Oscars week is here! The time of year where cinephiles everywhere gather ‘round the watercooler and talk movies until we’ve run out of water. I live for awards season, internet. The glamour of the red carpet, the extravagant opening numbers, the moving (and sometimes crazy) speeches…the Academy Awards have it all.
Before Hollywood showers praise and golden statuettes upon a chosen few this Sunday night, we must pause to take a look back at where these talented actors came from. These individuals had to start somewhere to work their way up to the top. (Hey, we’ve all taken jobs just to pay the bills, why should acting be any different?) To ensure we never forget the one-line speaking parts and small roles of years past, Flavorwire put together a supercut of 2015 Oscar nominees’ early roles way ahead of the big ceremony.
When you see those big names walk up to the podium to accept their award, never forget the years of cheesy horror movies or costume dramas that got them there. Before Patricia Arquette played everyone’s favorite mom in Boyhood, she was fighting Freddy Kreuger in “Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.†Bradley Cooper first made us laugh out loud in Wet Hot American Summer way ahead of his turn as a soldier in American Sniper. Michael Keaton was mostly known for comedies back in the day, now he’s getting serious in Birdman. The list goes on and on…but we’ll let you enjoy all the early performances for yourself in the video below:
FILM CLIPS (in order of appearance):
Body of Evidence (1993)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance (1994)
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
Tales From the Crypt (1990)
Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
Celebrity (1998)
Lucky Louie (2006)
Superbad (2007)
Die Another Day (2002)
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1977)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
The Twilight Zone (1963)
The Chase (1966)
Countdown (1967)
Explorers (1985)
Dad (1989)
Mystery Date (1991)
White Fang (1991)
Primal Fear (1996)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
The Dentist (1996)
54 (1998)
Safe Men (1998)
The Ref (1994)
The First Wives Club (1996)
Homicide: Life on the Streets (1996)
thirtysomething (1990)
Inside Monkey Zetterland (1992)
Medium (2005)
The Rocker (2008)
White Lightning (1973)
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982)
Mask (1985)
Innocent Lies (1995)
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Princess of Thieves (2001)
The Hole (2001)
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Secret Service (1977)
Julia (1977)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Manhattan (1979)
Curly Sue (1991)
The Dana Carvey Show (1996)
Tomorrow Night (1998)
Homegrown (1998)
Alias (2001)
My Little Eye (2002)
The Last Cowboy (2003)
Tipping the Velvet (2002)
Fortysomething (2003)
Atonement (2007)
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
Like Minds (2006)
The Good Shepard (2006)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Powder Blue (2009)
Rabbit Test (1978)
Night Shift (1982)
Mr. Mom (1983)
Taxi (1998)
Pretty Things (2001)
Big Fish (2003)
Innocence (2004)
The Worst Witch (1998)
Northanger Abbey (2007)
Brideshead Revisited (2008)
Cheri (2009)
The Man in the Moon (1991)
A Far Off Place (1993)
Jack the Bear (1993)
Freeway (1996)
The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag (1992)
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)
Benny & Joon (1993)
The Libertine (2004)
Fracture (2007)
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
