Here at Flavorwire, nothing delights us more than the creative archaeology of an actor’s early years: the opportunity to observe raw talent in its embryonic form, to marvel at how far they’ve come, to observe the humble beginnings of bit roles and low budgets. For this exclusive supercut, we dug up some of the early film and television performances of the ten nominees for acting Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards. One of them, of course, has a much more slender resume (her early role is her Oscar-nominated one); the rest have decades of little breaks that brought them to Oscar night. Check them all out after the jump.

The Early Roles of Your Oscar Nominees from Flavorwire on Vimeo.

CREDITS Edited by Jason Bailey Music by Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees, Rosemary Clooney