Underrated Actors?

I'd go with:


Phillip Seymour Hoffman

As much as I make fun of the guy for looking like a pedophile, he's a phenominal actor. 2008 was a great year for him, doing great roles in both Doubt and Synecdoche, New York


Don Cheadle

Cannot lie, this guy has to be one of THE most underrated actors of all time. Hotel Rwanda, Reign Over Me, and a big breakthrough in Hamburger Hill. I have no idea why he's in Iron Man 2, when he should have been the obvious choice for the first.


And even if it always looks like he is squinting, I'll go with my favorite actor of all time and not to mention an underrated actor in my own mind.



Edward Norton

Yes, 2 Oscar Noms and I call him underrated. Not too many people have seen the film The 25th Hour, which is argueably his finest acting role.

Probably some I'm forgetting, some actors listed by others in this thread may help me remember.

Billy, I'm impressed. You really did your homework on this one. I ran a search and couldn't find one Underrated Actor thread.

I did find an Underrated Actresses thread though, which can be found here.

Welcome to the site, by the way!

I can't think of an underrated actor (or actress for that matter) off the top of my head right now, but I'm sure something will come to mind.

Cheers!

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Joaquin Phoenix
Ben Foster
Jared Leto
Paul Rudd

And I'll probably catch some flack for this one: Heath Ledger.

He was nominated twice and won once, but a lot of people look at his role as The Joker and say he's overrated, or that it's the only good role he's ever done, or some other nonsense like that. He is seriously a powerhouse in Candy and Brokeback Mountain, and is great in I'm Not There. While The Dark Knight certainly would have made his career had he lived, and is his greatest performance, to write him off as a one hit wonder or overrated is beyond silly in my opinion.

Thanks, I guess. So I'm guessing it is perfectly fine to bump threads years old or so, instead of creating a second thread?

But yeah, another underrated actor I though of is Emile Hirsch, another favorite actor of mine.

I wouldn't call PSH or Ed Norton underrated, because they're pretty big, especially PSH. I'm postive we have a thread for this, because I remember posting in it before.

If we're already talking about it in the past, it generally just loses interest and fades away. If there's an older thread, which I couldn't find one when I searched, we just take the two and merge them.

Either way, the topic is back out in the open.

What about Jason Schwarzman/Schwartzman?--(it's been spelled both ways)--son of Talia Shire of the "Rocky" films, this actor/musician has been in "Rushmore," "Slackers," and "I Heart Huckabees"--to name a few.

He is both intriguing and talented.

*(I got my pics from imdb--sorry if they're too tiny.)


At "The Darjeeling Limited"



Ryan Gosling left, Jason--right

(Anyone think Gosling is underrated?)--"The Notebook" "United States of Leland," "Murder by Numbers," and "Lars and the Real Girl."

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Paul Giamatti

Nice choice... and welcome to MoFo... If you'd like to introduce yourself we have an introductory forum here...

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Awesome choice! Id say hes an actor that i love that really is underated too.

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I dont agree, I think PSH is underrated. Hes a really excellent actor and really excells but doesnt get nearly enough recognition for it. Although he is well known as sorts, Id still say he doesnt get the credit he deserves for the roles that he plays, i just love his style.

Mr. Giamatti was my first thought too.

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Liev Schreiber

Paddy considine, a very good actor, brilliant in deadman's shoes

I really don't think PSH is underrated. He's won an Oscar for Capote and if you're talking about recognition from critics, I'd say critics absoloutly love him.

I haven't been on the forum too long so I don't know what the general opinion is about him but I think a lot of people pass Brad Pitt off as a prettyboy when in reality he is a very versatile actor and has been brilliant in a number of different films (Fight Club, Se7en, Snatch and Burn After Reading) to name a few.

I'd personally also add Sam Rockwell, Ralph Fiennes and Gary Oldman to that list as well.

If Hoffman, Norton, and even Cheadler or Giamatti are "underrated", then who isn't? These are some of the most talked-about and respected actors in the business.

Given the time, I'm sure I could come up with quite a list, but off the top I have to mention Harry Dean Stanton, Elias Koteas, Danny Huston, Campbell Scott, Jeremy Irons, Terence Stamp, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Billy Crudup. All these guys have also made their mark in the industry and amongst filmgoers, but I feel they're not quite given the level of credit they deserve. Each has one definitive performance I feel strongly about, and each is a big plus when I'm considering watching a film.

If I were to single out one relatively new actor, though, it would be Clifton Collins Jr., who I was very pleasantly surprised to see in (the otherwise indistinguished) Sunshine Cleaning. He makes pretty much anything worth watching.

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Will Arnett.



Considering how frequently he stole the show on Arrested Development, I reckon it's a shame that the bulk of his roles are either supporting parts in hit movies (such as Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro or Monsters vs. Aliens) or lead roles in forgettable movies like Let's Go to Prison or The Brothers Solomon. Not to mention that he's got some good dramatic chops.

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Oh, and I forgot to second the above mention of Paddy Considine, whose performance in Dead Man's Shoes is monumental. Then he turns around a few years later and gives a pitch-perfect comic turn in Hot Fuzz; I could barely reconcile it with his chilling performance in Dead Man's Shoes. I really expect continued greatness from him.

Interesting you say that, because I've wondered if he could work as a dramatic lead. What roles of his best show his serious side? I've really only seen his comic roles (and you're right, he was fantastic on "Arrested Development"). There's just something about his look & demeanor (probably the voice, too) that make me picture him in something very straightforward and serious.