OT: Underrated Actors

zappaa

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Jul 27, 2001
75,349
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Love Open Range. "Men are gonna get killed here today, and I'm gonna kill 'em."

I'll agree that Open Range is an underrated movie, and Kevin Costner was great in it. He got his due back in the day, though, then kind of disappeared - Waterworld really sunk his career, as I recall it.

IMO, when Hollywood keeps giving you starring or major role in huge movies (Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise), it takes away any claim to "underrated" you might have had. Tom Cruise is a great example of someone who's been overrated that way - constantly a star of movies in which dozens of other actors would have seemed better choices.

I can agree he's had some great roles that might have been underrated (Born on the Fourth of July was a great movie, great performance), and maybe underrated by critics (wtf cares what critics say), but no way has someone with a career like that, complete with all kinds of awards, been underrated by their peers or the industry.
I ain’t never had no problem with killen Boss.
 
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LC-88

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Apr 24, 2010
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Djimon Hounsou. Guy should have won Best Actor Oscar for "Amistad" in 1998. Awesome in every movie I have ever seen him in. "Blood Diamond" and "Gladiator" were two of his best besides "Amistad".

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005023/?ref_=tt_mv


My number two would be Gary Oldman. "Immortal Beloved" where he played Beethoven was his best performance IMHO. Liked him in "Leon: The Professional" as well. Jean Reno (Leon) would also be on the list.
 

masice520

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I’ll add one of my personal favorites growing up:

Robert Prosky

Last Action Hero
Miracle on 34th Street
Rudy
Mrs Doubtfire
Far and Away
Gremlins 2
Many TV appearances as well
 
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chickenpatty2

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Steve Buscemi (cause he's in just about everything, but always solid in his strange way)

Rip Torn (solid in everything)

Dave Matthews (if, for nothing else, his cameo in Just Go With It).

Clint Howard (why not?)
 
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Along these lines- when Harry Stanton Dean died, a friend asked about great character actors. A guy who fits that and a great actor in general is John Carrolll Lynch. Extremely versatile actor.
 

HeyHuey

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You forgot The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. An early great role!
He was actually pretty good in the remake of the "Taking of Pelham 123" with Denzel Washington (who I'll nominate for the list). It was miles better than the original from the 70's.
 

HeyHuey

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I was watching that POS "Westworld" film from 1973 with Yul Brenner and Richard Benjamin. James Brolin is in it and he's pretty young. I thought about Josh Brolin and how he's become a far better actor than his dad. I'll put Josh Brolin's name in. In fact, I'll give props to any actor that got to nail Eva Green in a movie (Mads Mikkelsen - the Salvation and maybe 25 other guys)
 
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zappaa

Heisman
Jul 27, 2001
75,349
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I was watching that POS "Westworld" film from 1973 with Yul Brenner and Richard Benjamin. James Brolin is in it and he's pretty young. I thought about Josh Brolin and how he's become a far better actor than his dad. I'll put Josh Brolin's name in. In fact, I'll give props to any actor that got to nail Eva Green in a movie (Mads Mikkelsen - the Salvation and maybe 25 other guys)
I love Westworld
 
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Armor and Sword

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Oct 18, 2007
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Underrated actors: Tommy Flanagan (Gladiator, Sons of Anarchy), Jennifer Anniston, Bruno Ganz (played Hitler in Downfall), Miles Teller (Divergent series, Thank You For Your Service), Michael Biehn (Terminator), Lance Henriksen, Rufus Sewell, Fred Thompson.

Underrated performance: Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road. It is shocking she did not even get a Best Actress nomination for her role. Should have gotten the nom and won.

Underrrated movie: Heat. Shocking that did not get a single Oscar nomination for any award, even the mid-major types like Sound and Sound Editing.
 
Jul 31, 2001
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And all these years, I thought I was the only Brad Pitt fan.

Javier Bardem
Benicio Del Toro

These two are not normally the focal point of the movie, so you need to pay close attention to their work. Excellent actors.
 
