Oscar TV: Many Actors Nominated Got Start on Small Screen

Each year, Oscar winners appear on TV to accept their awards, but in many cases, these same winners were working in TV as series regulars or guests. The list of 2006 Oscar nominees who have some small or large connection to TV is pretty long. And TV isn't always a pit stop for Oscar-nominees and winners; many of them - from Halle Berry to Glenn Close - move between film and television without batting an eye-lash. Here's a look at the 2006 Oscar nominees who have also worked in TV.

Leading Actors:
George Clooney (Syriana, Good Night & Good Luck) may stand out as the most notable TV-to-Oscar transfer. Clooney was Emmy nominated for playing bad boy Doc on ER, which, at the time, was the hottest show in America (due in no small part to Clooney's presence.). But other Lead Actor nominees have TV appearances on their resumes, too.

Frontrunner for Capote, Phillip Seymour Hoffman just last year appeared in "Empire Falls" - the Emmy nominated mini-series starring Paul Newman and Ed Harris. He's also one of a billion actors who have gusted on Law & Order.

Other nomination actors like David Strathairn (Good Night & Good Luck) Terrence Howard (Hustle and Flow) have appeared as guests on episodic TV. Strathairn played a nutty serial killer/sheriff on "Wiseguy" for instance. Howard appeared on series like "Coach" and "NYPD Blue" in guest roles and lately appeared in the acclaimed HBO movie "Lackawanna Blues" with Emmy-winner S. Epatha Merekeson. Before Cash-ing in with Walk The Line, Joaquin Phoenix also did guest roles as a mere kid on shows like "Hill Street Blues" and "Murder, She Wrote." Brokeback Mountain's Heath Ledger was in several Australian series including "Home & Away".

Supporting Actors:
Oscar-winner and 2006 nominee William Hurt (History of Violence) had one of his first acting jobs on "Kojack" and recently popped in on "King Of Queens". He has also been in a variety of TV movies including Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story, where he had the title role.". You may have seen Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man) or Jake Gyllenhall(Brokeback Mountain) guesting on "Homicide: Life On The Street". Giamatti also appeared in several historically-based TV movies including "The Pentagon Papers" and "Winchell."

Lead Actresses:
Felicity Huffman (Transamerica) is one of the few acting Oscar nominees currently working on a TV series. She's of course, sprung into the spotlight with the rest of the "Desperate Housewives." She also gained critical approval in Aaron Sorkin's "Sportsnight." ReeseWitherspoon's (Walk The Line) best noted TV work is probably her two-episode run as Rachel's sister on "Friends." She's also appeared in some TV movies, including the "Lonesome Dove" sequel and done voice work on "King of the Hill."

Charlize Theron ended a multi-episode arc herself recently on "Arrested Development" playing a girl who's mental development was in fact, arrested. Amy Adams (Junebug) has done several recent appearances on the USA version of "The Office". Since the 60s, Dame Judi Dench has appeared in several British series and mini-series including a version of "Middlemarch". Her compatriot Kiera Knightly (Pride And Prejudice) appeared in a mini-series version of "Dr. Zhivago."

Supporting Actresses
Sure, Katie Holmes may be the "Dawson's Creek" alum who's gotten the most insane press lately, but it's Dawson's alum Michelle Williams(Brokeback Mountain) who's got the Oscar nomination (and the actor boyfriend who doesn't seem nuts...). Catherine Keener (Capote) has guested on classic NBC shows "LA Law" and "Seinfeld" and appeared in the HBO movie "If These Walls Could Talk". Rachel Weisz has appeared on several UK series and mini-series including "The Scarlet And The Black" which also starred Ewan MacGregor. Frances McDormand back in the pre-Fargo days guested on 80s shows like "Hunter" and "Hill Street Blues." She also has appeared in a variety of TV movies and done voiceover/narration for several series (like "State of Grace" starring "Arrested Development's Maeby.)

Others
Needless to say, king of film and perpetual Oscar nominee (andpast winner) Steven Spielberg (Munich) has also done well for himself in TV. Among his TV accomplishments, executive producing the Emmy winning series "Band of Brothers" , the animated "Pinky & The Brain" and the 80s anthology "Amazing Stories." And his Amblin Entertainment produced a little show you may have heard of called "ER". Famed multi-nominee Woody Allen (MatchPoint) of course has done TV, too, working as a writer for classic series like "The Sid Ceaser Hour."

