Not sure if this has been discussed elsewhere. If so, I apologize for the redundancy.

For some reason I keep thinking that the following three actors are very talented, charismatic, recognized for that, but heavily underused (including apperaing in very bad films or bad roles, so I talk about both quantity and quality of the roles). By coincidence three British actors:

Tim Curry, Malcolm McDowell and Tim Roth. The former two are definitely completely excentric (to say the least), but now they are way past their prime and only appeared occasionally after one defining film role (The Rocky Horror Picture Show and A Clockwork Orange respectively) Tim Roth, still not exactly past his prime, is great (I think his turn in Reservoir Dogs is not representative of his talent, check for example The Hit to get to know him without bleeding and whining all the time). He seems to be playing mostly bit parts.

Anyone agree with me? Anyone wanting to add actors, actresses who are NOT underrated, but underused.

Vincent D'Onofrio
Toni Collette
Sam Rockwell

Absolutely!

I'd say Sam Rockwell but that's been covered.

Steve Zahn
Alan Tudyk
Summer Glau

Michael Rapaport
Jake Busey
Shane West
Erika Christensen

That's a great one. Zahn is a fine, chronically underappreciated actor that can add a layer of flavor to otherwise bland fare like Joy Ride. Very expressive, funny... should be huge.

Same here, I love him in films like Sahara, National Security, Strange Wilderness and Saving Silverman.

Jeff Goldblum

I think Ted Danson is sorta brilliant but he never seemed to make good movies when he travelled away from television.

I think Danny McBride will eventually see a nomination for Best Actor... it's a matter of time. The guy is incredible though not exactly "underused". Not used correctly, maybe. Or maybe correctly: his work on Eastbound & Down is wonderful.

Great pick! He was awesome in The Fly. He was awesome in Jurassik Park (and after a leg injury - to write him out of the story - his character virtually disapeared from the movie WTF?) - and then he made a lot of crappy movies and bit parts. BTW: haven't seen Adam Resurrected. Seems it is only between "meh!" and so-so. He deserved a much better carreer. I like the delivery of his lines, it sounds as if he is always improvising.

Idris Elba
Andre Royo
JD Williams
Jamie Hector
Gbenga Akinnagbe
Pablo Schreiber

Yeah.

The interesting thing about Zahn is that his background is more dramatic in training--he just happens to be very gifted at comedy, and thus has mostly been cast in more humorous roles.

Definitely shows in Rescue Dawn. He was amazing in that one.

All of them X 10. Although, Elba seems to be getting pretty big these days because he's such a handsome fella.

As a side note, I often just randomly spout the name, "Nicky Sobotka" because I think it sounds so cool.

As another side note, since I live around DC, I get some of the Baltimore radio stations when I'm driving in certain areas. You'll often hear the hosts complaining about how the only thing people know about Baltimore is The Wire and how that isn't an accurate representation of the city. Well, I lived about 10 minutes outside of Baltimore for 2 years and spent my fair share of time in that city, and let me tell you, it's accurate. Baltimore fucking sucks.

I once read a book called "The Fifty Absolute Worst Places to Live in America" and wouldn't you know it? Baltimore was near the top of the list, form the description in the book is sounds like a real shithole of a city, and ir apparently has an even higher murder rate then Detroit.

I don't doubt it. It's a pretty awful city. Murder, drugs, AIDS, you name it, Baltimore has it. And a lot of it.

Since seeing him more frequently in (S1) of Eastbound & Down and the recent Winter's Bone has reminded me what a good actor John Hawkes is. You may remember him from the outstanding cold opening of From Dusk Til Dawn -- Hawkes is a an actor that is sometimes cast as "White Trash Guy" which I suppose fits his look but he's better than the box he's been put into. His lead in Me and You and Everyone We Know was one of the many excellent things in that movie.

Agree wholeheartedly here, my friend. Excellent choice. Also of note was his role in HBO's Deadwood.



I agree, but Elba needs (and as we know, can handle) roles where is he isn't co-starring with Beyonce or Chris Brown or doing a Tyler Perry movie. His time will come.

I agree about Nicky Sobotka being one of the series's best names. They really did name everyone quite wonderfully.

I mean, I gush about the Wire all the time, but seriously now: you could make a very convincing case that the 10 best characters EVER on TV all came from that show. If you heard that David Simon was making a spinoff show featuring any of the minor players, you'd jump on. I'd give a significant portion of my income to see a 4-hour update on character's lives every year for all eternity: seriously, don't we deserve to know where Bubbles's road ends? Among many other things? Of course that won't and shouldn't happen, because the show in totality is perfection that cannot and will not be improved on.

HBO programming is so far-and-away superior to the majority of what can be found in the multiplex that I would just as soon forsake mainstream fare altogether if I had the option of 5 or so more HBO series to work through. AMC is catching up with them, too... cable TV is the place to go for quality.

Great choice. His performance in Winter's Bone was a real revelation because it was so different to any performance I've seen from him. His entire intonation was completely altered. The intense character he created couldn't be further removed from his character from the aforementioned Me and You and Everyone We Know.

I submit Ewen Bremner for the thread. He's been memorable in every picture I've seen him in and clearly deserves more work.