Before some of this year’s Oscar nominees made their marks on the big screen, they appeared on TV — with varying degrees of success. Take these five:

Sandra Bullock(best actress, “”The Blind Side””) — America’s sweetheart starred as the Melanie Griffith character in the short-lived 1990 adaptation of “”Working Girl.””

George Clooney(best actor, “”Up in the Air””) — Before “”ER,”” Clooney was a supporting player in the comedy “”E/R”” — a 1984 show set, amazingly, in a Chicago hospital emergency room.

Morgan Freeman(best actor, “”Invictus””) — Playing many characters on the PBS kids’ show “”The Electric Company“” gave the talented Freeman steady work from 1971 to ’77.

Woody Harrelson(supporting actor, “”The Messenger””) — He shot to TV stardom when he joined “”Cheers”” in 1985 as farmboy-turned-bartenderWoody Boyd.

Meryl Streep(best actress, “”Julie & Julia””) — The perennial Oscar nominee first caught Hollywood‘e eye with her star turn in the 1978 miniseries “”Holocaust.””