Most Underrated Actors
Post your list, here's mine.
Robin Williams- First off let's get this out of the way, I am NOT a fan of Robin Williams comedic roles... Although he is one HELLUVA a serious/dramatic actor. I mean he is WAY underutilized. I mean seriously, watch him in Insomnia, or One Hour Photo and try and tell me the guy is a bad actor. The man is AMAZING and one of my favorite actors of all time.
Will Ferrell- Although I've only seen one serious role he has done (Stranger Than Fiction) I thought he great in that and would love to see him take on more serious role like that... I honestly believe he has great talent as a serious actor. And whether you like his comedy or not (I love it) you can't deny that the man is an improv master.
Ariel Winter- You may know her as the younger sister in the sitcom Modern Family, now it may be a bit too early to call her underrated, it's obvious she has an amazing amount of talent, especially for her young age. It's shown a bit in the show but what really showed me how far she will hopefully go was watching her audition for the film Let Me In, (which sadly Chloe Mortez won the role...while a good actress, Ariel would've been a lot better) Try and find the interview on Youtube if you can and she simply blew away the audition. Making Chloe and the other girl (who was just terrible) look like kids just picked off the streets... Sadly she wasn't picked because the producers thought that Chloe would get the film more money after having recently appeared in Kick-Ass
Edward Norton- Yes I know he is very well known, but the issue is he is severely underutilized as an actor... I mean this guy has INCREDIBLE range, and can literally play any role. It's sad he isn't used as much as he should be. He's on my list of top favorite actors.
Kevin Spacey- The actor while well known (like Norton) I still consider underrated... I mean the guys is literally one of the most talented actors OF ALL TIME! But sadly I feel he is being severey underutilized as an actor... I mean he makes EVERY movie he is in, no matter how terrible it is at least somewhat bearable with his performance. I might even go as far as to consider him my favorite actor.
Brandon Routh- From watching him in the terrible Superman Returns, I honestly believed he actually showed some genuine acting talent, it was sad that the films script was so terrible that he never really got to show it... But then when he began playing the emotionally tortured rouge spy/villain Agent Shaw in Chuck I was insanely impressed and really enjoyed him in it. I also really liked him in Scott Pilgrim although it was a very small role.
Sam Rockwell- This guy is an AMAZING ACTOR! He has amazing range, and is simply one of the greatest actors of all time. He mainly only does Indie Drama films but he's been in a few mainstream movies such as The Green Mile, Galaxy Quest, and Iron Man 2. I honestly hope he gets more mainstream roles in the future as the guy is AMAZING! Also watch him in Moon. It's great, and simply shows how amazing he is as well as you will be watching a science fiction masterpiece.
I'll add more later.
I have a few character actors that I love to see in movies and whose careers I follow:
Jonathan Price, who appears in many of Terry Gilliam's movies, although he thrilled me most as Mr. Dark in "Something Wicked This Way Comes".
Gary Oldman, who disappears so completely into his roles that he's sometimes hard to recognize. He was wonderful as Dracula and I have some fondness for the one-dimensional villains he's played in recent years, but I loved him best in "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead".
Lili Taylor, who first caught my eye in "Say Anything". I even watched that horrible remake of "The Haunting" just because she was in it.
Tilda Swinton, goddess of the avant garde. Her performance in Sally Potter's "Orlando" is my favorite of any actress from any era.
I also like a couple of folks who always seem to get cast as mentally disturbed individuals-- Brad Dourif and Amanda Plummer.
Speaking of actors who always get cast as mentally ill people, I love Crispin Glover. He's best known as George McFly in the first Back to the Future film. I didn't really care for that film to be honest, so I didn't start paying attention to him until I saw Alice in Wonderland. After that I developed a fascination with him and started watching all the indie films he's been doing over the past 20 or so years such as Rubin & Ed, Willard, Bartleby, Simon Says, Drop Dead Sexy and River's Edge. He's pretty much a character actor, but it's a type of character I really enjoy, so I never get tired of him.
Oooh, plenty of people who could fit here. Here are just some I can think of.
Bill Hader- He was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Megamind, Hoodwinked 2, Night at the Museum 2, Adventureland, Ice Age 3, and was the lead role in Clody With a chance of Meatballs, but he is most famous for being in Saturday Night Live. He is clearly one of the most versattile cast members. He does fantastic impersonations, and has brilliant characters like Greg who may or may not be an alien, Stefon the crazy party goer, insulting Italian talk show host Vinny Vedecci, and more who I am not thinking of for some reason.
Fred Armisen- Also of Saturday Night Live. His characters include Native American Comedian Billy Smith, Garth or Garth and Kat, dancing Mexican talk show host Manuel Ortiz and Nicholas Fehn, an unfunny comedian. He's been in movies like Cop Out, The Rocker, Easy A, Confessions of a Shop-a-holic, and loads more. He's also going to be in The Smurfs (.....?)
Kristen Wiig- From.... SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. She was in Whip It, How to Train Your Dragon, Date Night, McGruber, Despicabe Me, and in SNL she plays Kat of Garth and Kat, Julie Grimes, a travel expert, Aunt Linda, a film reviewer, Penelope, athe attention seeker, Mindy Grayson in Secret Word, and too many more to name. She is the most versatile female cast member, and the show would be in deep trouble if they lost her.
Some more who I know less about: Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet (legendary duo), Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto (awesome as Spock in Star Trek and needs to get himself out there), Seth Meyers.
I like comedy.
ShenLong
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Sam Rockwell: He doesn't get much exposure or acclaim because he's mostly in indie films or playing goofy/crazy people in movies, but the guy is an amazing actor, showcased best in the movie Moon where he essentially talks to himself the whole film (Unless you count Kevin Spacey as the robot GERTY).
The whole movie Moon is on youtube! It's my favorite film of all time.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEb8VjwyiMU&feature=related[/youtube]
Hugh Jackman: I think Hugh is a spectacular actor, but he isn't in many serious films. He really knows how to act though as I found out by watching The Fountain.