mattiasflgrtll6's countdown on The 12 Most Underrated Actors

Just to clear things up: yes, I do include a couple women. Most of the time I just unite it into one and use the word "actor" in a universal manner. Have always thought the gender division is unneccessary, who the hell would use a term like "directress" for instance?

I'll be ranking based on how much I love or like them, and how underrated I think they are. Man, that will be kinda difficult, but I'll try.

By the way, I'll only start if someone goes "Hell yeah, let's do this!".

Hell yeah let's do this!

12. Hayden Christensen



We're off to a very controversial start... Now, do I think he is one of the greatest actors ever? No, of course not. But I definitely think he gets a lot less cred than he deserves. Whenever he didn't have to spout his sugarlicky cliché dialogue in Attack Of The Clones, he wasn't bad at all. The scene where he's mad at the world for what happened to his mother is very powerful. And in Revenge Of The Sith he was actually... really creepy. He gives an iconic deathly, brainwashed stare when he transforms into Darth Vader, and brings it all in the second half of the movie.
In Shattered Glass he impressed me even more, the most so far if I have to be frank. He portrays a man so full of lies and on the verge of a breakdown so flawlessly, that I think he deserved some sort of award for that.
In Vanishing On 7th Street and Jumper he doesn't give mindblowing performances, but he's still fun to watch. I think he's best suited for really serious roles, where he gets to bring out his dramatic chops.

I liked Shattered Glass.

Haven't seen anything with Hayden in it. Yes that includes Star Wars

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11. Nicole De Boer



She really made an impression on me in Cube with how she portrayed someone intellectual and really charming at the same time. Proof that smart is sexy, folks. Hasn't gotten a lot of recognition one way or the other, and I wish she would be cast for more roles. She has gotten to appear in a good deal of TV stuff, but it would be cool to see her in another good movie as well. This is an unusual pick since the only other thing I've seen her in is Prom Night IV, a movie which was awful and she was okay. But the great performance in Cube makes me excited to check her out in other projects.
She's not a household name, but for Star Trek fans she's known for playing Ezri Dax in the final season of Deep Space Nine.

Excellent movie!

Hey! Nicole De Boer, me likey She was the best thing in The Cube and I really liked her on Star Trek Deep Space Nine too. But my favorite performance of hers was in The Outer Limits episode Quality of Mercy (1995)

Used to put it on the recommendation wall every now ad then back in my video store days.

I first saw it in journalism class in the late 00s. We were discussing ethics in journalism, and our professor showed us Shattered Glass, obviously because it relates directly to the topic.

Since then, I've re-watched it about 3-4 times.

10. Michael Moriarty



With a stern face, a strong determination and even a bit of sarcastic dry humor, Moriarty portrayed Ben Stone like no one else could. Jack McCoy was an interesting character himself, but what I really liked about Stone is how he felt a lot more motivated, less downbroken and just always ready to go heads-on. Whenever he would do a rant, Moriarty played him with such enthusiastic glee, which always made you look forward to whenever it would happen. It's unfortunate he left Law & Order, but just like with Noth there were some issues behind the scenes. What a shame. But for 4 years, I was glad to have him. I know Moriarty's more interested in politics now, but I hope he'll come back to acting eventually. He hasn't done anything since 2012. A great talent, with a voice which always demanded you listen to him.

Wow, he looks a bit like John Lithgow there.

I haven't seen Michael Moriarty in much, but I loved him in the movie Bang the Drum Slowly (1973), and in the TV show "Law & Order".

Sorry I forgot to update this thread.

9. John Cusack



I feel like he has proven enough these days that he's not just your everyman actor, yet it still feels like ever since the 80's ended, he's not as popular with people. Now, I haven't seen his older movies, and I'm sure they're pretty good, but he's shown he's very talented as an adult actor. His turn in 1408 was so gripping and intense that I wouldn't want anyone else to play the role. His realistic depiction of loneliness and feeling of dread was mesmerizing. In Maps To The Stars he was quietly creepy and intimidating. And in Being John Malkovich he stole the show almost as much as well, Malkovich himself. He played a convincing straightman in Hot Tub Time Machine (which by the way is a great comedy). Hell, Identity! What a brilliant performance!
He's not the actor where I'll see him in every role (Blood Money, what is that), but whenever I do watch a movie with Cusack in it, I always look forward to seeing what he will bring to it.

Also, he occasionally looks like a thin Kevin Spacey.

I've always kind of felt that Cusack was overrated. I do like him, but for all his good movies there seems to be 2 crap ones, and I've never been blown away by one of his performances.

My favorite movies of his are Hot Tub Time Machine and Being John Malkovitch, which you mentioned, and also The Sure Thing. I thought 1408 was just ok.

It's kinda funny you said he was overrated, since I had the impression he was underrated by people

But yeah, definitely check out Identity. It's a flawed albeit very interesting movie, but Cusack alone is worth the whole ride.

I've seen Identity a few times. I like it a little but not as much as most.

The ending sucked, which is why I said "flawed".

Yea I agree, yet it seems a lot of folks like it.