I was wondering who people think are under rated actors, I know there may be a lot of over rated, but I think there are even some big Hollywood stars that are seen not as actors, but just big names.

The first one that comes to mind is Bruce Willis, he has given several good performances, I think he deserved and Oscar for both The 6th sense and Unbreakable, I think most just see him as John McClain, but even that character is very well acted, yes he has made shit movies, in fact he was in the worst movie of all time (north), but I don't think he is a hack, like I think a lot of people do.

Another one is Kevin Bacon, he is great as a villain and as a hero, he gave a great performance in Stir of echos and the woodsman.  But he never gets big leads, I think that's a shame cause he's got talent.

Eddie Murphy has mad A LOT of crap, but when he's hot there is nobody better at comedy, do you think any other actor could pull of the nutty professor, I don't think even Robin Williams could.

Michael Keaton is also great at comedy and drama, plus he owns BATMAN.

Mickey Rourke I think is an amazing actor, he is the best at scruff, and I don't think he has given a bad performance, not even in shit movies.

Robin Williams - I think most still see him as the wacky comedy guy, but I think he's given some really good performances. Insomnia, One Hour Photo, Hook, and Good Will Hunting to name a few. His new one the Night Listener looks like it could be great too.

Edward Norton - great in Primal Fear and American History X

Jim Carrey - Great in Eternal Sunshine and Man on the Moon. He's also in two of my favorite comedies

Others off the top of my head, Tim Robbins doesn't get as many big roles as I think he deserves, John and Joan Cusack, Ben Foster I think will be great.

Quoted from Steve-Dave Ben Foster I think will be great.

I agree, he was very frightening in Hostage, his Trent reznor type of villain was scary as hell, plus he can do comedy.

He was totally wasted in X-3, I was kinda disappointed there.  I look forward to his future projects.

I also think Sean Austin is great, I mean he RULED return of the king, he was so good there, I know most think of him as Mikey from the Goonies, but his Sam was my favorite character in the LOTR trilogy.

Quoted from The boy who could fly I agree, he was very frightening in Hostage, his Trent reznor type of villain was scary as hell, plus he can do comedy. He was totally wasted in X-3, I was kinda disappointed there.  I look forward to his future projects.

Wow, I didn't know he was in Hostage. I haven't seen that yet, though I want to. I'll get around to it eventually. X-3 I agree, he only had like two lines of dialogue, not much to display his talent. I thought he was great in Bang Bang You're dead, which I'm sure very few have seen and he was good in 11:14.

I also can't believe I forgot to mention Clive Owen. PHENOMINAL in Closer and great in Sin City. He's probably my favorite actor right now.

I think Christian Bale is one of the most underrated actors today.

He's probably the most talented actor I've seen for a very long time, much like Johnny Depp to me (except he's huge), every character he does for each of his films is so different.

This is a Trivia part to his page on the IMDb: "He has an uncanny ear for accents - he has used a different accent for each of his films to date."

I think that's pretty good and he I haven't seen him in a film yet that hasn't made me think "That deserves an Oscar... or at least some prestigious award for acting".

Paulie Shore one of my favorite actors is very under rated. He puts on a good show as In the Army Now, Son - In - Law. Encino Man. Also Edward Norton is Fight Club and Rounders was awesome Edward is under rated all the time.

Ryan Gosling. He was in the "Slaughter Rule", which is one of my all time favorite films. He was also good in "The Believer".

After he did that box office hit "The Notebook", I thought his career was about to take off big time, it hasn't, yet, but he has a bunch of films coming out in the next year or so.

Shawnee Smith ahs starred in Saw and did a great performance in the otehrwise average Saw 2.  She was in Becker....

My first choice for actor would be Peter Krause. Six Feet Under and We Don't Live Here Anymore show just how dynamic this man could be.

Second choice would be Brian Cox. He's been in a lot of movies, but my favorite performance would be in The Boxer, as a conflicted IRA commander torn between his duty to the cause and his love for his daughter and desire for her happiness. As good as DD Lewis is, Cox carries that film.

