It’s a special first for Alfonso Cuarón…

The 52-year-old Mexican filmmaker has earned the first-ever Directors Guild Awards nomination of his career from the Directors Guild of America.

Cuarón, one of Entertainment Weekly’s Entertainers of the Year in 2013, earned the nod for his critically acclaimed 3D sci-fi thriller Gravity.

The talented director is up against Captain Phillips helmer Paul Greengrass, 12 Years a Slave‘s Steve McQueen, American Hustle’s David O. Russell and Martin Scorsese, who received his 11th DGA nom for his current film, The Wolf of Wall Street.

The nominees in the TV and commercials categories will be announced Thursday, while the documentary nominees are set to be unveiled Monday.

The winners will be announced at the 66th annual DGA Awards ceremony, taking place January 25 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Glee’s Jane Lynch is set to host.