Wes Anderson Wins His First-Ever Oscar for Live-Action Short The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar

Wes Anderson has won an Academy Award for the live-action short, The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar, marking the very first time the acclaimed director has actually won an Oscar.

In the past, Anderson has been nominated for seven Oscars — first with 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums — but has never won. Some of his films have received Hollywood’s highest accolade, like when Grand Budapest Hotel took home four awards at the 2015 Oscars, but in those cases, even though Anderson’s films won awards, the director himself was not involved in the award.

Now, with The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar, though, Anderson is a proper Academy Award-winner. He was not at the ceremony itself, but the award was accepted on his behalf by presenters Issa Rae and Ramy Youssef.

The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar premiered last September, and is based on the 1977 short-story-of-the-same-name by Roald Dahl. With a runtime of only 37 minutes, the short stars Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Richard Ayoade.

The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar is currently streaming on Netflix. For more, check out the review from Consequence’s Liz Shannon Miller, who called the short “a reminder that just because a story is short doesn’t mean it lacks power.”

In other Anderson news, it was reported in January that the director has teamed up with Bill Murray, Michael Cera, and Benicio del Toro for a new film, which he said will “be about espionage, a father-daughter relationship, and, let’s say, with a rather dark tone.” Last year, he shared the film Asteroid City.