Cast members (L-R) Abigail Breslin, Toni Collette, Steve Carell and Greg Kinnear are shown in a scene from their film 'Little Miss Sunshine' in this undated publicity photograph. 'Little Miss Sunshine' received two Golden Globe nominations, December 14, 2006.[Reuters]

Little-known actors and directors from movies such as "Dreamgirls" and "Little Miss Sunshine" earned major career boosts on Thursday with Golden Globe nominations that put them closer to Hollywood's A-list.

The new faces range from Jennifer Hudson, whose performance in "Dreamgirls" garnered a nomination for best supporting actress, to husband-and-wife directing team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, with the low-budget "Miss Sunshine" in the category for best movie musical or comedy.

The group also includes 29-year-old director Jason Reitman, son of well-known director Ivan Reitman. His satirical "Thank You for Smoking," was nominated for best musical or comedy film.

British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays a transvestite in "Kinky Boots," Japan's Rinko Kikuchi in her role as a deaf mute girl in "Babel" and her co-star, Adriana Barraza, portraying a troubled Mexican nanny also received career-boosting nominations.

Hudson, a former contestant on U.S. television's "American Idol," said she fought to maintain her composure when she learned of her nomination while waiting to appear on NBC television's "The Today Show."

"But I couldn't cry, because I'd mess up my makeup," she said. "But I was crying. It's all of these different things going on. ... I'm still shaking on the inside."

Faris was more low-key with her reaction but nonetheless excited. "This is way more attention than we've ever had in our lives, and we're still getting used to that," she said.

Her husband, Dayton, said, "I am probably more excited for our parents," to which Faris added, "Definitely. Thank God they are still around to enjoy all this. They can be proud."

Dayton noted that since all the attention for "Miss Sunshine," the pair has had many meetings with actors and agents and have three film projects in the works.

Reitman, whose first full-length film is "Thank You For Smoking," said: "The whole thing has been a surprise from moment one."

He added that success for new faces in Hollywood can be short-lived.

"If history is proven correct, I'll have another quick success and then probably within six years I'll be a total wreck," he joked.