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Before ER and blockbuster movies, George Clooney played mild- mannered factory foreman Booker in Roseanne. To this day George remains close to his favourite co-star from the show - but it's not John Goodman or Roseanne Barr. 'A baby pig was the villain on the show one time,' George says. 'I fell in love with him so much, at the end of the show I took him home.' It was of course Max - George's long-term pig pal. Hollywood golden boy Tom Hanks has enjoyed a lucrative transformation from his cheesy comedy persona to Oscar- winning actor. But few remember Tom hanging out with the Fonz on Happy Days or taking a trip on The Love Boat. Even Tom's Sleepless In Seattle co-star Meg Ryan starred in an episode of family show Charles In Charge in 1984. And directors can have forgotten pasts too. Pulp Fiction mastermind Quentin Tarantino's appearance as an Elvis impersonator on an episode of pensioner-friendly sitcom The Golden Girls is one to savour.

FROM SOAP TO STATUETTE

It's a safe bet that most of those up for best acting Oscars tonight won't mention their less than auspicious beginnings. Jack Nicholson appeared in the 1960s soap Dr Kildare, as well as one episode of The Waltons in 1972. Fellow nominee Nicolas Cage first appeared playing a surfer on TV's The Best Of Times. He changed his name from Coppola (director Francis Ford is his uncle) to begin his acting career. Michael Caine, also up for a gong, starred in the UK's first cop show, Dixon Of Dock Green, in 1955, as a cockney villain. In order to get his actors' equity card, he had to change his name from Maurice Micklewhite.

Likewise, don't expect Best Actress contender Nicole Kidman to mention her early appearances in Aussie kids' series BMX Bandits. Nicole's co- star in The Hours, Julianne Moore, up for two Oscars, started her career in 1984 on the soaps Edge Of Night and As The World Turns. She described herself as 'the black widow of daytime TV'. And Renee Zellweger and Salma Hayek also have TV roots. Renee was 18 when she appeared on TV's Married With Children, and Salma's soap past is still fondly remembered by audiences in her native Mexico.

AD BREAKS

A young Jodie Foster splashed on Coppertone suntan lotion, while Kate Winslet boogied with the Honey Monster in an early 80s Sugar Puffs ad. John Travolta made a clean start to his career with Safeguard, and Courteney Cox was the first person to say 'period' on US TV in an 1980s ad for Tampax. Eight-year-old Ben Affleck used his fee from playing baseball in a Burger King ad to pay for acting classes, as did Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played a bratty tyke who disses competitor McDonalds (who sued for slander). Chris O'Donnell hit back for McDs, promoting cheeseburgers, and Keanu Reeves wanted folk to choose Coca-Cola. 'The best things come to those who wait,' said Friends star Matt Le Blanc, advertising Heinz. He set a ketchup bottle upside down on top of a building and ran down the stairs, just in time to catch the sauce on his hotdog.

NEXT BIG THINGS

Teen sitcom Growing Pains first introduced the world to Heather Graham and Leonardo DiCaprio. But young Leo already had a TV CV by the time he appeared on the show in 1985. He made his debut aged five on a string of adverts, and later appeared in daytime soap Santa Barbara. Dallas was massive in the 1980s but few remember seeing a chap who would become even bigger - Brad Pitt, who made several appearances as raunchy rancher Randy. Fellow Hollywood hunk Ben Affleck also starred in a host of forgettable 80s series and made- for-TV movies. Aussie soap Neighbours not only gave the world Kylie Minogue and Natalie Imbruglia, it introduced Guy Pearce too. The LA Confidential star spent two years as Mike the mechanic. Gladiator bad boy Russell Crowe also made a brief appearance, playing to type and brawling in a bar. When Hilary Swank won an Oscar for Boys Don't Cry, it was the pinnacle of a career that began on the streets of Beverly Hills 90210. 'I was on when no one watched it any more,' she says. 'When I was fired, I figured if I'm not good enough for 90210, perhaps I shouldn't be an actress.' Want proof that Sex And The City star Sarah Jessica Parker wasn't always a TV style goddess? She starred as a speccy misfit in US geek comedy Square Pegs.

ACTION MEN & DRAMA QUEENS

Warren Beatty refuses to admit he once starred in the 1959-60 US TV series The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis, and Robert Redford is skittish about his years as a guest actor on The Twilight Zone. Another Twilight man is Die Hard hero Bruce Willis whose role on the cult show in 1985 followed an appearance on Miami Vice - just months before his big break on Moonlighting. Julia Roberts and Annette Bening also rubbed shoulders with Crockett and Tubbs on the mean Miami streets, while Magnum PI and TJ Hooker both enjoyed the talents of a young Sharon Stone. Pierce Brosnan is suave these days as James Bond but had far lower billing in Brit cop drama The Professionals, credited only as 'Radio Man' in his one episode. He followed it up with an equally impressive role as 'The Jogger' in an episode of Hammer House Of Horror. Fellow heart-throb Denzel Washington enjoyed a long stint as a doctor in TV hospital drama St Elsewhere.

KIDS' STUFF

There's only one quality needed for a stint on children's TV - no sense of shame. Austin Powers star Mike Myers honed his comic talents in front of an audience of minors on British Saturday morning show Wide Awake Club. It was graced by a 23-year-old Mike and his weekly parody Sound Asleep Club, in which he donned pyjamas and yawned a lot. An unlikely person for such child's play is Susan Sarandon. The Oscar winner and fervent human rights campaigner once paid a visit to Sesame Street. The first season in 1969 saw both Susan and Robert De Niro hanging out with Big Bird. British actor Jeremy Irons also took a stroll down the same TV street, as well as an all-singing, all- dancing appearance on the BBC's Play Away in 1971.