Some of today's greatest working actors seem perpetually ignored. Some actors have consistently provided critically-acclaimed performances throughout their careers, but have earned no acknowledgement of awards or still appear to be shunted into minor supporting parts in major blockbusters that do not do their talent justice.
So, in honor of those actors that are all too often overlooked, here are 5 of Hollywood’s most underrated female stars.
1) Tessa Thompson
It’s actually pretty amazing how quickly Tessa Thompson skyrocketed into everything. It seemed like overnight she showed up as the scene stealing Valkyrie in “Thor: Ragnarok,” and we all just kind of agreed that she has been and should be in everything from here on out. Thompson is one of those actors who delivered so well in her MCU debut that we didn’t even stop to think where we knew her from. We just accepted her with open arms and gave her the keys to kingdom do whatever she wanted. Rightfully so, because Thompson is a dynamite actor with incredible versatility and skill, transforming every single new role into something different than her previous one.
Of course, “Thor: Ragnarok” introduced Thompson to the world, but surprising no one, she had been low key crushing it for almost 10 years prior to that. Happily flying under the radar for the casual viewer but making sure she was noticed and nominated for awards by the industry, Thompson splashed onto the scene in 2006 and quite literally never looked back.
2) Letitia Wright
Wright is getting more attention nowadays thanks to her role as Shuri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie Black Panther. But she has the talent to secure even bigger and better roles. She first broke onto the scene in that captivating episode of anthology series Black Mirror called "Black Museum," and, before that, in the Steven Spielberg movie Ready Player One.
Since Black Panther, she reprised her role in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame and appeared in the Steve McQueen miniseries Small Axe. She brings a level of quality and depth to every performance.
3) McKenna Grace
She’s only 15 years old and has played the younger version of Margot Robbie, Kiernan Shipka, and even Brie Larson in various movies. She’s so poised and incredibly talented, but is still a kid and knows how to have fun. I don’t even know her, yet I feel proud of what she’s accomplished.
Gifted is such a perfect way to describe McKenna Grace. This little star is powerhouse actress with a strong and impressive body of work and a remarkably welcoming personality to match.
Even at a young age, she had already appeared on numerous TV Shows and movies. Known to many recently as, Penny Kirkman, the president’s daughter in the ABC’s hit TV series, “Designated Survivor”. Her movie, Gifted, where she stars opposite of Chris Evans, was widely appealing for its strong emotional content. The movie showed the versatility of this incredible young actress and how she depicted such an emotional role.
4) Toni Collette
Despite regular awards and nominations for her work across film, television and stage, Toni Collette is all too often left out of any discussions about the greatest actors working today.
Perhaps one of the reasons is that Collette blends so remarkably into each and every role she takes that even having seen a number of her movies, you might struggle to make the connection between her performances.
In spite of the fact that she’s seemingly overlooked because of her remarkable talent, the simple truth is that Collette deserves an awful lot more praise that she receives. In particular, her performance in supernatural horror Hereditary was nothing short of masterful, being able to bring so much unbridled rage to her role that she’s almost more disturbing than anything else in the movie.
5) Kristen Stewart
If you would've told a Twilight hater ten years ago where Kristen Stewart's career would end up today, they wouldn't believe it. Best known for a franchise worshipped by many a teen and loathed by most adults, Stewart endured a litany of complaints from critics not only of her on-screen presence, but her public persona as well.
Complex called her annoying. The Huffington Post called her grumpy. The Los Angeles Times called her awkward. No less than former screen mom Jodie Foster (in Panic Room) had to rally to her defense in the wake of her affair with Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders. Stewart seemed destined to be remembered as the Twilight actress with the bad reputation.
Then something spectacular happened: Stewart started fighting for her career. In the process, she became our most underrated movie star. Perhaps that's an exaggeration — do movie stars even exist anymore? But there's something undeniably magnetic about her. It's the kind of quality you can really only get out of a star.
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