5 Underrated Actors Who Don’t Get Enough Credit

Sure, you've got your Brad Pitts, your Robert Downey Jrs, your Johnny Depps. And yeah, there's that chameleon-woman Meryl Streep, the wonderful Helen Mirren, and the now-everywhere Jennifer Lawrence rounding it out on the female side. So what do all these players have in common? Well, they're stars. They're the best of the best. They sell tickets. And though we appreciate the great performances they've given over the years, sometimes the big stars just get too much credit. What about the other people acting in the movies? The people who you just kind of accept are there time after time. What's the big deal, you ask? That's their job, right? They're not supposed to overshadow the stars, you say? Well, a lot of these second players still manage to get their dues: Paul Giamatti, Steve Buscemi, Michael Shannon... everyone loves those guys despite the fact that they rarely take the leading roles in big pictures. But so many actors remain vastly unappreciated - so much so that if these guys disappeared into thin air, things just wouldn't be the same. We're not saying we should throw Oscars and Golden Globes at them 'til their heads get so big they set themselves upon impromptu rap careers... we just want to say thanks. In our minds, here are 5 underrated actors who don't get enough credit for their fine work. Continue reading on the next page... 5) Mark Ruffalo Mark Ruffalo reeks of raw likeablity, so much so that it's easy to take his performances for granted. Unlike many on this list, Ruffalo has been nominated for his fair share of major awards (including an Oscar, which he lost to Christian Bale), but has never picked one up. Ruffalo always brings a life and a vibrancy to his characters, be it as Leonardo DiCaprio's sidekick in Shutter Island (a difficult part perfectly realised), or through the neurotic mannerisms he uses to nail Bruce Banner with in The Avengers. As it stands, Ruffalo doesn't hold much cultural significance and isn't very well-known amongst wide audiences. A misdemeanor for sure, considering how great an actor he is. A truly underrated performer, let's hope future Avengers movies bring him a touch more virtue. Continue reading on the next page... 4) Giovanni Ribisi Still probably best-known as Phoebe's goofy brother in Friends (those reruns will kill you, huh?), Giovanni Ribisi has been putting in consecutively excellent performances since 1997's Saving Private Ryan, where he played medic Wade. Despite the fact that he's been good in everything, Ribisi has never been nominated for a major award. And he's an extremely unselfish actor, completely lacking an ego and willing to play each part the way it works best. Take Lost In Translation, for example, in which he plays Scarlett Johansson's vacant but well-meaning husband. It's such a natural performance that it's easy to overlook, but Ribisi nails it, making John a human being - despite the fact he only appears on screen for less than 15 minutes. Continue reading on the next page... 3) John C. Reilly John C. Reilly is a rare case in Hollywood, a versatile actor who can flit effortlessly between extremely broad, over-the-top comedy performances, and roles in serious dramas. Reilly himself has made a conscious decision to mix it up throughout the course of his career (as showcased in this brilliant song at the 79th Oscars), though it's easy to mistake him for a simple gag man. As Jim Kurring in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, Reilly showed us an intense and vulnerable character, though he failed to be nominated for any solo awards. Recently, in Roman Polanski's Carnage, he held his own against three Academy Award-winners (Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster). Reilly's big frame and bulldog-looks make him perfect for comedy, but his dramatic turns remain vastly underrated. Continue reading on the next page... 2) John Hawkes John Hawkes has been popping up in movies since the eighties, usually employed to appropriately chew the scenery (From Dusk Till Dawn) or to play quiet, broody types - truly an actor who can work at both ends of the spectrum comfortably. But along the way, despite the fact that he remains little-known, Hawkes has proven himself something of a scene-stealer. An intelligent, grateful and humble person in real life, Hawkes regularly incorporates those traits into his performances, granting every role a touch of class and honor (even when he's playing the bad guy). Hawkes was recently nominated for an Oscar for his amazing work in Winters Bone, which may have done well to raise his profile. The Sessions, and Lincoln, two pictures which Hawkes has appeared in recently, might well make him a star. Fingers crossed, John. You deserve it. Continue reading on the next page... 1) Anna Faris Anna Faris is fearless. She's an utterly selfless performer, too, a smart and brilliant comic actor willing to go to whatever lengths to earn her paycheck (and get the laughs): nope, you'll never catch Anna Faris giving any less than 100% no matter how low-brow the material. Point is, the woman is hilarious, somebody who regularly goes toe to toe with her male equivalents and comes out on top. And though Faris often plays characters whose key traits include dimness or air-headedness, she still manages to make these characters wholly likeable. There are several performances which highlight Faris as an actor of real talent: take Lost In Translation, where Faris assumes the role of a vacant movie-star, cleverly subverting an audience's expectations of what she might be like in real life by knowingly throwing herself into the clueless character. Ultimately, Faris has rarely been given the chance to play outside of broad comedy flicks, but we think she's more than capable of going up against the big guns: after all, she's a genuine star. Do you agree or disagree with these choices? Which actors do you consider to be underrated and deserving of a bit more attention? Feel free to let us know what you think in the comment section below.