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NEW YORK — From soap operas to bubble gum commercials and talent shows to sitcom guest spots, every actor has to start somewhere – just ask this year’s crop of Oscar nominees.
The gowns will dazzle, the speeches will flow and Hollywood’s elite will walk the famous red carpet at the 98th Academy Awards.
But before they were Oscar nominees, they were just kids with big dreams.
Just ask Best Actress nominee Jessie Buckley. Long before she brought Shakespeare’s wife to life in “Hamnet,” her path to stardom began on the British talent show, “I’d Do Anything.” Andrew Lloyd Webber called her a star.
She’ll go up against Emma Stone, nominated for “Bugonia,” who made her screen debut as a contestant on the VH1 competition series, “In Search of the Partridge Family.”
She won the part of Laurie Partridge in a “Partridge Family” reboot. While it only lasted one episode, things clearly worked out for the two-time Oscar winner.
Then there’s fellow Best Actress nominee Rose Byrne, whose career began in her native Australia in shows like the soap opera “Echo Point” and the 1999 crime comedy “Two Hands” with Oscar winner Heath Ledger.
Also competing for Best Actress is Kate Hudson, who stirred up drama as Neve Campbell’s romantic rival on “Party of Five.”
And Best Supporting Actress nominee Elle Fanning got her start playing the younger version of her sister Dakota in “I am Sam” in the film starring Sean Penn.
Penn is also up for Best Supporting Actor, but his first acting credit was for an episode of “Little House on the Prairie,” directed by his father, Leo Penn.
His “One Battle After Another” co-star and competition includes Benicio del Toro, whose first movie role was playing Duke the dog-faced boy in “Big Top Pee-Wee.”
Meanwhile, before Michael B. Jordan was a Best Actor nominee for “Sinners,” he got his first IMDB credit as a kid in “The Sopranos” in a flashback scene.
As for his big-screen debut, that came in 2001’s “Hardball” starring alongside Keanu Reeves.
Also up for Oscar gold is Ethan Hawke. Long before he brought the story of Lorenz Hart to life in “Blue Moon,” he was a fresh-faced kid in 1985 making his film debut alongside River Phoenix in the space adventure, “Explorers.”
Timothee Chalamet’s performance in “Marty Supreme” has dominated the awards discussion, but his acting credits have much more humbling beginnings – like playing a murder victim on “Law & Order.”
And then there’s “One Battle After Another” star Leonardo DiCaprio. At this point, it’s hard to imagine an awards season without him, but there was a time when Leo was just a teen going through some “Growing Pains.”
The ’80s babies may remember Leo even before that in a classic gum commercial.
And while we don’t know who will walk away a winner on Oscar Sunday, we do know the road to gold has been paved with some pretty humble beginnings.
March 15 is Oscar Sunday! Watch the 2026 Oscars live on and Hulu.
Live red carpet coverage starts at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT with “On The Red Carpet at the Oscars.”
Catch all the action on the red carpet live on , or stream on Hulu and OnTheRedCarpet.com.
The 98th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, begins at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. and will be followed by “The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose.”
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