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Last night’s 83rd Annual Academy Awards boasted a lot of talented film industry artists and surprised winners, but probably no one was more shocked to stand on the Oscar stage than Trent Reznor.The

Last night’s 83rd Annual Academy Awards boasted a lot of talented film industry artists and surprised winners, but probably no one was more shocked to stand on the Oscar stage than Trent Reznor.The

Last night’s 83rd Annual Academy Awards boasted a lot of talented film industry artists and surprised winners, but probably no one was more shocked to stand on the Oscar stage than Trent Reznor.

Last night’s 83rd Annual Academy Awards boasted a lot of talented film industry artists and surprised winners, but probably no one was more shocked to stand on the Oscar stage than Trent Reznor.The

Last night’s 83rd Annual Academy Awards boasted a lot of talented film industry artists and surprised winners, but probably no one was more shocked to stand on the Oscar stage than Trent Reznor.

The veteran rocker and founder of Nine Inch Nails has evolved from gothic Marilyn Manson cohort, drug abuser and music industry protestor to father, film composer and now, Oscar winner.  

PHOTOS: The Best Oscar After Parties 

Last night Trent Reznor and his collaborator Atticus Ross took home the award for Best Original Score for Facebook film “The Social Network” and the haunting, intense electronic rock he helped create, further solidified Trent’s important influence in the world of rock.

Trent has proved he has the kind of talent and cross-over appeal one would never have expected from an angry anti-establishment young man with long hair and leather. GlobalGrind put together a retrospective of his many different looks as well as an explanation of where Trent has been and a look ahead to where he’s going. 

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Michael Trent Reznor was born in Pennsylvania in 1965 and lived with his grandparents after his mother and father divorced. He began playing the piano at five years old. He counts David Bowie and KISS as two of his earliest musical heroes. “I don’t know why I want to do these things, other than my desire to escape from Small Town, U.S.A., to dismiss the boundaries, to explore,” he told Rolling Stone in 1994.

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In the late 1980s Trent began recording his own music and recruited a few band members into what would eventually become Nine Inch Nails. Here he is (center) in 1989 at a radio station interview around the time the band’s first record “Pretty Hate Machine” was released.

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“Pretty Hate Machine” spent 113 weeks on the Billboard charts and Nine Inch Nails would eventually be invited to join the first Lollapalooza tour. In 1991, Trent began arguing with his label, who were pressuring his musical direction. He recorded a secret EP called “Broken” with the help of his manager John Malm, Jr.

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Trent soon recorded another NIN release, “The Downward Spiral” in a Beverly Hills mansion/studio that was revealed to be the house where many were murdered by followers of cult leader Charles Manson. “The Downward Spiral” was released in March of 1994 and marked a new musical direction for the band. The music was more experimental and improvisational. “The Downward Spiral” was said to be a concept album in that it was about letting go of everything in hopes of finding inner peace.

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Trent befriended a Florida-based shock-rocker named Marilyn Manson, who would eventually sign to his Nothing Records. Trent toured and hung out with Marilyn, all the while fighting drug addiction.

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Nine Inch Nails began to tour constantly and during Woodstock ’94 Trent reached new heights of fame, making him a star. Yet the newfound attention exacerbated Trent’s drug and alcohol problems. After the “Self-Destruct” tour, Trent checked himself into a Florida rehab center.

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NIN’s “The Fragile” was released in September 1999 and debuted at the top of the Billboard album charts. Yet Trent soon relapsed and during a tour stop in London, he overdosed on heroin. After the overdose, Trent entered rehab yet again and later began collaborations separately with the front men from Tool and Rage Against The Machine.

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After a few years away from the band, Trent went back into the studio and recorded “With Teeth.” The album was released in 2005 and debuted at the top of the Billboard charts, even though it had been six years since the band’s last album. By the end of the year the record would go platinum.

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Trent wrote yet another NIN album “Year Zero” which was released in 2007 and began touring extensively. The album didn’t quite do as well as the previous effort and in 2009, Trent announced the indefinite hiatus of Nine Inch Nails.

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In February 2010 Trent announced a new musical project called How To Destroy Angels, featuring himself, longtime collaborator Atticus Ross, and his new wife Mariqueen Maandig, the former singer of psychedelic band West Indian Girl.

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Trent and Mariqueen became parents to a son within the past few months. They live in Beverly Hills.

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Trent began collaborating with English gothic vocalist Peter Murphy; the duo gained notoriety by uploading videos of their covers of various tracks, including songs by NIN and Iggy Pop.

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Trent and his How To Destroy Angels collaborator Atticus Finch composed the original music for David Fincher’s “The Social Network” and took home statues from both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.

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Now, Trent is standing next to Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman with his Oscar trophy. He recently announced he will work with David Fincher yet again to compose the music for the adaptation of the best selling novel “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.”