Meet Oscar’s fresh faces

Nominated for his portrayal of Aron Ralston in “127 Hours,” the story of the real-life outdoorsman who had to sever part of his arm to escape from a remote Utah canyon where his limb was pinned under a boulder. Said Franco, 32, of what is essentially a one-man show: “Because there are no other characters [in the film], Aron almost needs to embody a bunch of different sides of a person. You can’t have a funny character come in and be the comic relief or the antagonistic character come in and pose a challenge. It all has to come from this character.”   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Nominated for directing “The King’s Speech.” The 38-year-old Englishman, previously known for his lauded work on television movies and miniseries such as “Longford” and “John Adams,” took a specific visual approach to recounting the true-life saga of King George VI’s struggles to overcome a debilitating stutter: “I felt the language of the close-up is needed for stammering, because you see what’s going on in the eyes.”   (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Nominated for her performance as Ree Dolly, a teenager determined to resolve a dark family secret in the gritty indie drama “Winter’s Bone.” “I’ve just always had this attitude of don’t stop until you get it,” the 20-year-old said of her commitment to an acting career. Next up: Supporting turns in the Mel Gibson-starrer “The Beaver” and “X-Men: First Class,” the latest installment in the comic-book franchise, in which she’ll play the shape-shifting mutant Mystique.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Nominated for his turn as the easygoing Paul, a California restaurateur who becomes the source of so much family upheaval after the two children he fathered as a sperm donor find him as teenagers in “The Kids Are All Right.” “He is that interesting intersection of someone you love or love being around — he has that kind of joie de vivre inside him; he devours life,” Ruffalo, 43, said of the character.   (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Nominated for directing “The Fighter,” his third film with star Mark Wahlberg, who plays welterweight boxer Micky Ward in the Boston-set drama. “I feel like our collaboration is an instrument,” said the notoriously headstrong Russell, 52, of his professional relationship with his repeat leading man. “And we’re really starting to learn how to use it.”   (Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

Nominated for playing Mattie Ross, the plucky girl who hires a U.S. marshal to track down the man who murdered her father in the Coen brothers’ “True Grit.” The 14-year-old who grew up in Thousand Oaks says she is “easily star struck.” But she’s pragmatic too. “I idolize Jodie Foster and Natalie Portman, because of the fact they’ve maintained such an amazing career since they were my age or even younger,” she said. “That’s really my goal. So maybe they might be able to give me some advice.”   (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)