Actors come in all degrees and levels of prestige. As movie-goers, we hope that the greatest ones claw their way to the top and get the great roles and scripts they deserve. Many times, this happens if the audience can be patient and wait for the next wave of talent to catch their break.
In some cases, however, actors don’t get the praise they deserve. This isn’t to say they are unknown, or unappreciated. Many of them have strong fanbases, and do excellent and regular work, which is why they can be known as “awesome.” This also shouldn’t be taken to mean that these actors are flawless, some of them have some truly regrettable pieces under their belt.
At the same time, many of these fantastic actors are not given the full credit they deserve for their performances. They remain less glorified, and audiences should be reminded that some actors who are not at the pinnacle of popularity are still brilliant in their own right.
This list, as subjective as it may be, will cover a small fraction of those actors who, while often acknowledged as wonderful, are often taken for granted and not always represented as how talented they really are…
Eddie Redmayne![]( "Hosted by imgur.com")
Why He’s Awesome…Although certainly on his way to being greatly praised thanks to Les Miserables, Eddie Redmayne has been acting as leading men as well as secondary characters on screen for a little more than a decade. He has the boyish attitude and look to play sensitive and emotional men, but the power to play tough and flawed characters that hold their own.
He brings the necessary emotional turmoil to the role of Marius, torn between the revolution mentality, social obligation, and loyalty and love for those around him. It makes him a great character to watch work through trials and tribulations, a brilliant combination of passion, whimsy, and emotional complexity.
Yet He Isn’t Given Credit For…Breaking out on stage as Viola in an all-male production of Twelfth Night, Redmayne has since shed the skirts and donned everything from noble livery to tuxedos, from a cowboy hat to monk’s robes. He has played would be assassins in two films about Elizabeth I, both socially inept and suave young men from multiple time periods, and has taken controversial roles playing unstable men as the incestuous Antony Baekeland in Savage Grace or predatory Eddie Kreezer from Hick.
Although he does not necessarily have the naturally commanding physique and voice of some other leading men, Redmayne acts with bare and accessible emotions, and has a quiet charisma and presence that makes even his most timid characters dynamic. Although him gaining recognition and being labelled a “rising star” is good, it is also good to remember that Marius or even his role in My Week With Marilyn isn’t the sudden beginning of Redmayne, he didn’t just start to rise.
He has consistently brought the same power and likability to his work over the years, all of which he certainly deserves credit for.
Cillian Murphy![]( "Hosted by imgur.com")
Why He Is Awesome…Cillian Murphy has worked alongside many great actors, and manages to keep pace with them and sometimes even steal the spotlight. He has a reputation for playing sociopaths from the Scarecrow in the Dark Knight Trilogy and Jack Ripner from Red Eye, with other sinister roles dotting his filmography, and he plays these characters in a way that makes audiences both horrified and enthralled.
His dark voice and unique features make him ideal for characters with an edge of danger, and he makes them more than just fiendish, he makes them compelling, likable, and even sexy, in a very grim sense.
Yet He Isn’t Given Credit For…Those roles are only a tiny fraction of the talent this man shows. Murphy has explored the intricacies of conflicting gender identity in roles from movies like Breakfast on Pluto or Peacock, bringing a plain sincerity to performances that make his true sexuality and gender entirely irrelevant.
He can also play the “normal” leading male parts, such as a Jim from 28 Days Later or Damien from The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Despite his reputation for specializing in sinister or quiet characters, Murphy can be amusing, such as the black humor he brought to the deadbeat Michael McCrea, a man on a crazy caper as he flees from loan-sharks in the film Perrier’s Bounty.
Murphy is not just a strangely pretty face with only two acting settings-sinister but intriguing or a mild secondary character – he’s got the potential to be a strong, gallant “mainstream” leading male, if the industry would let him.
Laura Linney![]( "Hosted by imgur.com")
Why She’s Awesome…Laura Linney has always been able to keep up with the men in her movies. She plays commanding women, women so independent they can sometimes come off as cold and detached. She’s given Richard Gere, the onscreen lawyer of all onscreen lawyers, a run for his money, she’s played an overprotective mother of Rupert Grint, an overbearing mother in The Nanny Diaries, and an FBI agent, to name just a few.
