Out of the countless actors working in Hollywood to bring stories to life for our entertainment, it’s fair to say that there’s a great many that deserve more recognition than they get.
Whether it’s impressive work ethic, detailed insights, or the simple ability to act, there’s far too much that gets lost in translation before the finished products reach our screens.
So, in honour of those actors that are all too often overlooked, here are 5 of Hollywood’s most underrated male stars.
1) Sebastian Stan
Sebastian Stan deserves more credit. He's so much more than a pretty face. He can say more with his facial expressions and body language than most actors can say with an entire monologue. He’s done an amazing job as the Winter Soldier, considering that the character hardly ever talks. You can see how he portrays his emotions through his subtle body language.
His filmography is unblemished, and he has starred in critically-acclaimed movies like Rachel Getting Married and Black Swan. But most of all, he played lowlife Jeff Gillooly in the hit I, Tonya (2017), for which he was awarded the Hollywood Film Award for Ensemble of the Year. He was nominated for the Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble as well as the Indiana Film Journalists Association Award for Best Supporting Actor. You'd think his role would've made him a big star, but it didn't. I’m not sure why Sebastian Stan is still living under the radar given that he's starred in all of the Captain America movies, including Avengers: Infinity War. For reasons I don't get, he's not considered a heavyweight with major star power the way his co-stars are. Sure, he is a Marvel star, so his name seemingly is plastered everywhere, but that doesn't mean he gets the respect he deserves. His performance in I, Tonya was overlooked by a mile, as are most of his performances in his smaller indie movies.
2) Cillian Murphy
I never used to think much of this dude. Yeah, sure, he could play a convincing villain—I enjoyed his performances in Batman Begins and Redeye—but it wasn’t until I started watching Peaky Blinders that I realized he could play an extremely sympathetic antihero as well. (And that’s tricky.) The amount of acting Murphy can do with his eyes alone is simply fantastic. Lately I’ve found myself actually holding my breath waiting to see what the characters he plays are going to do next.
Cillian Murphy, born in Ireland, is a wickedly underrated actor. He has appeared in a litany of excellent films that span multiple genres; he broke out in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (2002), and would late reunite with the director to deliver his best performance in Sunshine (2007), the highly underrated science fiction drama. He’s also worked extensively with Christopher Nolan, starring in his acclaimed Batman trilogy as Jonathon Crane, the Scarecrow, and again in Inception (2010) as Robert Fischer, the target of the titular mental process.
He is not scared to play complex and challenging roles, especially characters such as the transgender in Breakfast On Pluto or the female dissociative personality ‘Emma’ in Peacock.
Cillian Murphy is one of those guys that’s just too talented. A frequent appearance in Nolan’s films, this guy is usually relegated to secondary roles, when he must be getting the lead more often than not. His run as Tom in Peaky Blinders was a well-deserved lead, but for us, it’s not enough. He needs more roles like that one where he can show his talents and have the stardom he deserves.
3) Anthony Mackie
The Juilliard grad has proven several times that his dramatic acting chops are top notch yet despite appearing in a diverse range of films, most people still just associate him with Spike Lee’s 'She Hate Me.' Sebastian Stan spoke highly of Mackie during a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“Look, I think Anthony deserves a lot of credit here because one of the things that I think makes—one of the things I love about him, that I feel makes him a really great leader is he can read a room very well,” Stan said. “And he can read people very well. And I think he had a much better hand on the temperature of the show than I did.”
Anthony Mackie rose to prominence with powerful turns on the New York stage in acclaimed productions like "Up Against the Wind" and "Talk." His performances eventually brought him to Hollywood, where he impressed in his debut as a formidable foe to Eminem in "8 Mile" (2002). Mackie soon graduated to supporting roles and the occasional lead for major directors like Spike Lee with "She Hate Me" (2004) and Clint Eastwood with "Million Dollar Baby" (2005), while maintaining an interest in independent product like "Half Nelson" (2005) and "The Hurt Locker" (2008). The depth and strength of his talents in these projects and many others, including the much-anticipated Notorious B.I.G. biopic "Notorious" (2009) signified that Mackie was among the best actors working in film and stage in the early millennium. His move into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Falcon in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014) and "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015) solidified his position as one of Hollywood's most well-rounded actors.
4) Oscar Isaac
Isaac’s career mostly seems to follow an “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” kind of trajectory as the Guatemalan American heartthrob rarely finds himself as a leading man. His lack of starring roles is a damn shame, however, because the ease with which he navigates his plethora of talents—innate charisma, musical gifts, comedic timing and dramatic depth—result in the actor stealing any scene he appears in. Beyond being "the Internet's boyfriend," Oscar Isaac is a performer who you can't help but be fascinated by. Every performance feels special and unique -- the work of an artist honing and refining his craft. There are no two performances that are ever alike, even if they're part of the same franchise.
One of his most colourful performances ever can be found in Zack Snyder's candy-coloured, nearly incomprehensible "Sucker Punch," a kind of Alice in Wonderland by way of comic books, Japanese animated films, and whatever pervy obsession was crossing Snyder's mind at the time. Isaac plays an administrator at a home for wayward girls who, in the movie's glossy alternate reality, serves as a pimp/nightclub owner. Isaac is clearly going for high camp and it's a testament to his abilities as a performer that even his attempts at kitsch come across as earnest.
5) Jonah Hill
I say it without reservation when I say that Jonah Hill is a brilliant actor, and where conversations are being had about range, his name needs to be brought in more often. Hill’s first leading role was in 2007 where he played Seth in Judd Apatow’s raunchy comedy, Superbad, for which he garnered multiple positive reviews for his performance. From there, Hill went on to star in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, Moneyball, 21 Jump Street (and sequel, 22 Jump Street), The Wolf of Wall Street, Hail Caesar!, War Dogs, and more recently, Maniac.
Jonah Hill has been all over the place in the last 10 years. He's lost weight, gained weight, he's broken free from being typecasted and has matured in a way most of us couldn't have predicted. He's proven to me that he is a versatile actor, he can be unique in performance and really become what he's casted for. That's impressive to me. What's most impressive; he went from stupid stoner flicks and shitty comedies with his buddies to actually making something of himself. Don't get me wrong, he's a funny guy, Superbad was hilarious. I just think he's worthy of praise for how far he's come. If any of you still haven't seen Maniac on Netflix, the show he's in with Emma Stone. I highly recommend giving it a watch on your free time.
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