Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, otherwise known as the Daniels, have picked up their second Oscar of the night at the 95th Academy Awards, this time for Best Director — they first scored gold earlier this evening when they won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
The duo won for their direction of A24’s smash hit Everything Everywhere All at Once, which saw Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan battling to save a multiverse full of talking rocks, Wong Kar-wai homages, and raccoon chefs. The Daniels faced stiff competition from a field that included Steven Spielberg, whose semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans could have landed the legendary filmmaker his third Best Director Oscar.
However, given Everything Everywhere All at Once‘s strong awards season showing, it’s no surprise that the Daniels prevailed in this category, especially after taking home directing accolades at the Critics Choice Awards, the Directors Guild Awards, and the Independent Spirit Awards.
The Daniels are the first directing duo to win Best Director at the Oscars since Joel and Ethan Coen won the award in 2008 for No Country for Old Men. Only one other pair has won: Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for the original West Side Story.
