Oscars first-timers

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( Scott Olson / Getty Images )

Some are still cutting their teeth on celluloid, others have been at it for decades, celebrated but not yet loaded down with shiny hardware. In the case of first-time nominees, it's not your age that decides when Oscar calls, it's the role of a year, or of a lifetime. Especially in the case of actors, their chances are as good as -- if not better than -- those who've been nominated previously. At the 2005 awards, newbie actor nominees swept the field. Here's a look at the actresses and actors -- on the next page -- who received their first nod from the academy last week, where you may have seen them and how they're taking it.

-- Lisa Rosen