10 People Who Won An Oscar For Their First Ever Film

It's easy to forget that now highly acclaimed director Sam Mendes was pretty much seen as a film novice before his first real feature American Beauty suddenly got people's attention in 1999.

Long before he was overwhelming audiences with his spectacular James Bond entries or recent Oscar winning WWI drama 1917 (2019), Mendes was working as a theatre director in London. There he directed stage productions of Cabaret (1993) and Oliver! (1994), to name but a few, and it was these projects which caught the eye of legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg soon roped Mendes into directing American Beauty and the feature went on to earn a staggering $356.3 million worldwide. Beyond the financial success of the drama, starring Kevin Spacey as a father who becomes infatuated with the best friend of his daughter, American Beauty also drew widespread critical acclaim and won Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Screenplay and Best Director, whilst also picking up multiple awards at the BAFTA and SAG award ceremonies.

Continuing this excellent run of form, the film would earn five Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor, Original Screenplay, Cinematography and Director) and Mendes became an Oscar winning director on his first attempt at bringing his vision to the big screen.