For Actress, my first choice would be Laura Linney - critically acclaimed, but not with the type of credit she deserves. The fact that Julia Roberts took home the oscar Linney deserved is still a tragedy Hollywood should be ashamed of.

Second choice, Anna Pacquin. When she's not doing Marvel Comics crap, her turns in Buffalo Soldiers and Almost Famous show a type of grace rarely seen anymore.

Peter Sargaard is one of the most underrated actors out there.

He's done  Jarhead, Skeleton Key, and Boys Don't Cry. All of which he plays completely different people. That something some of these big time actors can never pull off. They act the same in every movie the play. This guy's different.

the one that comes to mind is Michael Biehn ...why isnt this guy a superstar??? Aliens, Tombstone, The Abyss, The Rock, Terminator....fabulous in all of them.... hopefully his potential roll in Grind House will revive his career.

Quoted from TAnthony Peter Sargaard is one of the most underrated actors out there. He's done  Jarhead, Skeleton Key, and Boys Don't Cry. All of which he plays completely different people. That something some of these big time actors can never pull off. They act the same in every movie the play. This guy's different.

Don't forget his character in Garden Sate.

Versatility is a quality that's hard to come by. Lots of hollywood stars like Bruce Willis or Julia Roberts often play the same character in most of their films.

John Turturro is an actor that is very versatile and pretty underrated. Just watch a few Spike Lee movies and you'll see what I'm talking about.

You can find Phillip Seymour Hoffman popping up in numerous films made before he won his oscar in Capote. He seems to play a different part each time. He was the gay crew member in Boogie Night and played a very different role in Magnolia and he did a pretty good job as a villain in MI:III.

Quoted from thegardenstate89 John Turturro is an actor that is very versatile and pretty underrated. Just watch a few Spike Lee movies and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I agree Tony. John Turturro was also great in "Barton Fink" and he did a nice cameo in "The Big Lebowski".

Quoted from thegardenstate89 Don't forget his character in Garden Sate.

Probably his greatest acting in a film to date. He's also pretty fantastic in Shattered Glass too, with an equally good, maybe slightly underrated Hayden Christensen. I know a lot of people don't like him because of his "okay" acting in Star Wars... I think that's what made him quite underrated but I think he's very good.

Still, Peter Sarsgaard is one of my favourite actors... not sure if he's that underrated but he certainly needs more credit like maybe... an Oscar. Especially for the way he acted his heart out in Garden State (my favourite movie of all time... I've actually just finished watching it for the hundredth time ten minutes ago).

One of my favorite actors is Kurt Russell.  He is always cool, even though he may do shit movies once in a while. I don't think he gets the credit he deserves.

I also had the chance to meet him and Goldie Hawn once(actually I met Kurt twice).  They live in Vancouver and were standing in line at this Greek restaurant.  They were both so polite and talked with everyone, then the host comes out and says they could go in front of everybody else, but they refused, they said they will wait like all the other people standing in line.  Both are very nice people.

Then I got to meet Kurt again as he filmed a movie called Miracle in Abbotsford(the town I live in) and they were shooting at the hockey rink I play at, and I got a second chance to meet him, and he was very nice again.

This may seem prejudicial, but he was one of my fav's even before I met him.

That's an awesome story. I've never met anyone famous let alone a hero of mine. Saying that, Kust Russell is one of my favourite actors too and he's been there for some time now, I too think he needs more credit to what he gets.

Jordan, you are so lucky to have met him! Twice!!

Quoted from Takeshi Ryan Gosling. He was in the "Slaughter Rule", which is one of my all time favorite films. He was also good in "The Believer". After he did that box office hit "The Notebook", I thought his career was about to take off big time, it hasn't, yet, but he has a bunch of films coming out in the next year or so.

Yay. Ryan Gosling has been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role in Half Nelson.

Yeah, I have. I've seen everything he's done. He's a great talent.  

