Nomination: Best Actor, Elvis

Early Role: More than a decennary earlier stepping into the bluish suede shoes of Elvis Presley, Butler appeared connected an occurrence of Hannah Montana as Derek Hanson, a teen who is acceptable up connected a unsighted day with Miley Cyrus' Miley Stewart character. The actor went connected to person roles connected beloved tween shows like iCarly and Zoey 101—gigs that helium has nary regret taking.

"I'm truthful grateful for each those stepping stones that I had passim my career," helium told Variety's Awards Circuit podcast. "Zoey 101 was a large turning constituent for me, due to the fact that it was the archetypal clip I was ever a bid regular connected a show, truthful I got to beryllium portion of an full season."

Nomination: Best Supporting Actor, Everything Everywhere All astatine Once

Early Role: Quan was conscionable 12 years aged erstwhile helium made his metallic surface debut successful 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as Short Round, the spunky sidekick to Harrison Ford's titular hero. Though the part led him to find occurrence successful precocious '80s and '90s, appearing successful works like The Goonies and Head of the Class, Quan stopped acting successful the aboriginal aughts owed to a deficiency of roles for Asian Americans. In fact, Quan said helium lost his wellness insurance earlier the merchandise of Everything Everywhere All astatine Once due to the fact that "nobody wants to prosecute me."

"I called my cause and I said, 'Can you delight get maine anything? It doesn't matter, I conscionable request 1 occupation to marque the minimum request truthful I tin suffice for wellness security the pursuing year,'" helium recalled. "And I could not get 1 azygous job."

Nomination: Best Supporting Actress, Everything Everywhere All astatine Once

Early Role: As the daughter of Hollywood icons Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, Curtis acknowledges that she was already successful a priviledged presumption erstwhile she kicked disconnected her acting vocation during the precocious '70s. As she explained during the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards, "I got SAG paper erstwhile I was 19 years old, erstwhile I signed a seven-year declaration to Universal Studios and starred successful an ABC TV bid called Operation Petticoat, which was based connected a movie that my begetter Tony Curtis—nepo baby—starred in."

While Curtis was fto spell from her relation of Lt. Barbara Duran aft 23 episodes, the firing led her "to audition for a little, tiny, no-budget fearfulness movie called Halloween, which changed my life." Throughout her illustrious career, the histrion starred successful 5 movies from the slasher franchise, including 2022's Halloween Ends.

Nomination: Best Actor, The Whale

Early Role: You could accidental that 1992 was Fraser's year. His drama Encino Man—which coincidentally besides features chap Oscar nominee Ke Huy Quan—hit theaters in May. It was conscionable 4 months aboriginal that School Ties, an ensemble play starring aboriginal Academy Award winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, premiered. Despite uncovering continual container bureau occurrence during the precocious '90s and aboriginal aughts, Fraser mostly stayed retired of the limelight until experiencing a resurgence successful his vocation with his relation in The Whale.

"I've ne'er been that acold away, but I did step retired of the spotlight for a spell determination to benignant immoderate things retired successful my beingness and to instrumentality banal of who I am, wherever I'm going, and what my aspirations are," helium explained of his clip off. "I've learned that it's going to bash maine good to enactment astute alternatively of enactment hard."

Nomination: Best Actor, The Banshees of Inisherin

Early Role: Farrell kicked started his acting vocation successful the precocious '90s with a relation in Falling for a Dancer, a tv movie centered astir a assemblage successful agrarian Ireland. In what seems to beryllium a afloat ellipse moment, the Irish histrion is nominated for his archetypal Oscar decades aboriginal for his show in The Banshees of Inisherin, a film acceptable connected a distant land disconnected the seashore of his location country.

Nomination: Best Supporting Actress, Everything Everywhere All astatine Once

Early Role: Prior her now-viral audition for the Oscar-nominated film, Hsu held spot parts successful a assortment of projects, including the relation of a protestor connected a 2016 occurrence of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Since then, the histrion has experienced what she describes as "high highs" and "low lows" in her travel to the Oscars.

"It's a small dip, present it's abruptly a freefall. Suddenly Splash Mountain, and you're bedewed and you don't cognize why," she told E! News. "It's been a implicit rollercoaster and, but besides truthful beautiful."

Nomination: Best Actress, Blonde

Early Role: Before her breakout relation successful 2019's Knives Out, de Armas recovered occurrence successful Spanish-language works similar Una Rosa de Francia, El Internado and the 2009 movie Sex, Party & Lies (Mentiras y Gordas). "To adjacent deliberation that I was going to enactment successful thing to statesman with was pushing it," she said of her determination to Hollywood successful an interrogation with C magazine. "But astatine the aforesaid time, I conjecture I benignant of knew [it could happen] due to the fact that that's wherefore I moved to L.A. Something wrong maine knew I was going to beryllium capable to bash it." 

Nomination: Best Actress, Tár

Early Role: While Blanchett is present known arsenic a titan connected the metallic screen, she archetypal got her commencement playing tiny parts connected Australian TV. She appeared successful a 1993 occurrence of Police Rescue, earlier uncovering enactment connected shows similar G.P. and Bordertown. It wasn't until 1999 erstwhile the histrion received her archetypal Oscar information for playing Queen Elizabeth I successful Elizabeth.

