Most Underrated Actor/Actress Ever?
 

To me it's Kirsten Dunst. She gets cast in a ton of romantic comedies, which she's exceptional in (Wimbledon, Get Over It to name a couple), but I don't think she gets as much acclaim or as many leading roles as I think she should.

Yes, there was Spiderman and Spiderman 2, but even there she was basically a plot point for Maguire.

I'd like to see her in some more expanded, other genre roles.

She wasn't terrible in Eternal Sunshine either.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Chris Cooper, currently at least, would be two of my picks.

Neither are as underrated as they once were, especially with Hoffman's award winning role in Capote(which Cooper was also in). But before Hoffman's role in that movie, both actors had only gotten supporting roles to show their great talents.

Hoffman is wayyy underrated.

Joan Cusack for women...

Gotta think of a guy that is underrated.

Yep, Cusack and Hoffman are two actors I think are best in class for todays market.

Her work in Interview with a Vampire is top notch.

Two Italians: Paul Giamatti and Giovanni Ribisi, and one Irish: John C. Reilly

Hoffman and Cooper are both great actors but you can't really call them underrated unless you're basing this on box office draw. They've both been critics' darlings for years. Cooper has won an oscar and Hoffman is currently nominated.

See, I think underrated and overrated in terms of roles given, making the most out of them(or not), and earning better roles(or not and getting better roles anyway). The way they have made the most out of what has been given to them, they should have been able to showcase their talents on a bigger stage to go beyond being the darlings of the critics and buffs. Hoffman at least got somewhat of a chance at the front of the stage with Capote, and the award will help with his noteriety. But even Capote was a pretty small release. These two guys could carry a motion picture that can play nationwide, but Capote and Adaptation are the closest they've gotten to that. The good news it that both do continue to get consistent good supporting work.

Excellent picks.

Hard to say about a guy who won two Academy Awards. But I have to go with Jack Lemmon. His equal facility with Comedy and Drama as well as his consistent appeal for decades were amazing.

Just think of the totally different but, both, amazing jobs he did in Mister Roberts and The China Syndrome for example.

I thought you did just pick a guy???


:D

William H. Macy (Excellent in any role, and very open to types of roles he takes) - Two interesting, yet completely different character-driven movies in which he excels are The Cooler and Mystery Men.

Burt Reynolds - I believe he had the chops to pull off any acting role he wanted when he was younger but didn't have the self-confidence. Now that he's older, he's really excelling and has become "under-rated" (Boogie Nights, Mystery Alaska).

Judy Greer - One of my favorite actresses has cut her teeth in comedy and drama. Still searching for a role to put her over the top, sadly, I don't believe Love Monkey will do it.

Regards,
Chas

I think Don Cheadle is one of the better actors out there, but not recognized as such.

I agree that Macy is outstanding, but I thought he was given due credit for being so. He's not a star because he chooses good scripts, not big movies, to act in.

John Turturro

"Ever" is a pretty long time.

He was nominated for an Oscar for leading performance last year, FWIW.

I agree he's quite solid though. Especially in Boogie Nights.


Anyway, as to my sugestions... maybe Parker Posey?

I know he was, but with little fanfare, and without most of America knowing who he was.

I HATE Parker Posey. She ruins every film she's in for me. To me she's the cinematic equivalent of fingernails being dragged across a blackboard. This is clearly an example of that taste thing, as I don't think she is a terrible actress per se, just something about her annoys the crap out of me, and I can't stand her onscreen.

John C. Reilly
Charles Durning

Totally agree on Chris Cooper. I'm also a big Turturro fan.

My favorite actress: Donna Murphy.

Daniel Day Lewis

He is one of the finest actors i've ever seen. He doesnt do many movies, isn't in the limelight, and isn't your typical hollywood star.

My Left Foot, where he played Christy Brown is amazing. Deserved the oscar for that. Gangs of New York, In the Name of the Father, The Boxer are good because of Lewis. Even the The Crucible, which isn't a great movie, shines because of Lewis' performance

Edit: Forgot to mention Last of the Mohicans. Amazing acting job.

