Then and now: The 2024 Oscar nominees when they were younger
Before these actors and actresses received Academy Award nominations for their roles, they were just like the rest of us. Well, sort of.
While some had relatively normal upbringings, others were child stars.
Almost all dabbled in the arts and, in particular, theatre from a young age.
Can you tell who these stars were before they got famous?
Click on the gallery below to reveal how they looked before they made it big.
Before he got his first big break, this Hollywood star was a chubby-cheeked youngster with a toothy grin and a bowl cut.
Hailing from the US state of Pennsylvania, he and his older sister grew up in a loving home surrounded by their doting parents and a grandmother who taught him to cook.
Later, he began to dream of a career as an actor, something his father had wanted to pursue but didn't get the chance.
Bradley Cooper
After winning a small but memorable role opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in her TV show Sex and the City, Bradley Cooper auditioned for a master class at The Actors Studio in New York.
He worked part-time as a hotel doorman to make ends meet.
After his movie debut in Wet Hot American Summer, he won a role in the TV show Alias opposite Jennifer Garner.
A few more roles followed before he was cast in 2009's The Hangover, which made him a star.
He has been nominated for a number of major acting awards, including several Oscars.
This year, Cooper, who is dating Gigi Hadid, is vying for two Oscars, including best actor and best original screenplay for Maestro, in which he plays American composer Leonard Bernstein.
Long before she became the world's highest paid actress, this youngster honed her craft as a member of the Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, near where she grew up, appearing in no less than 16 productions.
An anxious child who suffered panic attacks and had a raspy voice due to nodules on her vocal cords, she first wanted to become an actor at the age of four.
Her first stage performance at 11 was in The Wind in the Willows.
She took singing lessons to pursue a career in musical theatre and joined an improvisational comedy troupe.
At 15, she convinced her mother to move with her to LA and auditioned for every show on the Disney Channel, without success.
After a few false starts, she won a role in the 2007 film Superbad, and dyed her hair red.
The role earned her a Young Hollywood Award for Exciting New Face.
Emma Stone
This was followed by roles in Zombieland and Easy A, before Emma Stone won a major role in the romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Next came a starring role in The Help, before she won a part in The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel.
Stone received an Academy Award nomination for best actress in a supporting role for playing a recovering drug addict in the 2014 film Birdman.
In 2011, she won the Academy Award for best actress for her role in La La Land.
In 2017, she was named the world's highest-paid actress and one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.
This year Stone has been nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a leading role for Poor Things.
This actor drew solace in entertaining alongside his older sister after being bullied in primary school.
At 12, he attended an open audition in Montreal, Canada, for a reboot of Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club, which saw him sign a two-year contract and move to Florida in the US.
He described the experience as the best two years of his life, and found himself working alongside fellow cast members Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake, whose mother was his legal guardian for a time.
When the show was cancelled he returned to Canada, where he appeared in TV shows before winning the title role in adventure series Young Hercules, which was filmed in New Zealand.
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling's big break came in the 2004 romantic drama The Notebook, opposite Rachel McAdams, whom he wound up dating.
One of his next films, Half Nelson, earned him an Academy Award nomination for best actor.
Acclaimed roles in Lars and the Real Girl, Blue Valentine and The Ides of March followed before he was cast in the hit movie Crazy, Stupid, Love.
This was followed by a starring role in La La Land, which earned him an Oscar nomination. He won the 2016 Golden Globe for best actor in a motion picture — musical or comedy.
Gosling is now up for best actor in a supporting role for playing Ken in the 2023 film Barbie.
Long before she was nominated for an Academy Award, this British-born star was dreaming of becoming an actress.
She first caught the acting bug at age six while watching her older brother rehearse for a school production of the King and I.
She begged his teachers for a role and was rewarded with a spot in the chorus.
She was heavily involved in theatre during high school, performing in plays and musicals, and becoming the student head of the drama department.
Despite her parents' disapproval, she applied to three London drama schools, but was not accepted by any.
After attending a dinner organised by the wife of actor/screenwriter Julian Fellowes of Gosford Park fame, she met a casting assistant, which led to an audition for a role in a 2005 remake of Pride & Prejudice.
After auditioning three times, she won the role of Kitty Bennet opposite Keira Knightley.
Carey Mulligan
TV and Broadway roles followed before Carey Mulligan was cast in the 2009 film An Education, which saw her win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress that year.
She won fans for her role as Daisy Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann's 2013 adaption of The Great Gatsy.
She has received numerous nominations and awards for her roles in films including Shame, Suffragette and Mudbound.
Her role in the 2020 film Promising Young Women garnered another best actress Oscar nomination and a win at the Critics' Choice Awards.
In 2023, she starred opposite Bradley Cooper in his film about the relationship between American composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife, Felicia Montealegre.
The role has earned Mulligan a slew of award nominations, and she is in the running for the best actress award at the Academy Awards.
Before she became one of the most in-demand stars of her generation, this actress was making her professional acting debut with none other than Dame Judi Dench.
Having been bullied throughout her childhood due to a stutter, she began using funny voices because it helped her "speak more fluently".
When she was about 12, a teacher overheard her and suggested she try out for the class play.
