Most Oscar nominations for Best Director (living)

The living director that has received the most "Best Director" Academy Award nominations over the course of their career is Martin Scorsese (USA). On 23 January 2024, he acquired his 10th nomination for his epic crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon (USA, 2023).

Although some of Scorsese's earlier films had met with critical acclaim – Taxi Driver (1976) was even nominated for "Best Picture" – he did not get an Oscar nomination for directorial work until Raging Bull in 1981. Films that have earned Scorsese a seat at the ceremony include Goodfellas (1991), Gangs of New York (2002) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). Despite his many nominations, Scorsese has only won the award once, for crime thriller The Departed (2006).

The only director to have been nominated more times than Scorsese is William Wyler (USA, b. Germany), who was nominated a total of 12 times (winning on three occasions). His fist Oscar nod was for the family drama Dodsworth (1936) and his last was the psychological horror The Collector (1965). Today, Wyler is best known for wartime dramas Mrs Miniver (1942) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), as well as romantic comedy Roman Holiday (1953) and historic epic Ben Hur (1959).