — 6 nominations, 3 wins: It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can't Take It with You (1938).
11. **Elia Kazan** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — 5 nominations, 2 wins: Gentleman's Agreement (1947), On the Waterfront (1954).
12. **John Huston** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — 5 nominations, 1 win: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).
13. **Clarence Brown** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — 5 nominations, never won.
14. **Steven Spielberg** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — 9 nominations, 2 wins: Schindler's List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998).
15. **George Cukor** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — 5 nominations, 1 win: My Fair Lady (1964).
16. **King Vidor** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — 5 nominations, never won.
17. **Alfred Hitchcock** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 5 nominations, never won.
18. **Robert Altman** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 5 nominations, never won.
19. **Clint Eastwood** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 4 nominations, 2 wins: Unforgiven (1992), Million Dollar Baby (2004).
20. **Joseph L. Mankiewicz** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 4 nominations, 2 wins: A Letter to Three Wives (1949), All About Eve (1950).
21. **Frank Lloyd** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 4 nominations, 2 wins: The Divine Lady (1929), Cavalcade (1933).
22. **Francis Ford Coppola** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 4 nominations, 1 win: The Godfather Part II (1974).
23. **Stanley Kubrick** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 4 nominations, never won.
24. **Federico Fellini** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 4 nominations, never won.
25. **Sidney Lumet** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 4 nominations, never won.
26. **Peter Weir** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — 4 nominations, never won.
27. **Michael Curtiz** (-2 · ▲0 ▼2) — 4 nominations, 1 win: Casablanca (1942).

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.