I'm sure I'll catch a lot of crap for saying this, but I think Bruce Willis is a better actor than he's generally given credit for. Not the most underrated ever, but underrated.

I agree with that.

I'd have to go with Catherine Keener. Eventhough she now has two Oscar nominations, she still doesn't get lead roles, except for independent movies (like Lovely and Amazing). In big budget movies she's stuck in boring supporting roles like in The Interpreter. She deserves much better than that.

Another actor that has the same problem is Aaron Eckhart. His performance in In the Company of Men was incredible, but he gets stuck with worthless one dimensional supporting roles in big budget films.

My initial thought too.

I'm not sure I'd classify anybody named so far as that underrated ... many of those names thus far have been nominated for Oscars or have won some other significant award, which to me would not classify them as underrated. I mean, I think Don Cheadle is a tremendous actor, but the man has a Golden Globe and was nominated for Oscar last year.

I would favor someone who has never been nominated for a major award. One of my favorite actors right now is John McGinley, currently on Scrubs but perhaps better known to most from his roles in Office Space and Oliver Stone movies.

I think she had a pretty big role in "The 40 Year Old Virgin". :)

And she was terrific, but it's still not really a lead role, and I wouldn't necessarily classify that as a big budget film either.

What I mean is that she's good enough to be the "star" of a film. "Catherine Keener in _______" She deserves to be making as much as Cameron Diaz or Julia Roberts.

Charlie Sheen.

Kevin Kline - Has a great range of talent and I've enjoyed his work in most everything that he's been in.

I know he's not exactly lightly regarded, but I think Edward Norton would be my choice for the most underrated actor. As far as I'm concerned, I think he may be the best actor right now, period. I have not seen a movie with him yet where I thought he did a bad job.

John Malkovich would be in my list as well. And I don't think Steve Martin gets enough credit for his acting range either.

Dunst and Cusack are as good as I can think of as far as women go.

Jim Carrey... no seriously. Most people just don't know that he has acting range. Everyone didn't see "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" or "Man on the Moon" and think Carrey can only do Ace Ventura or Mask like juvenille silliness.

Good call

Oscar-winner Kevin Kline is underrated?

"Don't call me stupid!"

Jack Lemmon was amazing in Glengarry Glen Ross.

I would also nominate Jeff Bridges.

Second Daniel Day Lewis

Nominate Viggo Mortensen (although I can't stand his politics) and Hugh Jackman (sans Van Helsing)

I'm not sure where he is rated on over/under rated scale but I like Ed Norton.

For the ladies I only go by looks so acting is irrelevant.

I think Bruce Willis' acting is inversely proportional to the amount of hair on his head. When he's bald, he does a much better job of acting. The mustache he wears in that new movie "16 Blocks" is not a good sign.

That trailer reminded me of Die Hard 3.5 - Simon Says 16 More Blocks.

Interesting. I have the exact opposite reaction to Parker Posey. I can't stop watching a movie if she's in it. Even if she's playing an annoying, obnoxious character (e.g., Best of Show), I can't stop watching her. I don't think she is an amazing actress per se, just something about her fascinates me to no end, I can't get enough of her onscreen.

LMAO . . .

It's J-J-J-Jason C-C-C-Coming to C-C-C-Correct me!

;)

Agreed.

He was fantastic in Wanda.

Edit: Thinking about that scene always makes me laugh.

For actors, I'd go with John Reilly as well, and Barry Peppers.

So I'm not the only one who just thought they stole the plot from Die Hard 3.

John Glover

Eugene Levy and Steve Buschemi

Ugh. There have been maybe 2 movies in his acting history that I haven't just wanted to shoot Steve Buschemi so I'm going to have to disagree with the 2nd.

SI

Margaret Dumont. There are few things as difficult as playing the fool in a comedy Robert Osborne once remarked, and Dumont did it as well as anyone in movie history. She's the real 4th Marx brother as far as I'm concerned.