Forrest Whitakker was underated up until this year. Yeah there was Panic Room and Phone Booth as well as Crying Game but now he is starting to be respected for the superb actor he is.

Philip Baker Hall.

He's absolutely fantastic, I've loved everything that I've seen him do. And no one really knows who he his a lot of the time, which is a shame because he's an absolutely fantastic actor.


Cheers, Chismeister.

Greg Kinnear. Every movie he's in he takes it up a notch. I also agree with Forest Whitaker. He's always been just under the radar, but gives great performances in every movie he's in, even if they're very small roles.

Quoted from RobertSpence Forrest Whitakker was underated up until this year. Yeah there was Panic Room and Phone Booth as well as Crying Game but now he is starting to be respected for the superb actor he is.

I reckon his best films were Bird (directed by Clint Eastwood) and Ghost Dog. He also had small roles in Platoon and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Quoted from Steve-Dave Greg Kinnear. Every movie he's in he takes it up a notch. I also agree with Forest Whitaker. He's always been just under the radar, but gives great performances in every movie he's in, even if they're very small roles.

Forrest Whitaker is a pheonominal actor.He is amazing in everything he does. "The Last King of Scotland" is an amazing movie but is mediocre without his performance.

--Kotton

Quoted from TAnthony Peter Sargaard is one of the most underrated actors out there. He's done  Jarhead, Skeleton Key, and Boys Don't Cry. All of which he plays completely different people. That something some of these big time actors can never pull off. They act the same in every movie the play. This guy's different.

Peter Sarsgaard is definitely a underrated actor. He is extremely versatile and he takes on the provocative roles, like in Kinsey. I can tell he acts for the craft and not the fortune.

Billy Crudup up too.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the kid from 3rd Rock From the Sun. He's certainly an up and coming star. Brick and Mysterious Skin are two great movies of his.

Rachel Leigh Cook I spose. She played a great bitch in 11:14.

There were two actors i noticed in Saving Private Ryan the last time i watched that caught my eye. You see them in a lot of good movies, but they get the side kick type rolls. I'm not talking about Paul Giamatti, that's too obvious. Giovanni Ribisi and Adam Goldberg.

Update: Laura Linney

After watching Troy the other night, I'll add Eric Bana to this list. He was amazing in Chopper, cool in Black Hawk Down and he was one of the most likeable characters I've seen in ages, as Hector, in Troy.

Like me, Eric Bana is a Melbourne boy and he grew up in a working class suburb called Tullamarine, which is a couple of suburbs away from mine. He started off as a stand up comedian and then became a regular on a skit show called Fast Forward, in the 90's.

His break through roll was Chopper, a story based on the life of notorious, Melbourne, crime figure Chopper Reid. if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour and check it out. After Chopper he did Black Hawk Down and I guess you guys know the rest.

He was hilarious on Full Frontal. His Eddie Maguire impression cracks me up like nothing else. He's a steller comedian and an even better actor. I would love for him to do more comedy now that he's a big star.

I think his performance in Munich actually outdoes anything he's done before, even his work as Chopper. I disagree with you about Troy though -- how can he be a likeable character when there is no character? It's not really his fault, it's just the script and the direction of that movie were shocking. He does the best he can with nothing, but it didn't really turn out in his favour. Then again, it kind of is his fault because he chose to do it.

Anyway, Troy was truly terrible. There is literally nothing I like about it, even the battles are boring. I'd rather watch Gladiator, which I also hate a tremendously large amount. But Eric Bana is awesome. I'm sure he's gonna come up with some awesome stuff in the future. His career is just getting started. He does nothing but good for Australia's image in Hollywood.


Cheers, Chismeister.

I haven't seen Munich, yet, but I'll definitely be watching it in the next few weeks. I hear what you're saying about Troy, it wasn't perfect, but I still think Hector was pretty cool.

I liked the way he saved his brother and I was moved when he was saying goodbye to his family, prior to fighting Achilles. Sure his character may not have been very conflicted and therefore may have seemed a bit one dimensional to some, but I saw him as a decisive person with a firm grip on his values.

