IMQ #20 - People in Film - Most Underrated Male Performance

[Chaplin]

Which actor do you think had a better performance than most people give him credit for?

I think most Underrated Male Performance discussions should start and end with Tom Cruise. They is just nails and unfairly gets maligned because of perceived personal problems.

So I'm going to go with his performance in Collateral, where he really takes his movie star good guy persona and turns it on its head.

Honorable Mentions:
Val Kilmer - Tombstone
Andy Serkis - Lord of the Rings
Eli Wallach - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Russell Crowe - LA Confidential
Edward Norton - Fight Club
Jimmy Stewart - Rear Window
Cary Grant - North by Northwest

 

[GatorAZ]

Read my mind for Fight Club. Also Phillip Seymour Hoffman in MI3.

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[NJCardFan]

I don't know anyone who would say that Val Kilmer's performance in Tombstone is underrated. In fact, quite the opposite. Most would say he stole the show. But for me it I would say:

Lee J. Cobb-12 Angry Men
Bernie Casey-Maurie
Denzel Washington-Glory(yes he won an Oscar in the role but I don't think he gets the credit he deserves for this role)
Jeff Daniels-Gettysburg

 

[Chaplin]

I don't know anyone who would say that Val Kilmer's performance in Tombstone is underrated. In fact, quite the opposite. Most would say he stole the show. But for me it I would say:

Lee J. Cobb-12 Angry Men
Bernie Casey-Maurie
Denzel Washington-Glory(yes he won an Oscar in the role but I don't think he gets the credit he deserves for this role)
Jeff Daniels-Gettysburg

Kilmer’s performance in my opinion is award-worthy. He didn’t win any awards for it. That’s underrated to me. His only NOMINATIONS that year were from MTV!

 

[NJCardFan]

Kilmer’s performance in my opinion is award-worthy. He didn’t win any awards for it. That’s underrated to me. His only NOMINATIONS that year were from MTV!

We are in agreement then.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I don't know if either actor is actually underrated but I never hear any mention of Alec Baldwin or Fred Ward for their roles in Miami Blues and the movie and the actors deserve some love IMO. It's written and directed by George Armitage who also directed Grosse Pointe Blank. It's not quite as good as GPB but it's close. It's similar in style and pacing and Ward and Baldwin are great in it. Not to mention Jennifer Jason Leigh showing more skin than she did in Fast Times.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Tom Berenger - Platoon

 

[MrYeahBut]

Tom Berenger - Platoon

I mentioned his performance in another thread. Outstanding.

Also love @Chaplin choice of Eli Wallach. He became Tuco completely.

I'll throw in Robin Williams in Insomnia

 

[Cheesebeef]

Robert DeNiro - Midnight Run

I'll just go ahead and say it... he's one of the best actors of all time and when anyone talks his best it's almost always Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Godfather 2, Jimmy Conway... and he is DYNAMITE in ALL of those movies, but I'd say this is one of his top two performances, probably right behind Bull. He gets to play all ranges of emotion and does so PERFECTLY. Jack Walsh is one of the toughest, funniest, self-serious, self-deprecating and ultimately empathetic characters ever put on screen.

He has to fight through increasingly difficult/more dangerous adversaries every step of the way starting with Marvin Dorfler to Joey Pants' Eddie Bascone's Bail Bonds to Yaphet Koto's Alonzo Mosley to Moron #1 and Moron #2 to The Duke the entire movie and finally Dennis Farina's absolutely nails Jimmy Freaking Cerrano! I mean, he outwits, out-thugs, out-thinks EVERYONE in that movie in a million different ways.

******* that movie was amazing.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Robert DeNiro - Midnight Run

I'll just go ahead and say it... he's one of the best actors of all time and when anyone talks his best it's almost always Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Godfather 2, Jimmy Conway... and he is DYNAMITE in ALL of those movies, but I'd say this is one of his top two performances, probably right behind Bull. He gets to play all ranges of emotion and does so PERFECTLY. Jack Walsh is one of the toughest, funniest, self-serious, self-deprecating and ultimately empathetic characters ever put on screen.

He has to fight through increasingly difficult/more dangerous adversaries every step of the way starting with Marvin Dorfler to Joey Pants' Eddie Bascone's Bail Bonds to Yaphet Koto's Alonzo Mosley to Moron #1 and Moron #2 to The Duke the entire movie and finally Dennis Farina's absolutely nails Jimmy Freaking Cerrano! I mean, he outwits, out-thugs, out-thinks EVERYONE in that movie in a million different ways.

******* that movie was amazing.

There were some good looking chickens there, Jack. You know, between us.

Great cast, great movie. It's Grodin doing Grodin but still, he's just absolutely perfect. Yaphet makes a great fed and Ashton is a riot. And there's at least a half dozen other roles that are deserving of being singled out in addition to the obvious (DeNiro).

 

[Cheesebeef]

There were some good looking chickens there, Jack. You know, between us.

Yeah... I might have taken a poke at one or two.

Great cast, great movie. It's Grodin doing Grodin but still, he's just absolutely perfect. Yaphet makes a great fed and Ashton is a riot. And there's at least a half dozen other roles that are deserving of being singled out in addition to the obvious (DeNiro).

Even Jerry "I'll go get some donuts" is great in it.

The movie is note perfect, with a SEVERELY underrated score by Danny Elfman. He always gets credit for Batman, Beetlejuice and Scissorhands, but Midnight Run is easily his most soulful and interesting of the bunch for me.

Okay... maybe not more than Batman. That score has always kicked the ever-living snot out of me. But still... great score that rarely gets talked about.

 

[Shane]

Kilmer’s performance in my opinion is award-worthy. He didn’t win any awards for it. That’s underrated to me. His only NOMINATIONS that year were from MTV!

Right after I walked out of the theater Seeing tombstone I said to my friend “there is no way in hell Val Kilmer shouldnt win or at least be nominated for an Oscar” was a joke he want and didn’t...

 

[Shane]

Kurt Russell in BackDraft

Will smith in Concussion and Ali

 

[oaken1]

one always comes to mind.

Robin Williams

Dead Poets Society

I will grant you, it is well known as one of his best... but he should have won the oscar for that performance... but he lost to a guy with only one foot...in a movie only watched by critics and the academy.

Daniel Day Lewis is a fine actor.

But to that point Williams was not considered an "actor"...he was a "comedian" who acts.

might have been the finest break out performance in the history of all film..

'think about it... that was Mork from Ork getting nominated for best actor