Oscar Winners First And Last Roles

Brendan Fraser - First Movie Role

Image source: Dismantled Possessions

Brendan Fraser got his first break in Hollywood in the early 1990s, with his first feature film being Dogfight. The following year, he managed to secure his first leading movie role in the comedy film "Encino Man"

and got everyone's attention for his acting skills in the drama "School Ties."

Brendan Fraser - Oscar Winner 2023

Image source:

USA Today

After a very long break away from the industry, Brendan Fraser made what can only be described as a triumphant return in "The Whale"

which follows the story of a reclusive man who is trying to repair his relationship with his teenage daughter.  He was apprehensive about taking on the part so thank goodness he did!

Michelle Yeoh - First Movie Role

Image source: IMDb

You have to go as far back as 1984 to find Michelle Yeoh's first movie role, "The Owl vs Bombo",

which was a Hong Kong action comedy film.  Michelle co-starred with George Lam and the plot was a thief and his partner were being blackmailed by an unknown extortionist.

Michelle Yeoh - Oscar Winner 2023

Image source: BBC

"Everything Everywhere All At Once"

smashed the Oscars this year and awarded best actress to Michelle Yeoh.  This made her the very first Asian woman to win her category since the Academy Awards first started, 95 years ago.  Michelle had previously been Miss Malaysia and a Bond girl.

Ke Huy Quan - First Movie Role

Image source: The Telegraph

Ke Hu Quan was part of movie history as he was a child star in two Hollywood blockbusters, "Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom" in 1984 and "The Goonies" the following year.  Following the huge success of these movies, Hollywood then gave up on him.

Ke Huy Quan - Oscar Winner 2023

Image source: Vanity Fair

...... and the winner of Best Supporting Actor for "Everything Everywhere All At Once"

is Ke   

Huy Quan.  This is a story of a Chinese immigrant family who drift in and out of parallel universes. Quan is Waymond Wang, the unassuming, metaverse-traveling husband to Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh).

Jamie Lee Curtis - First Movie Role

Image source: People

Jamie Lee Curtis made her film debut in the 1978 horror movie "Halloween

" where she played the role of Laurie Strode.  She had been cast because her mom, Janet Leigh, was in "Psycho

" and it earned her an Oscar nomination.  "Halloween

" was considered as the highest grossing independent film.

Jamie Lee Curtis - Oscar Winner 2023

Image source: Getty Images

Jamie Lee Curtis won the Oscar for best supporting actress for "Everything Everywhere All at Onc

e", where she played tax inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdre .  This was Jamie's first Oscar nomination in a career spanning over 40 years and she was over the moon with her Academy Award.

Will Smith - First Movie Role

Image source: Amazon

Will Smith’s first movie was in 1992 , entitled "Where the Day Takes You

."  Smith was already on Tinsel Town’s radar following his hit tv show "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air". 

 It was his first foray into film that helped pave the way towards fame and his leading man status.

Will Smith - Oscar Winner 2022

Image source: Radio Times

Best Actor was awarded to Will Smith for "King Richard

" where he played Venus and Serena's father., totally and fanatically focussing on his daughters' tennis career through the years.  He is never seen in long trousers throughout this film, only tennis shorts. Smith is also well remembered for hitting Chris Rock when the presenter made a comment about Jada Smith.

Jessica Chastain - First Movie Role

Image source: The New York Times

Go back to 2008 an you will see Jessica Chastain in her first film role, "Jolene: A Life.

"  The movie features 15 year old orphan Jolene who breaks free from foster care and marries a nerdy 20 year old, Mickey.  The film was based on a short story by E L Doctorow and premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Jessica Chastain - Oscar Winner 2022

Image source: ABC News

Jessica Chastain fully deserved the Best Actress Oscar for "The Eyes Of Tammy Faye

", an American biographical drama based on a 2000 documentary of the same name.  Tammy, played by Chastain, is followed from her humble beginnings, through the rise and fall of her televangelism career and marriage.

Troy Kotsur - First Acting Role

Image source: Celpox

In 1994, Kotsur moved to Los Angeles and spent 2 years with the National Theatre Of The Deaf.  He appeared in more than two dozen Deaf West Theatre productions, such as " Of Mice and Men

",  "Cyrano" a

nd "A Streetcar Named Desire"

. In Streetcar

, Kotsur opted to use his voice to shout the iconic line, "Stella!"

Troy Kotsur - Oscar Winner 2022

Image source: Rolling Stone

Troy Kotsur was over the moon to scoop the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for "CODA.

"  He was the first deaf performer to win such an award and his accolade opened doors for other individuals to follow their acting dreams and to now that anything is possible.

Ariana DeBose - First Movie Role

Image source: USA Today

Ariana DeBose had mainly been a stage actress in musical theatre.  She was selected to star in the film "The Prom

", in 2020, a musical comedy based on the Broadway musical of the same name.  That production in 2018 had starred James Corden, Tracy Ullman and Kerry Washington.

