These five actors may have done their best work on the big screen as their Oscar nominations attest.

These five actors may have done their best work on the big screen as their Oscar nominations attest. But before the movies beckoned, they could be found on these (mostly forgotten and forgettable) TV series:

v Amy Adams (Best Actress, “American Hustle”): On “Dr. Vegas” (2004), she played Alice, an emergency-room nurse who works with a casino’s in-house doctor (series star Rob Lowe).

v Bradley Cooper (Supporting Actor, “American Hustle”): On the short-lived “Kitchen Confidential” (2005), Cooper starred as Jack Bourdain, a character inspired by celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, on whose same-titled bestseller this sitcom was based.

v Bruce Dern (Best Actor, “Nebraska”): On the modern Western “Stoney Burke” (1962-63), Dern played E.J. Stocker, a pal of the title character — a professional rodeo rider played by a pre-“Hawaii Five-O” Jack Lord.

v Jennifer Lawrence (Supporting Actress, “American Hustle”): On “The Bill Engvall Show” (2007-09), she played Lauren, the teen daughter of Engvall’s character, family counselor Bill Pearson.

v Jared Leto (Supporting Actor, “Dallas Buyers Club”): On the cult fave “My So-Called Life” (1994-95), Leto first made his mark as Jordan Catalano, the bad boy with an undiagnosed learning disability and a sometimes-relationship with series star Claire Danes.

“THE 86TH ACADEMY AWARDS” (8:30 P.M.,, ABC): Don’t expect any songs about female breasts as Ellen DeGeneres returns to host Hollywood’s big bash. She’s sure to be more of a soothing presence than last year’s naughty-minded emcee, Seth MacFarlane. As for the competition, “Gravity,” “12 Years a Slave” and “American Hustle” are the leading contenders in a tight Best Picture race. Our hope? To make it through the night without any gasbag acceptance speeches by production-design types and sound-mixing guys. For more, see story at right.

“True Detective” (9 p.m., HBO): If you haven’t been watching “True Detective,” you’re missing some astonishing television. The crime drama nears its conclusion as Hart and Cohle (Woody Harrelson, Matthew McConaughey) set aside their differences to investigate new leads in the troubling case they worked years ago.

“Live From the Red Carpet” (5:30 P.M., E!): Who’s wearing whom? Who’s wearing on my nerves? Find out on this live Oscars pre-game show.

TV listings, B6

We are choosing Fun For All as next month’s Snapz theme.

Simply send us a snapshot of whatever constitutes fun in your world. We’ll publish a few of the ones we receive in our Sunday, April 6, edition, and they’ll all be posted online at vindy.com.

HERE’S HOW

Email a large jpeg file to society@vindy.com or mail your picture to:

SNAPZ: FUN FOR ALLSFlbThe Vindicator Attn.: Barb Shaffer, Society/ Features Editor, P.O. Box 780 Youngstown, OH 44501

Don’t forget to include the names and cities of residence for everyone in the picture. It’s also nice to know who submitted it.

DEADLINE: APRIL 2