She represents poise and control, and her characters usually aren’t afraid to use their feminine wiles to get their way. Although not entirely likable in many of her roles because of this, Laura Linney does stand as an example of composed women in an industry where women are often depicted as runner ups to men as far as cold calculation or level headed thinking is concerned.
Yet She Doesn’t Get Credit For…Linney’s certainly well respected, and is attractive, but she does not have the completely drop dead gorgeous look of many women in film. Combined with the cold nature of many of her roles, this helps solidify the idea that she is “the practical woman”, not the love interest, and not necessarily someone for normal woman to completely identify with or idolize. Which is a shame.
She can show the suppressed pain of letting go of personal goals, such as in Love Actually. She showed the strain placed on a wife trying to keep up with her husband’s goals in John Adams. Or, she can just be a woman trying to navigate the trials of life with a smile, such as The Big C. She is probably never going to play the soft and delicate female perfectly.
But despite what Hollywood wants people to believe, not all women have a soft, trembling, overly emotional and tear soaked center that just needs to be unlocked by the right man. Not all women have to (or get to) burst into tears and run through the rain for love, or fall into the arms of their prince at the end. Most of Linney’s characters, like most actual women, don’t have the time to wait, however subtlety, for a man to swoop in and solve their problems.
They have lives of their own and jobs that they are just as eager to do, and as capable of doing, as any man. Laura Linney should get credit not only for her talent, but for representing that type of independent competent woman and not simply be labelled the “practical one.”
David Thewlis![]( "Hosted by imgur.com")
Why He’s Awesome…Just to get it out of the way, it is true that David Thewlis played a fantastic Remus Lupin. He can be given a slightly frazzled academic appearance while still being rugged enough to keep up with Sirius Black’s shenanigans. His ability to dress up and drab down has served him well throughout his career.
He’s made appearances in recent films, such as the sour land lord in War Horse, as an unflattering rendition of William Cecil in the questionable film Anonymous, and he’s been playing these sorts of excellent supporting characters for a number of years.
He’s done kindly and quirky advisers to spiteful antagonists, and several degrees in between, as any actor worth his salt should be able to do. He brings a developed feel to even the seemingly insignificant background characters he adopts.
Yet Isn’t Given Credit For…This man is a jack of all trades too often stuck playing second fiddle. In addition to his light or mild roles, he can adopt a vindictive personality that makes him a brilliant villain. He plays a venomous gangster in Gangster No. 1, and the aloof and negligent, as well as villainous, Father in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
Both his good and bad character personalities translate well to main character roles, such as the cheeky, contrary, and pernicious character Johnny in the film Naked from 1993. Despite acting on par with colleagues like Gary Oldman and Malcolm McDowell, and proving himself to be both a main character actor in addition to diverse secondary roles, David Thewlis remains quietly in the background as his peers are (not undeservedly) raised to great heights and praise.
Clea DuVall![]( "Hosted by imgur.com")
Why She’s Awesome…Clea Duvall has played a number of characters over more than a decade of work, specializing in tomboys and opinionated women. She played a tormented carnival worker Sofie in Carnivale, and the naive Georgina from Girl, Interrupted. More recently, she played the girlfriend of Sarah Paulson’s character in the popular series American Horror Story: Asylum, and she appeared in Ben Affleck’s sensational film Argo.
She’s another “oh, that person” actor who appears in movies that range from mainstream films to smaller productions, and makes cameo appearances in TV series like CSI, Bones, and Heroes, but has never quite gotten past being a side character actress that can be dependable for good work without overshadowing the main cast.
Yet She Isn’t Given Credit For…Like many actors recognized as good to have, but not sensational, Clea DuVall doesn’t have a niche. She plays delicate to badass characters in a wide range of productions partly because she hasn’t been labelled as having that “x” characteristic that makes her the go to woman for a role. This leaves her circling, waiting for the opportunity to break out.
It’s unfortunate that she, and other actors like her, aren’t given credit for being diverse in their roles, overlooked because they are not the blazing star the crowds focus on. From troubled naive Sophie and Wendy Peyser to her hard as nails character from the short lived Virtuality, DuVall has proven her ability to move beyond side characters to main characters in an ensemble cast.
Hopefully DuVall can find her stride and move on to straight forward main characters, but if not, she should get the credit she deserves for being an awesome diverse actress who’s enjoyable to watch on screen, niche or no niche.
Source.
