Under-rated TV Actors/Actresses.

[sukee]

Underrated, BIG time - William H.Macy.

If you didn't see the movie "Door to Door".. do yourself a favor, rent it. You'll be amazed at the level of transformation this Actor was able to achieve, both physically and emotionally.

Absolutely incredible.

I agree. He is always great.

[Broadway]

Underrated, BIG time - William H.Macy.

If you didn't see the movie "Door to Door".. do yourself a favor, rent it. You'll be amazed at the level of transformation this Actor was able to achieve, both physically and emotionally.

Absolutely incredible.

I absolutely loved him in "The Cooler" as well. Quirky guy, but incredible!

[Feifer]

I don't really think he's underrated or overrated...but someone I think who is a great actor....

Robin Williams. I never really had an opinion on him, until I was in the 8th grade and my teacher showed me Dead Poet's Society and Awakenings. I think he is absolutely brilliant in more serious roles. Those movies are absolutely great, and I would highly recommend them.

I absolutely love robin williams in serious roles. he and robert deniro were fabulous in Awakenings and the academy award was ripped right out of deniro's hand that year and given to jeremy irons for reversal of fortune. I was so sad. both williams and deniro were fabulous in that movie and it remains one of my favorite all time movies. I also adored williams in What Dreams May Come. Fabulous! Another movie he was in that i think too few people took seriously was bicentenial man. Good, good movie.

[holly71]

Awakenings is one of my most favorite movies! I will bawl like a baby at the end every single time, so I MUST watch it ALONE! I don't even want my husband around when I watch it!

[holly71]

Here's another under-rated: Val Kilmer. I love him; he does such a fantastic job in every role he plays. I highly recommend "The Saint". You can see him play a bunch of "roles" in one movie. Plus Elisabeth Shue is in it too & she's so adorable. I like her too.

[gaby]

I think Chris Noth is sadly overlooked. He's so talented.

In case no one has mention this yet... Chris Noth will be back on "Law & Order - Criminal Intent" this spring 2005. I read it a few weeks ago... seems as if Mr. Vincent is having too many personal episodes and shutting down production. The NY Post made mention it may be a permanet thing...

Bill Murray is just so much fun to watch... I am glad he is back working so much. I never get bored watching him.

On the over-rated list.... Renee Zellweger. For the life of me I do not see what all the fuss is about. And I keep reading she is going to be playing Janis Joplin in a movie about Joplin's life... is that a flat out scary thought for anyone but me?

Ohhhh and Tom Cruise. As much as I enjoyed his early movies... All the right moves...Risky Business... Top Gun... Days of Thunder... Somewhere along the way he got to be highly over-rated. Every time I see him trying to do deep drama.... I just die out in laughter. Ugh... stick to the eye candy - fun movies and quit trying to win an Oscar...

[Greenmustard]

I don't know if I would say Russell Crowe is overrated because I do admire some of his recent movie roles. I absolutely loved his role as John Nash in A Beautiful Mind.

[Nemeses]

I just wanted to add to my previous list:

Overrated:
Jet Li -- I enjoyed The One, and there are a few good moments from some of his other movies, but those moments are because of the script, not because of his acting skills. As a martial arts star in the Hong Kong film genre, he's good at the martial arts, but don't give him any serious or humorous dialogue, he's just not up to the task.

Underrated:

Michelle Yeoh
Chow Yun-Fat

If the names seem familiar, but you can't place them... most Americans would remember them from Hidden Tiger, Crouching Dragon, but they've both been in many other successful films.

Both are very effective in their acting, and both are capable of a wide variety of roles and always play them well. I'd love to see Michelle, especially, reap more rewards from American film casting.

[Frostelized]

I just wanted to add to my previous list:

Overrated:
Jet Li -- I enjoyed The One, and there are a few good moments from some of his other movies, but those moments are because of the script, not because of his acting skills. As a martial arts star in the Hong Kong film genre, he's good at the martial arts, but don't give him any serious or humorous dialogue, he's just not up to the task.

Really? I'd say all 3 of those actors are underrated. And have you seen 'Hero'?

And besides serious or humorous, what else is there

[Nemeses]

Really? I'd say all 3 of those actors are underrated. And have you seen 'Hero'?

And besides serious or humorous, what else is there

Yes, I just finished watching Hero a few days ago, in fact, and was soooooo disappointed. Aside from the movie itself trying so hard to be another Hidden Tiger, Crouching Dragon, Jet Li's performance was very one dimensional. I mean, I can see that he tries hard to be a convincing actor, but IMHO he fails each time. I even commented to my husband that his acting seems like he was auditioning for a cartoon, rather than a 'serious' film.

What else is there besides serious and humorous?!? Between those two ends of the spectrum, there is a huge range of emotions and nuances. Jet Li is great in the martial arts action sequences, but he's almost painful to watch in non-action scenes. You can see he's not comfortable with the 'acting' part, in portraying emotions and conveying convincing dialogue. He also doesn't seem to be any personal charisma, nor is there any chemistry between him and his costars. He could learn a lot from observing Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat. For that matter, even from Jackie Chan, in learning to relax and enjoy the film.

But Jet is young still, so assuming he wants to continue to make movies outside the Hong Kong genre, he has time to learn to become a better actor. But if not, he'll always be a star in the HK genre where the acting is mostly irrelevant to the action scenes.