AMY RYAN

Amy Ryan and her family have run out of adjectives to describe her life since Gone Baby Gone. ''My mother sent me an e-mail — she just wrote 'Woo-hoo!''' says the 38-year-old, whose turn as the drug-addled mother of a missing toddler has earned her a Golden Globe nod and Oscar buzz. After working for nearly 20 years, earning two Tony nominations but little attention from Hollywood, ''I'm getting invites to the bigger table at Thanksgiving,'' she jokes, referring to such top-drawer projects as Clint Eastwood's 2008 drama, The Changeling, in which she'll play a prostitute opposite Angelina Jolie. ''I don't have to sit at the folding card table anymore!'' —Missy Schwartz

More? See our full Q&A with Amy Ryan