HBO; NBC; CBS; Fox; Long (well, not really so long ago for some of these actors) before these actors were waking up to phone calls and texts from agents, managers, publicists, friends, etc., all congratulating them on their Oscar nomination, they were toiling away on TV. Yes, television! But the divide between movies and TV is shrinking and some of these actors, like Wild's Laura Dern in the beloved HBO series Enlightened, did some of their best work on the small screen.
Check out some key and early TV roles for most of this year's lead and supporting actors in the 2015 Oscar race below!
Patricia Arquette, Best Supporting Actress for Boyhood
Who can forget Patricia Arquette as Allison DuBois, the psychic at the center of Medium? She won an Emmy for the role. Other small screen works include Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order: SVU—where she played a hooker!—and Tales From the Crypt. Next up is CBS' CSI: Cyber.
Laura Dern, Best Supporting Actress for Wild
Before Laura Dern was raising Reese Witherspoon in Wild, she helped Ellen DeGeneres come out of the closet on Ellen. Years later she returned to TV for HBO's Recount and followed that up with the critically acclaimed series Enlightened. Amy Jellicoe forever!
Emma Stone, Best Supporting Actress for Birdman
Emma Stone, or rather Emily Stone at the time, competed in VH1's In Search of the Next Partridge Family, a reality competition series blending music and acting challenges. She once sang "Bitch." Other early TV works include Malcolm In the Middle, Drive and Medium.
Meryl Streep, Best Supporting Actress for Into the Woods
It didn't take long for Meryl Streep to make the jump from TV to the big screen and start racking up those Oscar nominations, but before she did that she appeared in the TV movie The Deadliest Season and the miniseries Holocaust.
Keira Knightley, Best Supporting Actress for The Imitation Game
In the early 1990s Keira Knightley did some British TV work, including a few TV movies and one-off episodes. In 1999, the same year she was in Star Wars, she appeared in a miniseries version of Oliver Twist.
Robert Duvall, Best Supporting actor for The Judge
Robert Duvall has been on screen forever. And we like it that way. He made his TV debut in 1960 and popped up everywhere a talented actor in the 1960s would: Route 66, Naked City and, of course, The Twilight Zone.
Moby Dick from Jim Jolliffe on Vimeo.
Ethan Hawke, Best Supporting Actor for Boyhood
Ethan Hawke has mainly been a movie actor—so far!—but his small-screen credits include Alias, Moby Dick and Exit Strategy, a pilot that didn't make it to series.
Edward Norton, Best Supporting Actor for Birdman
Another mainly movie guy, Edward Norton has lent his voice to The Simpsons twice and popped up on an episode of Modern Family in 2009.
Mark Ruffalo, Best Supporting Actor for Foxcatcher
Mark Ruffalo's first credited acting role is an episode of CBS Summer Playhouse in the late 1980s. He popped up in a few TV movies here and there and did an episode of Due South in 1994 and starred in the short-lived The Beat.
J.K. Simmons, Best Supporting Actor for Whiplash
One of the nominees with the most TV credits under his or her belt, J.K. Simmons has appeared on Oz, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: SVU, The Closer and most recently the short-lived Growing Up Fisher. His first credited gig was the TV movie Popeye Doyle.
Steve Carell, Best Actor for Foxcatcher
Steve Carell is synonymous with The Office. There are no ifs ands or buts about it. Michael Scott was an iconic role. His other TV work includes The Daily Show, Watching Ellie and Saturday Night Live.
Bradley Cooper, Best Actor for American Sniper
Bradley Cooper's first credited role is an episode of Sex and the City. He went on to star in Alias, Kitchen Confidential, Jack and Bobby and something called Touching Evil.
Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Actor for The Imitation Game
When you think of Benedict Cumberbatch your immediate reaction is…either otters or Sherlock. Usually Sherlock, right? Of course.
Michael Keaton, Best Actor for Birdman
Before he was Birdman and Batman, Michael Keaton did several TV shows, but his first-ever was Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in 1975. Everybody with us: Awwwww.
Eddie Redmayne, Best Actor for The Theory of Everything
Eddie Redmayne's total film and movie credits are slim, but viewers will remember him in Starz's The Pillars of the Earth miniseries opposite Agent Carter's Hayley Atwell.
Marion Cotillard, Best Actress for Two Days, One Night
One of the Oscar winner's first screen roles: Highlander. Yes, Highlander!
Felicity Jones, Best Actress for The Theory of Everything
Felicity Jones did several UK TV shows, including The Worst Witch, but made her American TV debut in an episode of HBO's Girls last year. She also did an episode of Doctor Who.
Julianne Moore, Best Actress for Still Alice
Everybody remembers Julianne Moore as Jack Donaghy's high school girlfriend on 30 Rock—she even popped back up in the 30 Rock series finale!—but she got her start on the soap opera As the World Turns and returned after she was a bona fide movie star to say goodbye to the soap when it was canceled.
Rosamund Pike, Best Actress for Gone Girl
The Gone Girl star's early TV work includes several TV movies and miniseries from across the pond, including Wives and Daughters, Love in a Cold Climate and Freefall.
Reese Witherspoon, Best Actress for Wild
The Oscar winner appeared opposite Patricia Arquette in the TV movie Wildflower before her big screen career took off. She also did voice work on King of the Hill and played Jennifer Aniston's sister on Friends.