Fun Facts About Directors (Stats and More!)
This originally started as a document for my own personal use. It was a spreadsheet used to find out how many major directors went to college, how old they were when they started their first major film, and how they started their careers.
The following information was obtained from Wikipedia:
- Birth Year
- College
- Major
- Degree Type
- Age When they had their first hit
For the purpose of this spreadsheet, and the purpose that it is supposed to serve. The Director MUST have been born AFTER 1944, and must have had at least one film that had a wide theatrical release. For this reason, directing legends such as Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Jean Renoir, et al. have not been included.
The reason for this is that during their era of film making, Film School was not an option. The best way to get into the industry at the time was an apprenticeship at a studio, or lower level job.
For the purpose of the graphs and stats below, the term “of Directors” really means, “of Directors featured in the survey.” For a full list of the directors used, as well as seeing the raw data, visit the link at the end of the article.
- 45 Directors Featured
- 69% of Directors Who Attended College Majored in Film
- 64% of Directors attended College
- Average Start Age (No college) was 29
- Average Start Age (College) was 29
- The Youngest Director Started at Age 23 (Ron Howard)
- The Oldest Director Started at Age 38
- 82% of Directors Born Between 1930-1949 Attended College
- 85% of Directors Born Between 1950-1959 Attended College
- 40% of Directors Born Between 1960-1969 Attended College
- 40% of Directors Born Between 1970-1979 Attended College
If you take away anything from these stats it should be this, those that went to college and those that did not were just as successful as those who did not go to college.
I’ll be doing some more in depth look at the differences between those who attended and those who did not attend. What’s your opinion of Film School? For or against it? Post a comment and let me know!
For a full look at the data, check out this spreadsheet.
