Film directors from New York City

David James Redford was an American documentary filmmaker and environmentalist. He was the son of actor and director Robert Redford and historian Lola Van Wagenen.

Heywood "Woody" Allen is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and comedian. In a career spanning eight decades, he has written for film, television, and theater. Allen has received many accolades, including the most wins and nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for an Emmy Award and a Tony Award. Allen has also received numerous honors, including an Honorary Golden Lion in 1995, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, an Honorary Palme d'Or in 2002, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. Two of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Stanley Kubrick was an American filmmaker and photographer. A prominent figure of the New Hollywood era, Kubrick is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers. His films spanned a number of genres and gained recognition for their attention to detail, innovative cinematography, extensive set design, and dark humor.

Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone is an American actor, painter, and filmmaker. In a film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Critics' Choice Award, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and two BAFTA Awards. Stallone is one of only two actors in history to have starred in a box-office No. 1 film across six consecutive decades. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $7.5 billion worldwide.

Martin Charles Scorsese is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential directors in the history of cinema. He has received many accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. He has been honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1997, the Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute in 1998, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2007, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2010, and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2012. Five of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".

Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand is an American singer, actress, songwriter, and filmmaker. Over a career spanning more than six decades, Streisand's success in the entertainment industry has included Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.

American actor

American filmmaker (born 1939)

Carl Reiner was an American actor, author, comedian, director, and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. His awards and honors include 12 Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999.

American comedian, actress, and television host (1933–2014)

American film director, screenwriter, and producer (born 1946)

Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as There's Something About Mary (1998), Zoolander (2001), and Tropic Thunder (2008). Stiller is also known for his work in franchises such as the Meet the Parents films (2000–present), the Madagascar franchise (2005–2012), and the Night at the Museum films (2006–2014). His films have grossed more than $2.6 billion in Canada and the United States, with an average of $79 million per film. His awards and honors include an Emmy Award, a Directors Guild of America Award, a Britannia Award and a Teen Choice Award.

Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, author, and filmmaker whose career on both stage and screen has spanned four decades. Known for his versatility across a range of roles and collaborations with director Richard Linklater, he has worked in both independent films and blockbusters. His accolades include a Daytime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for five Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and a Tony Award.

Melvin James Brooks is an American actor, filmmaker, comedian, songwriter, and playwright. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. A recipient of numerous accolades, he is one of 28 entertainers to win the EGOT, which includes an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. He received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2010, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2013, a British Film Institute Fellowship in 2015, a National Medal of Arts in 2016, a BAFTA Fellowship in 2017, and an Honorary Academy Award in 2024.

American film director, producer and actor (1934-2008)

American actor and writer

Steven Vincent Buscemi is an American actor, director, and producer. His accolades include two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Independent Spirit Awards.

Robert Reiner was an American filmmaker, actor, and political activist. He directed a series of acclaimed studio films in a career that spanned comedy, drama, romance, and documentary. Reiner received numerous accolades, including winning two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Hugo Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and nine Golden Globe Awards. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 and received the Chaplin Gala Tribute at the Film at Lincoln Center in 2014. Three of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry.

American director, producer and screenwriter (1924–2011)

American actor and filmmaker (1940–2019)

American actor

American actor and comedian (born 1965)

American actor

American film director and writer (1941–2012)

American filmmaker (born 1971)

American and French visual artist (1890–1976)

American actor (born 1936)

American filmmaker (1966-)

American film director and producer (1899–1983)

American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer, and director

British-American actor (1899–1962)

American comedian, writer, producer, activist, and television host

Anthony Perkins was an American actor. Born in Manhattan, he began his acting career as a teenager in summer stock theatre, and appeared in films prior to his Broadway debut. His first film role was in The Actress (1953). That same year, he debuted on Broadway in Tea and Sympathy, a performance for which he received critical acclaim.

Carole Penelope Marshall was an American actress, film director, and producer. She starred as Laverne DeFazio on the television sitcom Laverne & Shirley from 1976 to 1983, and received three nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for her portrayal.

American film director, screenwriter and actor

William Edward Crystal is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is known as a stand-up comedian and for his film and stage roles. Crystal has received numerous accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award as well as nominations for three Grammy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2007, the Critics' Choice Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2023.

American film director, screenwriter, and producer (1909-1993)

Stanley Tucci Jr. is an American actor. Known as a character actor, he has played a wide variety of roles, earning numerous accolades for his work.

American actor and filmmaker (born 1966)

American director and comedian (1931–2014)

American actor (1931–2012)

American director, screenwriter, and producer (born 1964)

Canadian-American filmmaker (1940–2017)

American actor (born 1957)

American animator and cartoonist (1911–2006)

American actress

American director, screenwriter, and producer (1939–2020)

Greek-American actor, film director, and screenwriter (1929–1989)

American filmmaker (born 1961)

American film director, writer and producer

American film director (1939–2022)

Lena Dunham is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series Girls (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe Awards. Dunham also directed several episodes of Girls and became the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series. She started her career writing, directing, and starring in her semi-autobiographical independent film Tiny Furniture (2010), for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. She has since written and directed the 2022 films Sharp Stick and Catherine Called Birdy. In 2025, she created the Netflix series Too Much starring Megan Stalter.

American director, producer and actor (1905–1986)

American actor, comedian and filmmaker (born 1979)

Mira Nair is an Indian-American filmmaker. She has received two prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and four from the Venice Film Festival, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe, and two César Awards.

American film director, screenwriter (born 1963)

American film director and producer (1913-2001)

Scottish-American musician (born 1952)

American film director (1939–2016)

American filmmaker (born 1969)