Larry McMurtry (writer, Brokeback Mountain) was no stranger to the Western genre having penned the lauded cowboy mini-series "Lonesome Dove" and several Western- related mini-series, including "Streets of Loredo" which Brokeback writing partner Diana Ossana also wrote.

Paul Haggis (Crash) of course, along with being an Oscar nominee and last year's winner is also one of the creative forces behind "Walker, Texas Ranger." His screenwriting partner on Crash, Paul Moresco, has written and produced TV shows like "Millenium" and "EZ Streets." He also has done some acting, like on "The Equalizer".

But the strangest nominee this year. That, I think, goes to Dan Futterman, best know to TV audiences as Vincent, Amy's little brother on "Judging Amy." He's also on the show "Related" on The WB. An actor on a WB show is nominated for an Oscar?! Yes, he's been nominated for his screenplay for Capote (which starred his friend Hoffman and was directed by his friend Bennett Miller.) Wacky.

Nominee Grant Heslov (co-writer, Good Night & Good Luck with George Clooney) is also a surprising TV Oscar find. I'd never heard of the guy before, but he has a long list of TV acting credits. Heslov has been on shows stretching back to the 80s (who knew!?) They include one or two-time roles on many shows like "Yes, Dear," "American Dad" "CSI" "The X-files" "Touched by An Angel" "Murder She Wrote" "Baywatch" "Family Ties" and even Joanie Loves Chachi. That's crazy!

Stephan Gagan (writer, Syriana) has many TV credits, but his are for writing. His series work includes "NYPD Blue", "The Practice" and "American Gothic"

2005 Nominees & Winners Who Appeared on TV:

Million Dollar TV Babies:
Clint Eastwood is a living legend for many reasons- his directing, his Dirty Harry, and his cowboy roles, like those he played in a series of classic spaghetti westerns on the silver screen, and his role as Rowdy Yates on classic drama "Rawhide." Eastwood was on the show for six seasons. Hilary Swank did a season on "90210." Did anyone see that and think "Ah, yes, someday she will several Oscars.' No, we were too caught up in Luke Perry, Jenny Garth and whether or not Donna Martin graduated (that probably happened in a different season, actually...). Morgan Freeman is the man Clint Eastwood called the best actor on the planet. Don't forget he's also been to another world, and by that I mean, Freeman once had a role on "Another World." Freeman, who has more Oscar nods than I have toes (just kidding, the score is toes, ten, nominations 4...) was also on "Ryan's Hope". That should instill 'hope' in all those soap actors out there who still dream of making it in film. "Electric Company". Great kid's show of yesteryear. Used to watch it all the time.

Actors:
Jamie Foxx (winner for Ray) was multi-faceted even on TV, creating and starring in a sitcom that bore his own name, and even composing the show's theme. Foxx also did a stint on the famous sketch show "In Living Color" on the Fox (no relation) Network. Thomas Hayden Church (nominated for Sideways) was probably still best known as the dufusy guy Lowell on "Wings." He also starred with Debra Messing on "Ned & Stacey." Alan Alda (nominated for The Aviator) became a legitimate TV icon as Hawkeye on M*A*S*H Today he's a semi-regular on "The West Wing" when he's not busy getting Oscar nominations and what not. Don Cheadle (nominated for Hotel Rwanda) was a regular on David Kelley's critically acclaimed and Emmy-winning CBS drama "Picket Fences"; last season, he was an Emmy-nominated guest on for a multi-episode run on "E.R." Johnny Depp (nominated for Pirates of the Carribean) Say it with me people "21 Jump Street". Depp was a star on that show, one of the first Fox Network hits. You've heard of Johnny Fairplay? Call him Johnny Hairspray. Leonardo DiCaprio (nominee for The Aviator) He made the jump this year for boats ("Titanic") to planes ("The Aviator") but one might say he got his TRAIN-ing on "Growing Pains" playing second fiddle the likes of Alan Thicke and Kirk Cameron. Hmmm...he was noticeably absent from the recent GP reunion...

Actresses
Annette Bening (nominee for Being Julia) as I love to remind people, had a guest role on the first arc of the first season of one of my favorite old shows "Wiseguy." She ended up getting whacked. But who's whacked now, Wiseguy, huh? Who's whacked now!? Laura Linney (nominee for Kinsey) played Charlotte, the recurring girlfriend who finally stuck in the last season of "Frasier"? Actually, we don't know if she stuck, because she moved, and Frasier went after her to pursue his one last chance at love, and then the show went off the air. But she got an Emmy for it, so you gotta mention it.