Quoted from chism He was hilarious on Full Frontal. His Eddie Maguire impression cracks me up like nothing else. He's a steller comedian and an even better actor. I would love for him to do more comedy now that he's a big star.

Chism, I think you mean Ray Martin, not Eddie Maguire. They're both tools so you were close. Poida was also priceless. The second best character of the whole series. First being Milo Kerrigan. I agree though, he is a awesome actor.

I would have to say Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan atwood) from The O.C. there has been a few episodes of that show where I have sat back and was left astonished...

I think the whole Atwood role has been done to death now though, and Benjamin should continue to move on. Well lets face it he has no choice now has he, what with the O.C. being cancelled... LOL...

But I think he is one of a few actors that we should keep our eyes on, something tells me he could be the next big thing if he picks the correct parts.

Who do you think some of the most overrated or underrated poeple are?

Overrated Actor/Actress- Jason Statham... can he play any other roles then the emotionsless action hero???

Underrated Actor/Actress- Garret Hedlund... He was good in Troy, showed signs of brilliance in Four Brothers, and prooved that he can play the bad guy in Death Sentence.

Overrated Director- Quentin Tarantino... don't get me wrong, he's good. But everything he makes is not the masterpiece that his fans make them out to be.

Underrated Director- Paul Anderson... sure, he butchered AVP. But come on, one bad movie shouldn't condem you. Resident Evil and Mortal Kombat are two of the best video game adaptaions out there. And Event Horizon is a classic.

~Zack~

An actor I feel is massively underrated is David Morse. He's one of my fav support actors cos he brings such an awesome persona to his character.

I totally agree about QT, he is so overrated that it hurts. I don't know why he always get so much hype.

And I couldn't disagree more  about Paul Anderson. What a huge waste of celluoid.

Quoted from Zack Overrated Actor/Actress- Jason Statham... can he play any other roles then the emotionsless action hero???

Check out "London".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449061/

Quoted from Sniper An actor I feel is massively underrated is David Morse.

He is really good.  I just watched 12 Monkeys lastnight.  One thing I noticed about that movie, though... David Morse, while he doesn't have a big part at all in the movie, he was a very important character.  He's the one that contaminated most of the world's population with the virus.  Yet, he never got a screen credit at the end of the film.  At least, that I've never noticed.

In my opinion, the most underrated actor is a really good friend of David Morse's, and they've done a lot of films together... Doug Hutchison.

Doug Hutchison played the part of Percy Wetmore, the mean prison guard in 'The Green Mile', and he was also the bad guy in 'Bait'.  Hutchison has also had roles in 'I Am Sam', 'A Time to Kill', and one of my favorite movies, 'The Salton Sea'.  He also played Eugene Victor Tooms, the liver-boosting serial killer with a hinging skeleton on 'The X-Files'.  God, he looks so creepy.

Speaking of 'The Salton Sea' and being underrated, in my opinion, DJ Caruso is one of my favorite directors.  But he's still pretty young, so I'm sure he'll get his props soon enough.

As for the most overrated actors, Ben Stiller takes the cake.  Other than 'Permanent Midnight', which wasn't that good, he's the same regular, slightly awkward character in every film.  Even in his 'crazy' characters, his humor is still dry and cheeky.  And directing 'Reality Bites' doesn't redeem any of his qualities.

Quoted from SimplyScripter Overrated Director- Quentin Tarantino

I don't know why, but I got a feeling this thread's going to go downhill very fast.  I think you might have just opened a can of worms better left untouched, Zack.

I'm not saying I exactly disagree with you.  I do like Tarantino a lot.  But he has faltered in my eyes from time to time.

Knowing how other people feel about Tarantino, though, it looks like the Moderators are going to have their work cut out for them in the next couple days.

I Like Tarantino as well, but I still belive he is very overrated. He's simply not the god of film making that his fanboys claim him to be.

