For many an actor, an Academy Award nomination (and, even better, a win) is the culmination of a career of very hard work — and often thankless work at that, doing bit parts and one-liners, background players in someone else’s scenes, dreaming of the day when they’ll be front and center. So on this, the eve of their celebration, we offer up a tribute to all that hard work: a brief glance at the first film and television appearances of the twenty acting nominees. Some (Dev Patel, Lucas Hedges) are brief and recent; some (Jeff Bridges, Isabelle Huppert) stretch clear back to the 1970s; some (Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Viggo Mortensen) spent more than a decade grinding it out as day players, before finally landing on the role they were waiting for. Here’s our toast to that grind.
Edited by Jason Bailey
Songs:
“We Belong” Written by David Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro Performed by Emma Stone / Pat Benatar
“City of Stars” Written by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul Performed by Ryan Gosling
“End Credits Suite (from Moonlight)” Written and Performed by Nicholas Britell