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A Look at the Early, Possibly Embarrassing Breakout Roles of Last Night's Oscar Winners

By Vivian Kane | Celebrity | February 23, 2015 |

By Vivian Kane | Celebrity | February 23, 2015 |



Supporting Actor Winner: J.K. Simmons
J.K. Simmons has gained a lot of attention in the last fifteen years or so, but he’s been acting for a lot longer than that. His first credited role on IMDB was of “Patrolman in Park” in Popeye Doyle, the 1986 made-for-TV French Connection spin-off. Around the same time, he was also doing theater in New York, including the role he was clearly born to play in Peter Pan.
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Supporting Actress Winner: Patricia Arquette
In 1987, when she 19 years old, Patricia Arquette starred in three movies. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors,
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A TV movie called Daddy (opposite a teen dream Dermot Mulroney)
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And a teen movie called Pretty Smart.
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Those may not be the greatest films ever made, but that is one hell of a debut year for a teenager.

Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne
Eddie Redmayne’s first TV credit was from a kids’ show called Animal Ark. He was in the episode “Bunnies in the Bathroom,” but I can’t find a picture or video of that, so here’s that picture of him playing Viola in a school production of Twelfth Night. That’s always fun.
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Best Actress: Julianne Moore
Like most of the other actors on this list, Julianne Moore started out as a theater actor, but her first break was on As the World Turns in 1985 opposite a super stalkery Steven Weber.

Best Basically Everything Else: Alejandro Gonzlez Iñrritu
Iñrritu got his start working as a radio host for WFM in Mexico, but his bridge to film came through directing commercials. Actually, he’s still doing that, and kicking ass at it.