This year’s Oscar nominees look unrecognizable in these adorable childhood snaps

One of these little ones will be growing up to be an Oscar winner next week.

These picture-book tongs are all ready for gongs at the Oscars, which take place in the wee hours of Monday morning in Los Angeles.

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From smiling school kids to big screen stars, here’s Katy Docherty looking at how far they’ve come.

Best Actor – Denzel Washington

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Veteran star Denzel, 67, has been waiting for this moment since winning Best Actor for Training Day in 2002.

Twenty years later, he’s still burning – with his tenth Oscar nomination for The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Best Actor – Benedict Cumberbatch

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HE may be better known as a respected detective than a cowboy, but it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to find out that Benedict, 45, is one of the favorites to win awards for his brooding performance in the terrifying western The Power of the Dog.

Best Actress – Kristen Stewart

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For Twilight beauty Kristen, 31, THE stars sparkled from an early age.

Now she’s starring in royal biopic Spencer as Princess Diana, who suffers from an eating disorder.

Best Actress – Penelope Cruz

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In this Spanish-language film, 47-year-old Penelope returns to her early career and will be throwing the mother of all parties as she drives home with a coveted gold statuette for her role in Pedro Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers.

Best Actress – Olivia Colman

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WE haven’t heard a peep about other Brits in this category but former TV star Olivia, 48, is lagging behind in the odds for her role in The Lost Daughter.

Best Original Song – Billie Eilish

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SHE’s only 20, but chart-topping Billie has already bagged an Oscar nomination for her James Bond track No Time To Die.

Best Director – Steven Spielberg

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JAWS director Steven, 75, will need a bigger boat for his awards when West Side Story adds to the loot he’s already amassed during his epic career in cinema.

Best Director: Kenneth Branagh

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Actor-turned-director Kenneth, 61, drew inspiration from his schooldays for his highly personal film Belfast.

Best Actress: Nicole Kidman

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WITH her natural curly red hair, Nicole, 54, was the perfect choice to play I Love Lucy’s Lucille Ball in Being The Ricardos.

Will she have a ball later this week?

Best Actor – Javier Bardem

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Javier, 53, plays Cuban actor Desi Arnaz in Being The Ricardos, which tells the true story of the famous US TV show I Love Lucy.

Best Actor – Will Smith

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Will, 53, started with the TV series The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air and has ruled Hollywood with a string of blockbusters.

Will he take the crown for King Richard?

Best Actor – Andrew Garfield

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ONE-TIME Spider-Man star Andrew, 38, surprisingly spun his way into the musical and starred in Tick, Tick. . . Boom!

The explosive film about writing a musical was directed by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain

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SHE always gives interstellar performances and Jessica, 44 – who has previously been nominated twice – didn’t need divine inspiration to knock it out of the park when she played a TV evangelist in biopic The Eyes Of Tammy Faye.

Best Supporting Actress – Kirsten Dunst

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39-year-old Kirsten has gone from little superhero to high-flyer – with a nomination for her role in The Power Of The Dog.