Stephen Daldry is an English director of stage and screen. Over his career he has received numerous accolades including two BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Critics' Choice Award. His films have competed at both the Berlin International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.
Daldry directed the British short film Eight (1998) for which he received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film. He made his directorial debut with the coming-of-age film Billy Elliot (2000), for which he earned the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film as well as nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director. He then directed the psychological period drama The Hours (2002) for which he earned nominations for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. He also directed the romance drama The Reader (2008) earning nominations for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. He directed the drama Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011) for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director. He directed the crime drama thriller Trash (2014) earning a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.
On television, he gained widespread recognition for producing and directing the Netflix period historical drama series The Crown which ran for six seasons about the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II portrayed by Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, and Imelda Staunton from 2016 to 2020. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the episode, "Paterfamilias" in 2018. He then won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for the fourth season of The Crown. For that same season, he won the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Drama in 2020. He also was nominated for the British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Director: Fiction. He won the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama for the romantic dramedy Together in 2022.
On stage, he started his career on the West End where he two Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Director for the Peter Morgan historical play The Audience (2013) and the Matthew López play The Inheritance (2019). He was previously Olivier-nominated for directing the musical Billy Elliot (2006). On Broadway, he won two Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Play for the J.B. Priestly revival An Inspector Calls (1994) and the Matthew Lopez play The Inheritance (2020). He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Billy Elliot (2009). He was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for the David Hare play Skylight (2015). He has also won three Drama Desk Awards and an Outer Critics Circle Award. Daldry won the Drama League Award's Founders Award for Excellence in Directing in 2025.
Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2000 Best Director Billy Elliott 2002 The Hours 2008 The Reader
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.British Academy Film Awards 1998 Best Short Film Eight 2000 Outstanding British Film Billy Elliot Best Direction Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer 2002 Outstanding British Film The Hours Best Direction 2008 Best Direction The Reader 2014 Best Film Not in the English Language Trash British Academy Television Awards 2017 Best Direction: Fiction The Crown 2022 Best Single Drama Together
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2011 Best Director Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.Primetime Emmy Awards 2017 Outstanding Drama Series The Crown (season one) Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series The Crown (episode: "Hyde Park Corner") 2018 Outstanding Drama Series The Crown (season two) Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series The Crown (episode: "Paterfamilias") 2020 Outstanding Drama Series The Crown (season three) 2021 Outstanding Drama Series The Crown (season four) 2023 Outstanding Drama Series The Crown (season five) 2024 Outstanding Drama Series The Crown (season six) Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series The Crown (episode: "Sleep, Dearie Sleep")
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.2002 Best Director The Hours 2008 The Reader
Laurence Olivier Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.2006 Best Director Billy Elliott 2013 The Audience 2019 The Inheritance
Tony Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1994 Best Direction of a Play An Inspector Calls 2009 Best Direction of a Musical Billy Elliott 2015 Best Direction of a Play Skylight 2020 Best Direction of a Play The Inheritance
Miscellaneous awards Organizations Year Category Work Result Ref. Berlin International Film Festival 2002 Golden BearThe Hours Reader Jury of the "Berliner Morgenpost" British Independent Film Award 2000 Best Director Billy Elliot Cannes Film Festival 2000 Caméra d'OrBilly Elliot César Awards 2000 Best Foreign Film Billy Elliot 2002 The Hours Directors Guild of America Awards 2002 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures The Hours European Film Awards 2008 European Film The Reader Evening Standard British Film Awards 2009 Best European Film The Reader Goya Awards 2000 Best European Film Billy Elliot London Film Critics Circle 2000 Best Director of the YearBilly Elliot Newcomer of the Year 2002 Best Director of the Year The Hours Palm Springs International Film Festival 2002 Director of the Year Award Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close 2011 Director of the Year International Filmmaker Award Producers Guild of America Awards 2018 Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television - Drama The Crown (season two) 2020 The Crown (season three) 2021 The Crown (season four) 2024 The Crown (season five)
Theater awards Organizations Year Category Work Result Ref. Drama Desk Awards 1994 Outstanding Direction of a Play An Inspector Calls 2009 Outstanding Direction of a Musical Billy Elliot The Musical 2020 Outstanding Direction of a Play The Inheritance 2025 Outstanding Direction of a Play Stranger Things: The First Shadow Drama League Award 2025 Founders Award for Excellence in Directing Outer Critics Circle Award 2009 Outstanding Direction of a Musical Billy Elliot The Musical 2015 Outstanding Direction of a Play The Audience 2025 Outstanding Direction of a Play Stranger Things: The First Shadow
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