Sun Tzu

I was having a discussion with a friend of mine and she posed a question that I really couldn’t answer. So I thought this thread would generate some thoughts that are evading me at the moment. It’s an easy task to name some of the greats: Pacino, Nicholson, Deniro, etc. Some of my personal favorites are Gary Oldman, Denzel Washington, and Liam Neeson. Who do you think is a great actor, but hasn’t received the recognition you feel they deserve?

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spectre

I agree that Gary Oldman, Denzel Washington, and Liam Neeson are all great actors, but I think that they all have been recognized a good amount. Probably not as much as they should be, but they are still pretty well known, especially for how great they are as actors.

Andre Braugher. Incredible actor who deserved bigger roles than he received. He was great on Homicide: Life on the Street, but I expected him to have better roles than he's had recently.

And call me crazy on this one, but I think at some point Will Ferrell will be similar (probably not at the same level, but close) to Tom Hanks and Robin WIlliams. Going from being known strictly as a great comedic actor to being recognized for his ability in dramatic roles.

I would've put Steve Carell in the same category as Ferrell, but I think he's on the verge of being seen that way right now anyway.

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analog

I third the mention for Gary Oldman. Great actor.

I also agree that, at some point, Will Ferrell will be truly great. He needs to do more Stranger Than Fiction and less Blades of Glory, though. lol

Grasshopper Green

Peter Saarsgard. I love him in almost everything he's been in.

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Fotzlid

William Macy
Luis Guzman
Paul Giamatti

Baraka_Guru

Daniel Day Lewis, Sean Bean, & John Cusack


I think, though, this might have something to do with the roles they choose. I blame their agents. Maybe they have the same one.

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Fotzlid

...forgot about Cusack...

Sun Tzu

I agree. I wasnt clear on what I was trying to say. Oldman, Neeson, and Denzel with his Oscar are all definately recognized. That's where I was having difficulty. I was trying to think of bad movies that had great acting in them. Otherwise if crappy acting contributed to a movie being bad then its no mystery why they havent been recgonized.

The Oscars dont seem to like Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise. I admit they are a couple of guys that would be hard for any comic to impersonate becasue like Affleck their presence seems stale. However Cruise did do a couple of roles I thought he did better than the rest: Last of the Samuri and Born on the 4th July. I still dont consider him to be under rated.

I heard something about Bill Murray doing a serious role that alot of people said he should have won an Oscar over, but I havent seen it.

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squeeeb

John C. McGinley - the cockbite in platoon, the fbi agent in point break (swayze and neo, oooh) the suit in office space, and the hilarious dr cox on scrubs.

are you talking about the razor's edge? an old movie, based off the somerset maugham book, serious role, excellent.

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Baraka_Guru

It was Lost in Translation. God, I forgot about ol' Bill. He's possibly my favourite actor, especially when you take into consideration what he's done lately.

Seriously, someone give that man an Oscar already.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Plan9

Bill Murray in Broken Flowers? Flawless.

...

I'll toss my Kurt Russell hat in the circle.

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Fotzlid

Snake Plisskin

how about actresses?

cheetahtank2

Stranger than fiction kind of sucked though. It had an interesting idea and decent enough plot it just seemed to move very slow for me and was a bit dull in some portions not a well-rounded movie.

Also about the actors how about Jeremy Irons?

Plan9

I second Jeremy Irons. He's an amazing actor and his voice alone should be preserved for future generations.

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Martian

Thirded. Jeremy Irons is better than 90% of the roles he's cast in.

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cheetahtank2

Im glad to see some fellow Jeremy Irons fans. Although, I have to say I felt a bit ashamed that he was Eragon.

Halx

How long until we name every actor in hollywood? That's how these threads always turn out. They start out with boundaries and then just involve your favorites, and then eventually people list a bunch of honorable mentions. And oh hey, almost forgot.. this guy too.

With that said, I wish Will Farrell will drop the shitty "comedy" movies he does and start doing serious roles. He's got a chance to take over what Jim Carrey was only able to dabble in. Intelligent comedy. As stated, Stranger Than Fiction was GREAT!

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Plan9

C'mon, even us, the unwashed masses of moviedom, have some standards.

You'll never see Jean-Claude Van Damme OR Steven Seagal in this thread.

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cheetahtank2

I like your hat Hal but im going to have to disagree with you Stranger Than Fiction was in no way Great or really that good at all it was pretty mediocre. In my opinion anyway.

Plan9

I've found that posting reasons for your opinions make the TFP happierish.