Ariana DeBose - Oscar Winner 2022

Image source: Mid-Day

DeBose won the big prize, Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Steven Spielberg's remake of "West Side Story

"  In the original film in 1962, Rita Moreno had also won Best Supporting Actress.  This made DeBose the second Latina actor to win an Oscar, after Moreno and the first queer woman of color.

Anthony Hopkins - First Movie Role

Image source: Roger Ebert

Anthony Hopkins seems to have been on the big screen for ever.  His first role was "The Lion In Winter" in 1968.

  This was a historical dram film set at Christmas time in 1183 and centered on the personal and political turmoil amongst the family of Henry II of England.

Anthony Hopkins - Oscar Winner 2021

Image source: TVLine

Anthony Hopkins accepted his second Oscar for Best Actor for "The Father

."  He played a character struggling with dementia and it was extremely poignant.  He posted on social media, "Here I am in my homeland in Wales and 83 years of age. I did not expect to get this award. I really didn't and am very grateful to the academy and thank you

."

Frances McDormand - First Movie Role

Image source: IMDb

"Blood Simple", released in 1984, was Frances McDorman's first film role.  The plot is a Texas bartender who becomes involved in a murder plot and is having an affair with his boss's wife.  It was also a directional debut for iconic cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld.

Frances McDormand - Oscar Winner 2021

Image source: Pinkvilla

It was a great choice to give Frances McDormand the Best Actress Oscar.  She starred as Fern, a widow and substitute teacher in Empire, Nevada, a town wiped off the map by the closure of a factory.  She piles her belongings into her van and sets off on a journey where she meets real life nomads.

Daniel Kaluuya - First Movie Role

Image source: YouTube

Daniel Kaluuya's first film role was in the 2017 psychological horror film, "Shoot The Messenger

." A young black man (Daniel Kaluuya) uncovers shocking secrets when he finds himself a white girlfriend and her family are hiding some shocking secrets.  It was real "edge of your seat" watching and got Daniel noticed by  other casting directors.

Daniel Kaluuya - Oscar Winner 2021

Image source: NDTV

British Daniel Kaluuya couldn't believe it when his name was called out from the nominations for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.  He played one of the two title roles in "Judas And The Black Messiah

".   William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, gathering intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.

Youn Yuh-Jung - First Movie Role

Image source: IMDb

Youn Yuh-Jung has been acting for over five decades.  It was 1971 when she made her debut in the film world for "Woman Of Fire

."  It was a South Korean film, the second in the "Housemaid

" trilogy.  The lives of a composer and his wife are thrown into disarray when a femme fatale joins their household.

Youn Yuh-Jung  - Oscar Winner 2021

Image source: New York Post

After so many years in movies, Youn Yuh-Jung bagged the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her amazing performance in "Minari

".  A Korean American family decide to move to an Arkansas farm  to search for the American dream.  Youn was the first Korean to win in the history of the Oscars.

Joaquin Phoenix - First Movie Role

Image

source: JoBio

SpaceCamp  in 1986 was Joaquin Phoenix's first film role.  It was a family friendly adventure about a potentially deadly space disaster and unfortunately it bombed both commercially and critically.  Joaquin, who went under the name of Leaf Phoenix, played a Star Wars obsessed child prodigy.

Joaquin Phoenix - Oscar Winner 2020

Image source: Vox

Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor at the Oscars for his memorable performance as the Joker.  I can still hear that crazy laugh in my head!  He was the overall favorite to scoop the award, seeing off Adam Driver in "Marriage Story" and Leonardo DiCaprio in "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood."

Renee Zellweger - First Movie Role

Image source: Insider

Renee Zellweger popped up in her first movie role in 1994 where she appeared in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation."  

The plot followed four teens who come across Leatherface and his murdering family in Texas, on the night of their prom.  Not for the fainthearted!

Renee Zellweger - Oscar Winner 2020

Image source: IndieWire

By the time Renée Zellweger arrived in London to start filming “Judy,

” she had spent over a year practicing how to sing like the movie's subject, the entertainer Judy Garland.  Once those fake teeth were in, the look was complete.  So was her performance as she won Best Actress Oscar.

Brad Pitt - First Movie Role

Image source: The Ringer

Brad Pitt gained recognition in 1991 when he appeared in Thelma & Louise as a cowboy hitchhiker.  His first leading role in a big budget production was in "A River Runs Through It" in 1992

and "Legends Of The Fall" in 1994.  

Who would have thought Brad Pitt would turn out to be Hollywood royalty.

Brad Pitt - Oscar Winner 2020

Image source: The Guardian

"Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

" was the movie to award Brad Pitt the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.  The film followed fading actor and his stunt double as they navigate the changing film industry.  It featured many storylines in tribute to the final times of Hollywood's golden age.