~Zack~

UNDERRATED:

Cilian Murphy - not sure if he's really that underrated because he is a fairly big name.  It just seems every movie I see him in, his performance resonates with me above everything else.  He can play a sympathetic good guy like in 28 Days Later or a real creep like in Batman Begins.  

Elisabeth Moss - She played the presidents daughter Zoe in The West Wing and currently stars in the series Mad Men.  Alot of young actors are people that just happen to photograph well.  She seems like a true actor to me, very expressive with deep, soulful eyes.

OVERRATED:

As for QT - he had his moment of greatness and then got caught up in the hype.  He simply doesn't have the self-discipline to sustain himself over the long haul, much like what happened to Orson Wells - he started off great with Citizen Kane and then ended up doing b-movie roles towards the end of his career.

You know, I like QT's movies. I think all of them actually.  I think the thing with him and his "dwindling" popularity is that what he does isn't as much of a secret any more.

When Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction came out, everybody thought that they were these groundbreaking films, but they really weren't.  They both had similar elements to films that had been made years earlier, but people just didn't catch on to it back then.

His newer projects like Kill Bill, Death Proof, and the upcoming Inglorious Bastards don't get the same luxury.  Now it's "Oh, that's just a Quentin Tarantino Version of "Game of Death" "Random Kung Fu Movie" "Random Spaghetti Western" "Vanishing Point" or "Dirty Dozen".  I mean, people are calling out old titles while the stuff is still in development for christ's sake.  It's a tough wall to get around, I imagine.  Then again, is that a shot at his directing or writing abilities?

One thing I will give the guy credit for, and a big reason of why I'm a fan of his other than just his films, is that he makes the movies HE wants to see.

QT is overrated, but it seems his glow is wearing off. I still think Jackie Brown is his best work. He needs to do another Elmore Leonard book. And fast. I haven't seen Death Proof but Kill Bill had me tossing in the towel on him.

Overrated - P.T. Anderson
Eli Roth ( although I don't think anyone serious about movies actually thinks he's good, he just has a big "fanboy" following)
Asian wire fu & monster movies

Underrated - I'd agree on David Morse. First saw him back in the 80's in a little Richard Donner film called Inside Moves, he was great there. One of these constantly working guys who isn't a household name.

Overrated:

Nicholas Cage - This guy is a robot of an actor. He even makes the same face on the cover of every movie poster. What's worse is that even though he always seems like he's clinically depressed, he always gets the roles of really clever, charismatic people. Needless to say, he can't pull it off and yet he's a star. He was good in Raising Arizona and Adaptation but other than that, overrated.

Rob Zombie - Really, he only made one original film: House of 1,000 Corpses. After that was a sequel and a remake. The sequel wasn't bad but still, he doesn't have much to show for himself. While his first two films were good, Zombie can't do much else than blatant exploitation plus the only characters he's good at writing are stereotypical white trash. His abilities are limited and yet, he's being hailed as a horror legend. Not the case.

Wes Anderson - Where do I begin? First off, his characters are completely unlikeable. They're rich, snobby upper class families who, for whatever reason, are depressed out of their minds. Who's to care about them? Anderson goes onto get good actors to appear in his films but he makes them all act the same. They don't even act at all. Their deadpan expressions make them all look like Nicholas Cage. Thus the talent of each and every actor is squandered. There's no substance to his films at all. You would think he knows that considering he tries to make up for it by painting every frame with bright colors and weird costumes.

Zack Snyder - How this guy even made a name for himself, I don't know. He made a decent remake of a classic horror movie but his directing style is by-the-book to the extreme. He's got no stylistic signatures whatsoever. They could've gotten any commercial/music video director to make DOTD and it probably would've looked exactly the same. Then there's 300. Again, by-the-book, just on a bigger scale. Nothing there to separate him from the flock. Yet people love the guy. I don't understand how someone can get so much praise for doing the same stuff everyone else with his background would do.

