under-appreciated actors.
 

There are a few actors that I think are really under-appreciated in hollywood. They work their asses off and are pretty much the life of ever scene they're in, but none of your friends know them by name, and you rarely see them nominated for best supporting actor.

Here are a few actors I think aren't given enough credit in hollywood

William H. Macy - Should have won for Fargo, Door to Door, Magnolia and The Cooler, and everything else he's done in the last 10 years.

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Look at some of his movies and picture someone able to play the role better. Boogie nights, 25th hour, Magnolia. Ok, his character in Along came polly could have been played by jack black, but then it would have sucked.

John C. Reilly - This man knows how to choose roles. The good girl, Chicago, The Hours, The Perfect Storm, Gangs of New York, Magnolia, Boogie Nights. I think the roles were written specifically for him.

These movies aren't necessarily some of my favorite movies, but I can't say that there wasn't some damn fine acting in them. I do realize that all three of these actors were in Boogie Nights, and Magnolia. Obviously, Paul Thomas Anderson, the director of both films knows talent. It's sad that none of these 3 guys have ever won an oscar.

There are a few more actors that I think deserve more credit than their given but I won't say them because I don't want my rather large list to contaminate other's lists.

Hoffman was the first I thought of when I saw the thread title. He's been fantastic in everything I've seen him in. Two small budget films he starred in recently, Owning Mahoney and Love Liza, were as good as they were strictly because of him. I agree with William H. Macy and John C. Reilly too.

Some other favorites who are somewhat unappreciated:
Paul Giamatti
John Turturro
David Morse
J.T. Walsh (who, unfortunately, died a few years ago)
Steve Buscemi
Clancy Brown
Chris Cooper

William H. Macy is big on my list. I gotta add Christian Bale though. I mean, he's finally getting props on being in Batman Begins, but damn, that guy's too much of a fucking badass not to be in more shit.

Re: under-appreciated actors.
 

Agreed! Well...almost. I mean, he did do Mystery Men within the past 10 years. Not exactly a shining moment for him. Although, Janeane was rather fetching in it. Nah...not even that could save that film. Other than that...Macy has an extremely impressive body of work.

Agreed with Hoffman. I think that english actor Jason Statham, Jake Gyllenhall (excuse spelling) and John Cusak.

In the great words of Comic, Mr. J. London.

Thank you.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Steve Buscemi both get my vote. Incredible actors, yet always seem to be playing second fiddle.

Lets see...

John Lithgow - he's what keeping 3rd Rock from the Sun alive, but now dead...he's damn good in Shrek too.

thats all for now...my brain is fried for being so long in the sun...

I agree 100% on these two....I am totally in love with clancy brown

Sean Patrick Flannery

Just in case you didn't see it, then, make sure to check out Carnivale on HBO (1st season already ended a while back, but 2nd season should air this fall; you can download it from suprnova.org). Clancy Brown was great in it. Speaking of Carnivale, two other people were in it that I think could fit this topic:

Nick Stahl (In the Bedroom, Bully, Carnivale, Terminator 3)
Clea DuVall (one of my favorite actresses lately: 21 Grams, Identity, 13 Conversations About One Thing, Girl Interupted, The Laramie Project)

Willam Dafoe is somewhat underappriciated in my opinion.

Buscemi is one of my favorite actors, he can really make or break a movie (Armageddon), or just be damn good (Resevoir Dogs)

John C. McGinley is one of my favorite minor actors.
I also really like Keith David, who is in just about everything somehow.
And I think Willem Dafoe is spectacular.

Ironically, they are all in Platoon. Oliver Stone, you genius!

Ah, Jesus! How could I have forgotten Keith David! That guy's fuckin' awesome.

I want Keith David's voice, it's sooooo cool.

I also have to second John C. Reilly and John C. McGinley, both extremely talented guys

James Spader
Ed Norton Jr.
Tim Roth

I thought I'd update this thread since Phillip Seymour Hoffman finally won an oscar for Capote.

In my first post I listed some great actors, now I want to list people that are great presence on screen - they just haven't been given a chance to really shine.
The first is Michael Jeter. He was probably the best thing about Water World, and he helped make The Green Mile great. Sadly, He died 3 years ago, but I still enjoy everything I see him in.
Next up is David Morse. He's had some great roles in The Green Mile and The Rock along with many other small supporting roles.
Lastly, Will Patton. He's had some great roles in some not so great movies like Gone in 60 seconds, The Postman, and The Punisher.
Now, you may not see these guys in a movie trailer and say to yourself, "I gotta see that!" but watch some of the movies and I think you'll agree they don't get the credit they deserve.

It seems like every time I think about people to add to this list, they are closely connected to other people on the list.. Just a coincidence..