Energetic in its pacing and rule-breaking in its style, “The Big Short” keeps viewers on their toes. Characters break the fourth wall and stock footage is mixed with more traditional scenes to tell the story of the housing collapse, a drama both tragic and darkly funny. To assemble these ideas into a cohesive whole, the director Adam McKay brought in the editor Hank Corwin, who had worked with Oliver Stone and Terrence Malick.

“I was bewildered that he’d want me,” Mr. Corwin said, referring to Mr. McKay, in a phone interview from Los Angeles. “He came from an improv comedy background and I do everything but.”

That seeming mismatch excited Mr. Corwin and he was pleased by the level of freedom and openness Mr. McKay provided him. Now, after having worked with several Oscar-nominated directors, Mr. Corwin has received his first nomination. For a film with an unorthodox style, Mr. Corwin took an unorthodox approach.

“I don’t have a financial mind,” he said. “I had to start understanding each of the character groupings emotionally before I was comfortable with what they were doing financially.”