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The best thing an actor could do is disappear into the role and make us forget that we’re seeing a performance in the first place.
But that also means that some of the best actors aren’t so easy to recognize.
Some of the greatest working actors today seem perpetually overlooked. In their careers, some actors have consistently given critically-acclaimed performances, but have received little awards recognition or always seem shunted into small supporting roles in big blockbusters that don’t do justice to their talent.
Here are the 17 most underrated actors in Hollywood. They’re a mixture of young breakouts and Hollywood mainstays and, hopefully, they’re all on their way to wider recognition.
Tessa Thompson was the breakout star of “Dear White People” — and now she’s on the rise.
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Thompson was hilarious in the 2014 cult favorite “Dear White People,” now turning into a television show without her, and then followed it up as the love interest in “Creed.” Since then, Hollywood has offered her small roles in big features, like Charlotte in “Westworld” and Valkyrie in the upcoming “Thor: Ragnarok.” But as “White People” showed, she can take on anyone as a main character.
Barry Pepper has been giving reliable performances for decades in movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and the “Maze Runner.”
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Pepper is one of those actors who’s had a small role in everything. He’s good at disappearing into a movie. But when he gets a big role, you can’t stop watching him. His performance as an incompetent kidnapper in “True Grit” was hilarious, and he was solid as Robert F. Kennedy in “The Kennedys” miniseries, but he deserves more.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw has already played a superstar in “Beyond the Lights” — now she’s ready to be one.
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The actress had a breakout period in 2013 and 2014 with the indie darlings “Belle” and “Beyond the Lights.” Since then, she’s picked up some minor roles in high-profile movies like “Beauty and the Beast” and “Concussion,” but her career has largely stalled. Hopefully, that will all change with her role in Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time” next year.
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