Nomination: Best Supporting Actress, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Early Role: Bassett started her acting vocation successful the '80s, appearing successful 10 occurrence of the soap opera Search for Tomorrow. She continued to bash TV enactment earlier becoming wide recognized for her performances in movies specified arsenic 1991's Boyz n the Hood, 1992's Malcolm X and 1993's What's Love Got to Do With It—which earned the histrion her archetypal Oscar nod.

Nomination: Best Actress, Everything Everywhere All astatine Once

Early Role: Despite not knowing however to speak Cantonese astatine the time, Yeoh was offered a declaration with Hong Kong-based accumulation company D&B Films erstwhile she was 22 years old, aft appearing successful a commercial with Jackie Chan. She rapidly learned the language, allowing her to marque her surface debut successful 1984's The Owl vs. Bumbo. By the pursuing year, Yeoh was starring arsenic the pb successful 1985's bull play Yes, Madam.

"I didn't work oregon talk [Cantonese] precise well," she told The Hollywood Reporter of her aboriginal acting days, "but I'm a spot of an adventurer. The easiest happening is to accidental no. For sure, you won't fail, but you won't get anyplace either."

Nomination: Best Actor, Aftersun

Early Role: Unlike immoderate of his chap nominees, it didn't instrumentality Mescal agelong to gain his archetypal Oscar nod. Three years aft earning a grade successful acting, Mescal nabbed his archetypal starring tv relation successful the 2020 miniseries Normal People. After gaining designation for his portrayal of Connell Waldron, a assemblage pupil struggling with depression, Mescal went connected to marque his movie debut successful 2021's The Lost Daughter.

Nomination: Best Actress, The Fabelmans

Early Role: Before her breakout relation successful the beloved '90s teen show Dawson's Creek, Williams appeared connected 2 episodes of Baywatch. She made her movie debut successful 1994's Lassie, playing the emotion involvement of Tom Guiry's Matthew Turner character. "I went to a batch of auditions arsenic a kid," she told Vanity Fair of her kid histrion days. "To get thing that wasn't an infomercial was a large deal."

Nomination: Best Supporting Actor, The Banshees of Inisherin

Early Role: Just a small implicit 10 years ago, Keoghan was getting his commencement successful the movie business, appearing successful chiefly Irish productions similar 2012's Stalker. He recovered fame successful his autochthonal Ireland successful 2013 erstwhile helium landed the relation of Wayne successful the 4th play of the transgression play Love/Hate.

Nomination: Best Supporting Actress, The Banshees of Inisherin

Early Role: Condon made her metallic surface debut in Angela's Ashes, the 1999 movie based connected author Frank McCourt's memoir of the aforesaid name. But contempt going connected to look in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Better Call Saul and Ray Donovan—as good arsenic providing voicework arsenic Iron Man's A.I. assistant F.R.I.D.A.Y. successful the Avengers franchise—Condon would alternatively enactment retired of the spotlight and not beryllium stopped by mean fans connected the street.

"I don't privation to beryllium recognized," she told ABC. "I'm perfectly happy."

Nomination: Best Supporting Actress, The Whale

Early Role: Chau's acting vocation began successful 2006, erstwhile she starred successful an iaTV miniseries called Finding My America. The histrion made appearances The Sarah Silverman Program, How I Met Your Mother, Treme and Big Little Lies earlier landing her breakout relation other of Matt Damon in 2017's Downsizing.

Nomination: Best Actor, Living

Early Role: Almost 50 years ago, Nighy made his debut connected the British procedural Softly Softly: Task Force. During his decades-long career, the histrion starred successful beloved blockbusters specified as Pirates of the Caribbean, Shaun of the Dead, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Hot Fuzz, Love Actually and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 earlier landing his first-ever Oscar information for his show in Living.

Nomination: Best Actress, For Leslie

Early Role: A last-minute bid from A-listers succeeded successful Riseborough landing her archetypal Oscar nomination, though the actress has been astir the country for rather immoderate time. In 2007, she starred arsenic 1 of the leads the BBC Two series Party Animals.

Nomination: Best Supporting Actor, The Banshees of Inisherin

Early Role: Like his co-star Colin Farrell, started his acting vocation starring successful Irish productions earlier entering the Hollywood scene. One of his earlierst roles was playing Irish revolutionary Michael Collins successful the 1991 TV movie The Treaty, though it took him clip to clasp the trade altogether. 

"I truly did deliberation that the nonrecreational signifier was for different people," Gleeson, who began acting full-time during his '30s, told The Guardian. "I'm not definite why, it conscionable felt arsenic if it was a small … exotic. And I would spell past to plays and think: ‘I'm not definite that was the close instrumentality connected that astatine all.' I benignant of felt like: ‘I could bash amended than that.'"

Nomination: Best Supporting Actor, The Fabelmans

Early Role: Hirsch nabbed his archetypal starring relation arsenic defence lawyer Murray Stone successful the 1974 TV movie The Law. He reprised the quality erstwhile the movie was spun disconnected a miniseries of the aforesaid sanction successful the pursuing year.