We all know Hollywood royal George Clooney was the anchor of the E.R. cast for its first five years. But did you know that he also starred on a sitcom called e/r, starring a pre-Two and Half Men Conchata Ferrell, a pre-Seinfeld Jason Alexander and future Oceans’ Eleven co-star, Elliott Gould? Yes, Hollywood is as small a world as your local schoolyard, and it’s a fact that’s more particularly evident thanks to the 2012 Oscar nominees and their lesser-to-barely known roles on the small screen.
George Clooney’s Romantic Beginnings
We start with the silver fox himself, who let every bit of his charm and bravado go to give a career-defining performance in 2011’s The Descendants. Before Doug Ross doctored his way into ladies’ hearts everywhere, Clooney was a recurring guest star as George Burnett, lovelorn Kuwait deportee and construction worker on The Facts of Life, during the show’s seventh season. Burnett would help the girls build their business venture, Edna’s Edibles. Starting in 1988, Clooney would also guest star as Booker Brooks, one of Jackie’s boyfriends, and her boss at the Wellman Plant on Roseanne; it’s a role he would have until 1991.
Brad Pitt Plus Johnny Depp Equals Magic
Clooney’s best buddy, Brad Pitt also has several acting skeletons in his closet. The Moneyball star might not have had leading roles on TV, but he can say he was a “hey I know that guy” guest star on shows like 21 Jump Street. Ladies, can you imagine it? Two of the most attractive male actors of our generation shared the screen together before they were famous. It’s just too bad their big scene together just involved Pitt asking Johnny Depp’s Officer Hanson if he’d ever been to jail. For those of you hoping to catch this scene, the 1988 episode is called “Best Years of Your Life.” Apart from Jump Street and before showcasing his abs and acting chops in Thelma and Louise, Pitt also made appearances on Another World, Dallas, Head of the Class, and in 1987 on Growing Pains as Carol’s new boyfriend, Jeff, who bonds with her over a shared love of James Dean and Natalie Wood.
From Bedding a Weed Dealer to Making Gardening His Better Life
A Better Life’s best actor nominee, Demian Bichir was mesmerizing for three years on Weeds as Tijuana mayor and cold-blooded drug kingpin, Esteban Reyes. He wrestled with his desire to bed leading lady Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker) and his desire to kill her. After Nancy burned down her house in Agrestic, Esteban was certainly more of the interesting characters on the show. Longing for a son, the enigmatic and romantic mayor lured Nancy into his web and get his wish, siring Stevie Ray Reyes; although he and his crew would later attempt to hunt Nancy down when she fled Mexico with the baby.
A Fitting Movie Title For a Comeback KidReturning to prominence this year is
Nick Nolte, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for
Warrior. Besides having one of the most well-known mug shots ever, Nolte has formidable acting chops, but he first showcased them on the acclaimed TV miniseries,
Rich Man, Poor Man - a forerunner to epic miniseries like 1977’s
Roots.
Rich Man, Poor Man followed the Jordache brothers, Rich Man Rudy and Poor Man Tom (Nolte). And if that’s not enough, before the acclaimed mini-series, Nolte was in a Clairol commercial with Sigourney Weaver.
Two Shows, Two Hospitals, Three Nominees, One Movie
City of Angels, a 2000 CBS medical drama, boasts not one, but two future Oscar nominees:
Viola Davis, as Nurse Lynnette Peeler, and
Octavia Spencer, as Nurse Bernice. Both ladies are nominated for their turns in
The Help. The series followed the lives of the staff of Angels of Mercy Hospital in Los Angeles and was lauded as being the first CBS medical drama with a predominantly black cast. Fun fact: fellow
Help nominee,
Jessica Chastain also dropped by a TV hospital,
ER in the Season 10 episode, “Forgive and Forget,” as Dahlia Taslitz, a teenage girl concerned for her heart-attack victim father.
The Original Sookie, and an Emmy Winning One at ThatBefore Sookie Stackhouse was the object of every hard-bodied fantastical character on TV, there was another Sookie gracing TV audiences with her presence every week. Sookie St. James, played by
Bridesmaids’ Oscar-nominee
Melissa McCarthy, was part of the memorable cast of characters in sleepy Stars Hollow on
Gilmore Girls. Sookie was protagonist Lorelai’s best friend, and one of the few characters who kept pushing Lorelai to date her best friend Luke. The Independence Inn’s executive chef was certainly one of McCarthy’s key roles and it was almost not to be. We can thank
Family Guy for that because the first person cast in the role was the voice of Lois Griffin,
Alex Borstein, who had to bow out due to the Fox show’s surge in popularity.
Our Second WB Alum is Riding the Two-Time Nominee TrainJoining McCarthy as an Oscar-nominated actress is a fellow former WB star,
Michelle Williams, who’s honored for her terrific turn in
My Week with Marilyn. Williams, who first garnered attention for her role as Jen Lindley on teen drama
Dawson’s Creek. Her on-again-off-again relationship with the titular Dawson would also lead to a mentor-mentee relationship while Dawson wrote his first script, and Jen herself would become head cheerleader. Sadly, the series finale would be the finale for Jen as she well, as she dies from heart congestion. Before she could charm the pants off Dawson, Williams charmed and corrupted nerdy Mark on the '90s sitcom
Step by Step, when she convinced him to egg houses.
The seeds for greatness were sewn years ago for many of this year’s Oscar nominees. Who do you think will take home the most coveted prize in moviedom? Find out this Sunday and follow Hollywood and I on Twitter
@Hollywood_com and
@CouchForceOne.