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Matt Damon got his start in acting in theater while attending Harvard University. The same year, Damon made his film debut in the 1988 movie "Mystic Pizza" although he only had one line. A few years later in 1997, Damon would establish himself in the industry after co-writing "Good Will Hunting" with best friend Ben Affleck and winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Damon continued a very successful career in acting starring in films like the "Bourne" series, "Ocean's Eleven" and "Invictus." Damon has been nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the film "The Martian."

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Like many actors, Bryan Cranston began his acting career in local and regional theaters in California. By the late 1980s, Cranston was regularly acting in minor roles and television advertisements before joining the cast of the ABC soap opera "Loving." After three minor roles in independent films, Cranston landed his first major movie break playing Dr. Frank Darden in the 1991 film "Dead Space." From there, Cranston's acting career started to take off as he was cast in other major films like "Saving Private Ryan" in 1998 and "Argo" in 2012, but his most remembered roles come from television shows "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Breaking Bad." Cranston has been nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work in "Trumbo."

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Michael Fassbender's film debut came in 2006 when he played Spartan warrior Stelios in the film "300" while he began his acting career on stage and on television in shows like HBO's "Band of Brothers" in 2001. Since then, Fassbender has starred in various award-winning roles in films like "Shame" in 2011, "12 Years a Slave" in 2013 and "Macbeth" in 2015. This year, Fassbender is up for his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the film "Steve Jobs."

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The most established actress of the bunch goes to Charlotte Rampling, who despite being features in more than 50 films, has never been up for an Academy Award yet. Rampling started her acting career at the age of 17 in a commercial before shortly after landing her first film role as an uncredited water skier. The following year, Rampling made her debut film role as Sara Campell in the 1965 film "Rotten to the Core." Since then, Rampling has been featured in mostly foreign films but more recently in movies like "The Eye of the Storm" in 2011 and "Restless" in 2012. Rampling is up for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "45 Years."

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Irish actress Saoirse Ronan began her acting career in 2003 as a public service broadcaster before moving on to television for a bit. Ronan's big break came in 2007 when she made her film debut in the film "I Could Never Be Your Woman" alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd. The same year, Ronan was also cast in "Death Defying Acts," "The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey" and "Atonement" at the age of 12. Her role in "Atonement" landed her various award nominations including her first Oscar nod, ranking her among the ten youngest to do so. Since then, Ronan has had quite the acting career landing herself yet another Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role in "Brooklyn."

Ever wonder what the nominees did before their big Oscar break? Check out the 88th Academy Award nominees in their first major role on the big screen …