2018 Oscar nominees you didn’t know were previously nominated

“Phantom Thread” director and writer Paul Thomas Anderson might not be a household name yet, but his films certainly are. Anderson has actually been nominated six times in the past for “Boogie Nights” (1997), “Magnolia” (1999), “There Will Be Blood” (2007), and “Inherent Vice” (2014), all of which he wrote and directed. He has yet to win, but “Phantom Thread” owns six nominations, and if it can capitalize in the Best Picture and Best Director categories, Anderson will finally take home a statuette.

Director, writer, and producer Guillermo del Toro has been a known commodity since the mid-2000s, when he wrote and directed the highly acclaimed foreign film “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006) and debuted the “Hellboy” superhero franchise in 2004. The former earned him Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Film nods at the 2007 Academy Awards, but he failed to win, and didn’t get another nomination until 2018. Del Toro is now almost certain to win his first Oscar, as “The Shape of Water” could net him honors for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, not to mention the other 10 categories in which the fantasy-drama film has a shot.

With all the hype around “The Shape of Water,” people are certainly getting to know Sally Hawkins. What they might not realize about the 41-year-old actress, however, is that 2018 won’t mark her first trip to the Oscars. Although Hawkins has a shot at Best Actress this year, she was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the 2013 Woody Allen dramedy “Blue Jasmine.”

Saoirse Ronan has a tough name to spell, but that didn’t stop the Academy from penciling her into their list of nominees prior to her starring role in Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird.” In fact, Ronan actually has two previous nods. She was up for Best Actress for 2015’s “Brooklyn,” as well as 2007’s “Atonement.” She didn’t win either one, but after nabbing a Golden Globe earlier this year, we like her Oscar odds.

An outspoken critic of the Golden Globes, Gary Oldman hasn’t received a lot of love when it comes to award shows. Sure, the BAFTAs have been kind to him, but the Academy Awards have only nominated Oldman once prior to his Best Actor nod for 2018’s “Darkest Hour.” That nod was for 2011’s “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” an accolade the veteran actor lost to Jean Dujardin of “The Artist.”

Comedy fans will know Richard Jenkins from his supporting roles in films like “There’s Something About Mary,” “Me, Myself, and Irene,” “Step Brothers,” and “The Cabin in the Woods,” but the veteran actor is no slouch when it comes to serious cinema. He received a Best Actor nomination back in 2007 for Tom McCarthy’s drama “The Visitor,” and now has a shot at Best Supporting Actor for Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.”

Not only was writer/director Martin McDonagh previously nominated for an Academy Award, he actually won! However, the victory flew under the radar as it was for Best Short Film (Live Action) for 2004’s “Six Shooter.” Since then, McDonagh earned another nod in 2009 for writing “In Bruges,” and has two chances this year (Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay) for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

James Ivory tried not once, not twice, but three times to win Best Director for the films “A Room with a View” (1985), “Howards End” (1992), and “The Remains of the Day” (1993), but came up short each time. Now, 25 years after his last nomination, the 89-year-old Ivory will take another shot, except this time in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for “Call Me By Your Name.”

Don’t know Scott Frank? You should, as the screenwriter penned the scripts for “Get Shorty” (1995), “Out of Sight” (1998), “Minority Report” (2002), “The Interpreter” (2005), “Marley & Me” (2008), and “A Walk Among the Tombstones” (2014), with “Out of Sight” netting him a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. This year, he’ll try for his first win as one of the writers of the adapted screenplay for “Logan.”

Steve James is the director behind the documentary “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” which centers on the only financial institution to face criminal charges following the subprime mortgage crisis, and is up for Best Documentary. However, this isn’t James’ first taste of the Oscars. That actually occurred 24 years ago, when James directed, co-wrote, and co-produced the iconic basketball documentary “Hoop Dreams.”

Producer Darla K. Anderson and editor Lee Unkrich often collaborate together on animated films, including “Toy Story” (1995) “A Bug’s Life” (1998), “Monsters, Inc.” (2001), “Cars" (2006), and “Ratatouille” (2007). Interestingly, when “Toy Story 3” won Best Animated Feature at the 83rd Academy Awards, Unkrich took home a statuette as the film’s director, but Anderson, the sole producer, did not – although she would have if the movie had won Best Picture. This time around, Anderson and Unkrich share a nomination in the Best Animated Feature category as producer and director, respectively, this time for “Coco.”

After co-directing 2002’s “Ice Age,” Carlos Saldanha went solo and helmed its spinoff, “Gone Nutty” (also known as “Scrat’s Missing Adventure"), later that year. The squirrel short was a hit, earning a nod for Best Animated Short Film at the 2003 Academy Awards. It took 15 years, but Saldanha will be back at the Oscars this year as the director of “Ferdinand,” the animated film that features the voices of John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Anthony Anderson, Bobby Cannavale, Peyton Manning, and even Saldanha himself in a cameo role.

Few people remember that hip hop legend, actor, and producer Common was nominated for (and won!) an Academy Award back in 2014 for writing the song “Glory” with John Legend for the film “Selma.” A decade later, he’s up for Best Original Song once again for penning the lyrics to “Stand Up for Something” from the film “Marshall.”

As a frequent collaborator of the Coen brothers (with 15 films together and counting), composer Carter Burwell is way overdue for an Oscar win. In fact, he has only received a single past nomination, and it didn’t even come from one of the Coens’ films, but instead Todd Haynes’ romantic period drama “Carol” (2015). Burwell has also collaborated numerous times with director Martin McDonagh, whose most recent film, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” earned the composer a nod for Best Original Score. 

In addition to being a respected sound engineer, Matthew Wood occasionally works as a voice actor. (You might have known him as the voice of General Grievous in “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith” and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”) However, his primary occupation is a lot more fruitful when it comes to award shows, as Wood has been nominated for a Best Sound Editing Academy Award for 2007’s “There Will Be Blood,” 2008’s “WALL-E,” 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” and 2017’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”