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Paul Thomas Anderson

Filmmaker, writer and producer

Film & TV United States Hall No. 40

Profile

Why they shine

Paul Thomas Anderson spent three decades as the most admired American director the Academy refused to reward, arriving at the 98th Oscars with 11 nominations and no statuettes. Then 15 March 2026 arrived. One Battle After Another took Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, plus the inaugural Oscar for casting, making his ninth feature the night's most decorated film. The shaggy, paranoid thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor was shot in long, unbroken takes, the same patience that defined There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread. Anderson framed the win as an apology to his children: he wrote the film to say sorry for the housekeeping mess their generation left behind.

Full name: Paul Thomas Anderson
Nationality: United States
Known for: One Battle After Another, There Will Be Blood
Role: Director / Writer / Producer
Oscar wins: Best Director and Best Picture, 2026
Signature: Long takes, widescreen framing, patient dialogue

Record

Honor record

Academy Award for Best Director

2026 · Mar 15, 2026

Dolby Theatre, Hollywood

His first Oscar after 11 nominations and three decades of near-misses. Anderson took Best Director for One Battle After Another, a Pynchon-inflected chase thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and also collected Best Adapted Screenplay for writing it. In his speech he called the film an apology for the housekeeping mess his generation left in the world.

Academy Award for Best Picture

2026 · Mar 15, 2026

Dolby Theatre, Hollywood

Awarded to Adam Somner, Sara Murphy and Paul Thomas Anderson as producers, making Anderson a Best Picture winner as well as a director and writer in the same year. One Battle After Another swept six Oscars, including the Academy's first-ever casting award, given to his longtime collaborator Cassandra Kulukundis.

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