QT - Of course. Once he stopped sucking ideas from ex-friend Roger Avery (after Pulp Fiction), QT became all about gimmicks and less about actually making good movies. He also doesn't seem to understand that no one is going to challenge that he's seen every movie ever made. For some reason, he feels the need to keep reminding people of that. The guy's going downhill. I think fame has really gone to his head, among other things... if you watch his interviews, the guy acts like he's in space. I think somewhere between Kill Bill and Grindhouse, the guy starting snorting a little too much yay.

Underrated:

Christian Bale - This guy essentially transformed himself into a body builder for American Psycho then cut down to a mere 80 pounds for the Mechanist. This guy will do anything for a role and no matter how poor the role is, he gives it his all and manages to stand out in movies that would destroy other actors (Reign Of Fire, Shaft). If this guy can stand out in bad movies, it makes perfect sense he'd steal any other movie that's actually decent. Batman Begins and American Psycho were amazing performances. Bale brought emotional and psychological depth to both characters I don't think too many other actors could. Finally, the guy's a chamillion of an actor and dabbles into just about everything.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman - He's got a different style but pretty much everything about Christian Bale applies to this guy as well.

David Cronenberg - David Cronenberg NOW, that is. I think after the 80s, people lost interest in the guy when he dropped the body horror thing and started to go in a more psychological direction. He's still got a lot to offer the film world, I think, and has gone a lot of places others wouldn't think to go as far as the human mind is concerned. I think A History of Violence and Eastern Promises are a new begining for the guy. I'm looking forward to what else he has in store. Even before that, like it or not (I actually didn't so much), Crash got a lot of attention when it came out so Cronenberg's still definitely got the ability to turn heads and freak people out.

Park Chanwook - Most people has only seen Oldboy. That film is probably the best showcase of his abilities but still... he's done other stuff, people. He's definitely got a knack for filmmaking not to mention a good understanding of human nature, an interest to explore it, and a good sense of humor. That's all I gotta say about this guy.

Quoted from rc1107 In my opinion, the most underrated actor is a really good friend of David Morse's, and they've done a lot of films together... Doug Hutchison. Doug Hutchison played the part of Percy Wetmore, the mean prison guard in 'The Green Mile', and he was also the bad guy in 'Bait'.  Hutchison has also had roles in 'I Am Sam', 'A Time to Kill', and one of my favorite movies, 'The Salton Sea'.  He also played Eugene Victor Tooms, the liver-boosting serial killer with a hinging skeleton on 'The X-Files'.  God, he looks so creepy.

Yeah, Doug is terrific actor. He played Percy Wetmore to perfection. Too bad you don't really see him very often anymore.

Quoted from James McClung Underrated: Christian Bale - This guy essentially transformed himself into a body builder for American Psycho then cut down to a mere 80 pounds for the Mechanist. This guy will do anything for a role and no matter how poor the role is, he gives it his all and manages to stand out in movies that would destroy other actors (Reign Of Fire, Shaft). If this guy can stand out in bad movies, it makes perfect sense he'd steal any other movie that's actually decent. Batman Begins and American Psycho were amazing performances. Bale brought emotional and psychological depth to both characters I don't think too many other actors could. Finally, the guy's a chamillion of an actor and dabbles into just about everything.

I disagree. Christian Bale is indeed a fantastic actor that steals the show in every movie he plays in, but I don't think he's underrated. He has quickly made a name for himself and has become a fan favorite. No, he isn't underrated or overrated... he is every bit as good as people make him out to be.

Just my cliche'd 2 cents.

~Zack~

Quoted from James McClung Underrated: Christian Bale - Phillip Seymour Hoffman - David Cronenberg

Depends on your definition of underrated. Yes, they might not be mainstream-blockbuster material but I don't think anybody underrates them in anyway.

Quoted from Zack Overrated Actor/Actress- Jason Statham

I loved him in 'Collateral' - bump, sorry, gone - his best role ever.