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GSGS

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Aug 2, 2001
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Not necessarily underrated, but I've always been amazed by the range of parts that Tom Hanks has played. He is an incredible talent IMO.
 
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asgot

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I really like Viggo Mortensen
G.I. Jane, Hidalgo, A History of Violence, Eastern promises and the Lord of the Rings.

I think Edward Norton is also excellent. Fight Club, American History X
 

FanuSanu52

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Ian McShane - Get Carter, Sexy Beast, Deadwood
Alan Rickman - Die Hard
Richard Boone for obvious reasons.

Ian McShane - great one. One of the greatest TV characters of all time but I couldn't place the name until you said Deadwood.

Saw a commercial for his new show, American Gods. Looks great, a bunch of interesting names in it. Anyone watched?
 
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GoodOl'Rutgers

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Sep 11, 2006
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Liam Neesum TAKEN
I think Liam Neesum should do another Taken movie.. but this time, he is TAKEN by hackers and identity theft.. like as an old man answering the phone and giving too much info.. its a dark comedy take-off on TAKEN..

so many good actors listed.. so few that are "under-rated"...

Here is an under-rated actor for comparison... well.. before Whiplash he was under-rated.. JK Simmons. Then everyone saw how great he was and now you see him hawking Insurance in commercials every day.

You have to think of people who get few leads.. people who you see all the time.. but do not know their names. They don't get leads because they don't look like lead actor material.. for big commercial A-movies. But they get lots of jobs because they are good actors.

Like Walton Goggins
 
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FanuSanu52

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I’m surprised no one has said Edward Norton. Him and John Lithgow are my favorites.

Multiple people have said Ed Norton, including one like two posts ago :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:.

One of my faves, too, but not sure if he fits the underrated bill. Got heaps of recognition in his heyday, thought he'd be the next great, then sort of drifted away into more artsy/independent stuff, less roles, more behind the scenes, etc. Seemed more a matter of his own career choices, and maybe being difficult to work with, than being underrated.
 

i'vegotwinners

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Dec 1, 2006
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Also Joey Slotnick, largely unknown, was excellent in some of his roles. Particularly as Woz in Pirates of Silicon Valley

Pirates of Silicon Valley,

did Jobs or Gates buy that up?

haven't seen it in the listings in forever.

an interesting watch.
 
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FanuSanu52

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I think Liam Neesum should do another Taken movie.. but this time, he is TAKEN by hackers and identity theft.. like as an old man answering the phone and giving too much info.. its a dark comedy take-off on TAKEN..

so many good actors listed.. so few that are "under-rated"...

Here is an under-rated actor for comparison... well.. before Whiplash he was under-rated.. JK Simmons. Then everyone saw how great he was and now you see him hawking Insurance in commercials every day.

You have to think of people who get few leads.. people who you see all the time.. but do not know their names. They don't get leads because they don't look like lead actor material.. for big commercial A-movies. But they get lots of jobs because they are good actors.

Like Walton Goggins

Walter Goggins another good one. I know him strictly from Justified, but he was great in it. Heard he was good in his other TV stuff, too.

Completely agree with your framework, and would add that those jobs they get, they nail so well, they often overshadow the lead or ensemble. Love Olyphant, too, but McShane, mentioned earlier, overshadowed him in Deadwood and some might argue Goggins did in Justified (I liked them equally).
 

MadRU

Heisman
Jul 26, 2001
38,625
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Ryan Gosling in The Believer, under appreciated movie too.

And I know its hard the say one of the greatest actors of all time is under rated but to me Robert Duvall is. You always hear the names Brando, DeNiro, Pacino etc. But Duvall is every bit as good or better. To me his performance in Apocalypse Now was flawless.

Tom Hanks was mentioned earlier, he is one of the greatest of all time, his range is amazing. At the end of Captain Phillips after his rescue when he was being treated, when the shock was wearing off the pure fright he displayed with facial expressions was amazing.