Which director has the most Oscar nominations without winning?
In 2007, movie fans everywhere rejoiced when Martin Scorsese finally won ‘Best Director’ at the Oscars. To most observers, Scorsese had been long overdue for that win, having previously been nominated five times without actually taking home the trophy. The fact that he won for The Departed, a superb crime flick in and of itself, but far from his best work, seemed incidental to many people. After all, the most important thing was the Academy granting him that all-important validation at last.
Unfortunately for Scorsese, widely considered the greatest director of his generation, he has also long held a bizarre status as the Academy’s favourite bridesmaid. In his career, he has notched ten ‘Best Director’ nominations for incredible pictures like Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Killers of the Flower Moon. However, to this day, he has still only won once. From one perspective, he is second only to William Wyler, who notched 12 nominations and three wins, including the seminal Ben-Hur. But from another, he is a nine-time loser on Hollywood’s biggest night.
However, while Scorsese and Wyler are tied for most ‘Best Director’ losses in history, neither is the director who holds the record for ‘Most nominations without winning’. Who exactly lays claim to this dubious honour, though? Well, there are a handful of candidates to speak about until we get to that particular filmmaker, because they also racked up many losses, albeit with some wins to balance things out.
Take Steven Spielberg, for example. The iconic blockbuster pioneer has lost seven times at the Oscars, but has also won twice, for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, which puts him one win above his old pal Marty. Billy Wilder watched as another filmmaker danced up to the Oscar podium six times, but just like Spielberg, he was also able to claim two wins for himself: The Lost Weekend and The Apartment.
Sticking with the Old Hollywood greats, Fred Zinnemann notched two wins for From Here to Eternity and A Man for All Seasons, which likely cushioned the blow of the five times he lost out on the big night. David Lean enjoyed the exact same record, with his two wins coming thanks to the undeniable epics Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai. Lastly, Frank Capra enjoyed a 50/50 record at the Oscars, with three wins (It Happened One Night, Mr Deeds Goes to Town, and You Can’t Take it With You) and three losses.
Which director has the most Oscar nominations without winning?
Ultimately, though, despite having fewer losses than Scorsese and Wyler, and the same amount as Wilder, Clarence Brown is the director with the most nominations to have never actually laid claim to a Little Gold Man.
He made more than 50 pictures in his career, which began in 1920 when he co-directed The Great Redeemer, and ended with 1952’s Plymouth Adventure. During that period, he was nominated six times at the Oscars for Romance, Anna Christie, A Free Soul, The Human Comedy, National Velvet, and The Yearling, but lost out each and every time on the night.
In truth, Brown would have likely received even more nominations had his career continued beyond 1953, but he chose to leave Hollywood behind after becoming frustrated with the industry. This was during an uncomfortable period of fallout from the House Un-American Activities investigation into supposed communist activity in moviemaking, and Brown became disillusioned with the industry. He was already a wealthy man, so he simply chose to walk away.
It’s unknown if Brown was miffed with the Academy for overlooking him so often, but he wasn’t the only director completely ignored in that era. After all, Alfred Hitchcock was nominated for five ‘Best Director’ gongs between 1940 and 1960, and also didn’t win a single one. Come on, Academy! Get it together.