Christian Bale in my opinion is one of the best actors around at the moment, in fact I would have said the best if it were not for a certain Mr Hoffman. But underrated? no way. The guy has the lead role in two of the biggest big budget film franchises around. Batman of course but he has also been signed up to star in the re-imagined terminator movies. I don't think you can get much more A-list than Christian Bale at the moment. I really hope that he still continues to star in at least one indie project a year to keep reminding the world how good he is.

And again Philip Seymour Hoffman i would say is not underrated, you ask anyone with a passing knowledge of movies what they think of him and you will struggle to find anyone who would suggest he is not a giant of an actor in every sense of the word.

MikeP, I cannot believe you think that PT Anderson is over-rated!! Come on dude, you cannot really think that?


I love all the QT comments, I used to worship the guy, I think i got taken up with all the hype at the time. The guy is turning into a joke. Like mikep I think that Jackie Brown remains his best work, I watched Rev Dogs again last week and it was OK, but nothing like i remembered it being.

My underrated list?

Can I say George Clooney? I know that that sounds weird after what I said about Bale and maybe I am wrong but is the Cloonster not regarded more as a Cary Grant type in Hollywood rather than a serious actor? I for one think he is getting better and better everytime I see him and even I am turning into a bit of a fan, the guy can act.

I still think Bale's underrated. This is a screenwriting board. I imagine most people here would have an appreciation for his work. Outside of this board or rather outside the Internet, he's not as acknowledged. Most people only recognize him as Batman but don't really credit him as being a good actor, rather just the head of another big franchise. I don't know. In my experience, he's not as talked about as I feel he should be.

As for David Cronenberg, I should've made it more clear he's underrated NOW. Anytime someone mentions his name, it's about his previous work. Nowadays, he gets drowned out by the Eli Roths and James Wans who really don't deserve the credit they've been given.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, I guess I went off on a limb. He's not underrated. His talent is generally well acknowledged.

Here's an overrated actors thread from last year.

http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-Chat/m-1154892794/s-0/

Quoted from Takeshi Here's an overrated actors thread from last year. http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-Chat/m-1154892794/s-0/

Thanks, Chris. I merged the threads and now they look like one thread about Over/Underrated whatever you like.

James, I am going to take back what I said about Bale. You are probably right, he may certainly be a huge star now but most of the people who only watch "hollywood" films will probably not be aware of what a huge talent he is. So in that sense maybe underrated is correct.

I was actually annoyed with him to taking the terminator role, my worry is that now he is leading two major studio franchises is he going to be able to spend the time acting in "proper" movies in the future? Of course kudos for him to be in the position to earn the big bucks but it would be a loss to the independent movie scene if he cut down his projects.

Quoted from Murphy I was actually annoyed with him to taking the terminator role, my worry is that now he is leading two major studio franchises is he going to be able to spend the time acting in "proper" movies in the future? Of course kudos for him to be in the position to earn the big bucks but it would be a loss to the independent movie scene if he cut down his projects.

I actually knew nothing about Bale being in the next Terminator until you mentioned it. I'm actually pretty shocked. IMDB has him listed as "rumored" but still. The idea of Bale involved in the Terminator franchise is just weird. In any case, I'm not too worried about it. He's an extremely talented actor and, like I said, he'll give his all to whatever he's in. Despite the good he's done in independent cinema, he's done some stinkers as well but still managed to stand out. Unless he's in a Jason Friedberg/Adam Seltzer movie, I'm not too worried about what he decides to do with his career.

Hey Murphy heh....yeah  I seem to catch hell for not liking PT Anderson but for me ( keep in mind I have not seen Hard Eight or There Will Be Blood) he does nothing but channel other filmmakers, to varying degrees of success.  

Boogie Nights is perplexing, as it's nothing but one Scorsese homage after another, and the last scene is infuriating in particular for being a virtual shot for shot steal from the last scene of Raging Bull. It wasn't that engaging for me, as all it did was remind me of other, better movies.

