bruce willis is actually close to great, in my book.
David Arquette was brilliant in The Grey Zone. I don’t know if I’d say he’s incredibly underrated, as he hasn’t done all that much yet, but he definitely needs to do more serious work, because he was fantastic.
Steve Buscemi was also great in that, but he always is.
Ed Harris is my pick
I just wanted to pop in and add Ralph Fiennes, most commonly remembered as the Nazi commandant in Schindler’s List or the burn victim from The English Patient, but every time I see him in a film (which most recently was Red Dragon), he impresses me with an outstanding performance.
I also need to throw in the name of one of my favorite character actors working today: Paul Giamatti. I first saw him as “Pig Vomit” in Private Parts and thought was was great. Since then, every time I catch his name in the credits, I’m fairly confident there’ll be at least one good scene in the film.
I thought I saw Adam Goldberg’s name already on the list, so I’ll add Saving Private Ryan co-star Giovanni Ribisi.
And my take on Edward Norton being under-rated, as has been said, he’s on many people’s favorite actor list and is considered by many one of the best talents of his generation. (Or am I the only one who read the reviews for The Score when they were touting the wealth of acting talent of Norton, DeNiro, and Brando all in the same film?)
And whether or not he’s considered under- or over-rated as far as talent goes, I wouldn’t mind seeing King of the B-Movies Bruce Campbell get some decent roles.
As for actresses, where did Minnie Driver go?
Gary Oldman has played two of my favorite villains of all time (Zorg in 5th Element and blah in The Professional). I really think he is being underused, but I was excited to hear he will be in the next Harry Potter movie.
I keep waiting for Ashley Judd to get a role that really demands something of her. After seeing her in Ruby in Paradise, I’ve thought that she is an Oscar-winner waiting to happen.
I’m also a Clancy Brown fan – although I haven’t considered his acting abilities. I just like him.
Claudia Black and Ben Browder from Farscape.
Amazing talent.
Tony Shalhoub is excellent, along with Steve Buscemi.
I have to say that **Kathy Bates ** just eats up scenery and is so grossly underused.
French Stewart and **Joseph Gorden Whatever ** from 3rd Rock ( actually, the entire cast was simply outstanding and grossly underrated as a program, IMHO.)
**Kiefer Sutherland ** has finally found his niche in the business, it seems, and I am glad. He just strikes me with the right amount of menance.
I would add another Office Space actor - Gary Cole. I haven’t seen the most recent movies he’s been in, but he really seems to become his characters, like Lumbergh. Perfect as Mike Brady in the Brady Bunch movies, and excellent as Sheriff Buck on TV’s American Gothic.
I’d add Ron Perlman - you know, the guy with the face. He was in *Blade II, Alien: Resurrection, Enemy at the Gates, Name of the Rose{/i]. Because of his rather… unusual features, he tends to work under a lot of makeup.
Anyway, he’s a fine actor, with terrific screen presence and a great voice. I think we’d see him a lot more if his looks were more conventional.
Jeff Bridges
John Turturro
Chris Cooper
Gary Oldman
Gary Sinise
Ralph Fiennes
John Malkovich_
oh, i forgot gabriel byrne.
a second on john malkovich and gary oldman.
Have you seen him in Breaker Morant? Great movie.
I think that many of the people mentioned so far are not really “underrated.” I really can’t buy the argument that people like Edward Norton, Jeff Bridges, Kurt Russell, Matt Damon, etc. get “no recognition,” which was one of the OP’s main criteria.
But whatever. Here’s a list, for what it’s worth. On a different day, i might come up with a different list, but these people are perennially among my favourites.
Men:
William H. Macy
Willem Dafoe
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
John Turturro
Ray Winstone
Guy Pearce
Charles “Bud” Tingwell
(my Aussie background betrays itself in these last two choices)
A new one on me: Brendan Fraser
I know Fraser is a big star, but he was something of a recent revelation to me. I’d always thought of him as one of those mediocre comic actors who just ends up in movies like “Bedazzled,” “The Mummy,” and “George of the Jungle.” But i recently saw him in “The Quiet American” and “Gods and Monsters,” and was extremely impressed.
Women:
Angela Basset
Frances McDormand (probably my favourite actress)
Holly Hunter
Laura Linney
Victoria Abril
Toni Collette
Judy Davis
(another two Australians on the end of the list!)
Since John C. Reilly is finally getting the accolades he deserves, I’ll go with David Strathairn, even though I haven’t seen him in anything since L.A. Confidential. He plays greasy so well that I can feel my arteries clogging just watching him.
Another David, British actor David Thewlis, was outsanding in Mike Leigh’s Naked. Terribly underrated.
Another vote for Steve Buscemi (He kicked my ass in Reservoir Dogs).
Also:
Samuel L. Jackson
John Cusack
Matthew Modine
I’d like to add another vote for Edward Norton.
Another vote for Paul Giamatti, who was wonderful in (oh, please don’t hurt me people – no, wait, this isn’t Fametracker, I may live) “Duets.”
Another vote for Sam Neill, who I developed a major crush on after he played the title role in the miniseries “Merlin,” which I thought was really cool.
I third Brian Brown. Good call, Zenster!
There are a lot of names on this list who have been nominated – and even won – Academy Awards. Shouldn’t they be more or less disqualified from consideration for “underrated”?
What? No one’s mentioned John Goodman? I think he perfectly fits the criteria as a “big-time” actor who never gets enough recognition. I had thought he was just another sitcom actor or whatever until I actually began watching him in his movies. The man’s got talent. I’ve heard critics say things like “John Goodman turns in another fine performance,” but he’s never been honored (as far as I know) with an Oscar nod or has been hailed as “one of the great actors of our time.”
Pretty good call here. You are correct that Goodman’s never been nominated for an Oscar.
Goodman was nominated for nine Emmys: seven for Roseanne, two for television movies. He never took home an Emmy.
He’s also been nominated for five Golden Globes, including a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Barton Fink. Goodman did manage to win a Golden Globe in 1993 for his role on Roseanne.