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cheetahtank2

Haha agreed sorry about that I posted my reasons earlier in this thread.

Willravel

I dunno if I see any names in here that are actually underrated. Most of them have a great deal of acclaim.

Underrated?
How about supermodel Adriana Lima, as seen in the short film "The Follow"? Or maybe Emelio Estavez's work on "Bobby".
Patton Oswalt and Zach Zilafanakis in the "Comedians of Comedy" were some of the most creative comedians I've ever seen.

cheetahtank2

When i hear great actors mentioned I can say honestly only once have I ever heard Jeremy Irons he does not get a great deal of acclaim.

Plan9

Whoa... her mouth opens?

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cheetahtank2

YES! finally the truth is told haha great one crompsin great one

jewels

John Turturro, John Cusack, Jeff Bridges, Bill Paxton - off the top of my head.

Don't forget the ladies: Laura Dern, Madeleine Stowe, Geena Davis.

Charlatan

Jeff Bridges is one of the greatest living actors... I wouldn't suggest that he is underrated at all (he just doesn't make it into tabloids).

I totally agree with Paxton and Turturro.

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ironman

Jean Claude Van Dam and Steven Seagal

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Hain

John Lithgow - highly underrated since he has played damned near every character there is.

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Tophat665

Oliver Platt. Fine comic actor. His execution of Porthos in the Three Musketeers was flaweless, and his portrayal of the White house counsel in the West wing was astoundingly good - deadpan, but good. I think he is limited by the writing, though - he'll nail whatever part he gets, and if it's poorly written (Executive Decision) then having him in the role will highlight the bad writing.

Here's a truly underrated actor: Keanu Reeves. Not that he's great, or even particularly good, but he's not wretched, which seems to be the prevailing wisdom. When he phones it in (Point Break) he's amusing in his ineptitude, but when he's on (Bill & Ted, Much Ado About Nothing) he verges on quite good.

Arnold Schwartzenegger. Who'd'a thunk he had the skillz to play a convincing Governor?

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MzNadia

I LOVE John Cusack.

I'm also adding Morgan Freeman.

Derwood

Brad Pitt

JustJess

Brendan Fraser.

That's right, I said it. The guy who was in George of the Jungle and Bedazzled. And oh gods, Monkeybone. (sigh)

But he was also in School Ties and Gods and Monsters. And he was great. Plus, he did a fine job with the Mummy movies - very charming and all that. I know he's well known, but not for being a good actor. Let's get this man some decent roles! I heard he was filming Inkheart.. I hope it's true and I hope it doesn't suck.

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Tophat665

Don't forget Encino Man.

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Sun Tzu

Maybe if the element of "should have received an Oscar, but wasnt even nominated"- might have put a filter on it.

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squeeeb

Zach Galifianakis - excellent in his bit part in "bubble boy"

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Nikilidstrom

the "how far will this get me" gag had me rolling

My 2 cents for this topic would be Rutger Hauer. While his roles have been absolutely horrid for 2 decades now, his performances in both Blade Runner and The Hitcher are two of my favorites of all time. For whatever reason he completely fell apart after the 80s, but hes got the chops to hang with the best.

Also, although I don't know how underated he is, Daniel Day Lewis' performance in Gangs of New York was the single best performance I have ever seen, bar none.

something red

As far as being underrated goes, I'd venture to say that Jeff Daniels belongs on the list. His work in films such as The Squid and the Whale show that he has serious acting ability.

I'd also say Danny Huston will soon be getting his due. His character work in Birth and other recent films has been outstanding.

John Goodman and Terrence Stamp are also very good but not used very much.

guy44

Agreed, especially with Danny Huston. He was great in a short bit in Children of Men, and his detective act in Silver City was wonderfully understated.

In fact, I have a real admiration for the great character actors. I think they are almost always the most underrated thespians out there. Stephen Root, for example, has done great comedy and drama work. He's in just about everything, but rarely gets the kinds of accolades he deserves. Along those lines, J.K. Simmons, of Ladykillers, Spider-Man I, II, and III, Juno, Law & Order, The Closer, etc., has always been excellent. I have yet to see him do a bad job, and his range is out of this world.

On the female side of things, Maria Bello has always been a favorite of mine. She pulls off a kind of classy, intelligent beauty that almost no actresses are willing to try for. Kind of like Jody Foster, she never hides her intelligence for even one moment on screen.

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Tophat665

Terence Stamp was utterly superb in Priscilla Queen of the desert. Everyone in that movie was great, but to go from Zod to a transsexual is some range, there.

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