Magnolia was even worse, stunningly self indulgent to the point of absurdity. I really tried to like it, seeing that Anderson was...aiming for greatness...but that pretension was the downfall of the movie. Plus just plain bad story structure, such meandering to the point of madness.  Punch Drunk Love was just horrid and the less said about it the better.

Someone passed me a second hand quote from Anderson, I'd love to find it again, where supposedly he acknowledges that BN was his Scorsese film, Magnolia and Punch Drunk were his Altman movies, and TWBB is his attempt to make a Kubrick film. That's very interesting if true ( it really seems to be the case) and it does explain a lot.  For me he's just a moviemaker with no style or thought of his own, he tries to emulate his heroes while feeling he is a true artist. And that feeling, that aura around his films that " I'll do as I please and you will love it" just shows that the Emperor has no clothes, so to speak.

I hope upon seeing TWBB that I'll be floored by it, really, I want to be. But for now he's just a wildly overrated "artist" whose work just doesn't do it for me.

I don't know where this Bale being an independent actor thingy came from, Shaft, Reign of fire, batman, empire of the sun, little women, newsies, American psycho, the new world, the prestige, 3:10 to Yuma, not really independent films, he has done a few, but he has done even more big budget studio films.  I like him a lot, the fact that he is still so young and has a lot more to offer is great.

Quoted from mikep Boogie Nights is perplexing, as it's nothing but one Scorsese homage after another, and the last scene is infuriating in particular for being a virtual shot for shot steal from the last scene of Raging Bull. It wasn't that engaging for me, as all it did was remind me of other, better movies.

I don't remember DeNiro whipping out a big, prosthetic dong in that one.

Quoted from The boy who could fly I don't know where this Bale being an independent actor thingy came from, Shaft, Reign of fire, batman, empire of the sun, little women, newsies, American psycho, the new world, the prestige, 3:10 to Yuma, not really independent films, he has done a few, but he has done even more big budget studio films.  I like him a lot, the fact that he is still so young and has a lot more to offer is great.

I think though that you can certainly tell the difference between the films Bale acts in and the films he stars in. My favorite Bale performances would definitely be The Machinist, Rescue Dawn and Harsh Times, movies you would consider to be independent. While i for one did not think he did anything too special in 3:10 to Yuma, maybe a decent job but nothing that 20 or 30 other actors could have done in his place.

Though you are right in what you say i guess, I never really considered American Psycho or The Prestige to be mainstream hollywood blockbusters though I guess they are in a way. Though the term 'Independent Film' is starting to be less about independent from studio involvement and is turning into more of a genre now to be honest (Juno anyone?) we probably want a better word to mean a well thought out film with good intentions as opposed to a Terminator film directed by McG!

John C. Riley is one that I think is now coming out into his own, he was wonderful in Walk Hard, and he can sing very well, I just heard a song from that movie so this just popped into my head.  He is great at comedy and drama, he can play a nice guy and scum, he does all sorts of movies as well like action, musical, suspense, along with comedy and drama, and he proved he could carry a film with Walk Hard, even though no one went to see it, kinda sad, people missed out on a good time.  I think we will see a lot more of him, at least I hope so.

Riley is great in THE HOURS and CHICAGO.

Quoted from Shelton I don't remember DeNiro whipping out a big, prosthetic dong in that one.

Shame, since that's always a sure fire crowd pleaser!  

Quoted from Shelton I don't remember DeNiro whipping out a big, prosthetic dong in that one.

I don't remember, either, although I still haven't watched the deleted scenes.  Even if he did, though, De Niro probably wouldn't need a prosthetic one like Markie Mark.

I do have to agree about John C. Riley.  He is very underrated, but it also looks like he is finally about to get his dues.  It's a shame his claim to fame is going to be campy, cheesy movies like 'Taladega Nights', and not for his great dramatic roles like in (though a lot of people hate it), Riley himself was truly great in 'Magnolia'.  'Criminal' is another little known film that Riley soars in.

And, although he was nominated for Best Actor in 'Sideways', hopefully Paul Giamatti will get his deserved praise pretty soon.