Share some of your favorite lesser-known actors/actresses.

[nytemare]

I love to come across movie gems with performers I haven't heard much of who give great performances. I find Geoffrey Rush, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton, and Audrey Tautou to be among those I like. I tend to like underappreciated performers. Even though they may have leading roles in films, they aren't quite the big headliners such as Tom Cruise or Cameron Diaz.

How about you, D.U.?

[stuntcat]

1. Sarah Polley

She rocked the zombie movie :headbang:

[nytemare]

2. I bought a DVD with her in it.

Beowulf and Grendel, which was kind of strangely done, but she did well.

[stuntcat]

5. I wanna see it

It's separate from the big "Beowulf" movie right? I'm into Grendel, that John Gardner book about him was one of my favorites, I wish that was a movie.

I wanted to add Toni Colette to my list of lesser-knows but since Muriel's Wedding she's like BLOWN UP into a superstar.

[nytemare]

9. Toni Collette is another good one.

She was good in Sixth Sense, and Clockwatchers was a good DVD I got.

And yes, that is seperate from the big-budget Beowulf movie.

[Jade Fox]

24. I just watched her in....

"In Her Shoes", an underrated movie from a couple of years ago.

[stuntcat]

31. OK OK :D

I just got it on sale at Target with a gift certificate I had and I watched it already and I really liked it! At the first I thought I needed subtitles but then I started understanding it.
It's been like 20 years since I read Grendel but I knew I was right about him.

[tammywammy]

14. She was awesome in Go

I love that movie.

[Radical Activist]

20. Oh she is great.

A liberal activist too.

[stuntcat]

22. right on!

I just read about this last night, she lost four teeth in a fight with police once :wow:

[Radical Activist]

27. I didn't know that.

My kind of girl. :)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I LOVE Sam Elliot, my dear nytemare...

:hi:

[nytemare]

11. He has a good voice.

If he hasn't done narration for documentaries, he needs to.

[Bluestar]

33. Me too! Me too! Me too!

I thought he was too obscure to make this thread and I'm so happy to see that someone else loves him too!

[momophile]

4. Kristen Bell from 'Veronica Mars'

Audrey Tautou is great too.

[madeline_con]

6. Henry Darrow from High Chaparral

I loved him SO when I was a preteen. :loveya:

Here's a pic:

http://www.thehighchaparral.com/cast.htm#Henry%20Darrow

[GigiMommy]

37. I TOTALLY forgot about this show...

and you're right about Darrow.

[qwertyMike]

7. Julia Ormond

from "Legends of the Fall"

I did a mini-series with her and Rob Lowe - Beach Girls

I was an Xtra, I'm not an actor, but I did land a speaking part in it which got me into the Union.

She's sweet, and Rob Lowe is a good guy too.

Not like some actors I have met.

Mike

[ghostsofgiants]

8. Laura Dern, Sean Gullette

[zingaro]

34. I love Laura Dern.

I've had a gigantic girliecrush on her since Mask!

[ghostsofgiants]

35. Her performance in Inland Empire is goddamn incredible.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

10. Lisa Banes, Colleen Flynn, Bess Wohl, Barbara Niven, Lisa Pelikan

Kristin Holby, Kristine Sutherland

All actors who have been under-recognized but whose performances I've enjoyed

[Ilsa]

12. Gary Oldman, Sean Bean, Alan Rickman,

Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Michael Biehn, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Dana Delaney are a few.

[shanti]

13. i like audrey tatou too

also, emily blunt, lily taylor, billy crudup, steve carell...to name a few.

[tammywammy]

15. I really like Kate Winslet

[nytemare]

18. I find that a lot of actors from the UK are great.

I admit, I am an Anglophile. I enjoy British music more, too.

Winslet does a great American accent.

[Doc_Technical]

16. Rod Taylor, Martin Balsam

[bridgit]

17. Geoffrey & Tilda are wonderful actors...

:)

[nytemare]

19. They sure are..

I discovered Rush in "Quills", and then had to rent "Shine", which was just wonderful.

As for Tilda Swinton, an earlier movie she did called "Orlando" introduced me to her acting. Quite a quirky film, which I enjoyed.

[Chovexani]

65. People go on about Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow

And rightfully so, but Geoffrey as Barbossa was just as wonderful in those movies. He hammed it up so bad and you could tell he was having the time of his life. The interplay between Sparrow and Barbossa was what made the third movie IMO. :D

"What ARRRRRRRE ya doin'?!"

"What are YOU doing?"

"No, what ARRRRRRRE ya doin'?"

:rofl:

[Skittles]

21. Will Patton and Mark Blum are two of my favorites

I've never seen them give a bad performance

[mitchum]

23. Scott Wilson, GD Spradlin, Ray Winstone

[Tuesday Afternoon]

25. Matthew Modine, Aidan Quinn, Christian Slater --

Ashley Judd, Juliet Binoche, Emily Watson

[nytemare]

26. I watched a special on Ashley Judd on HBO.

She met with Madeline Albright to discuss their charity work. Judd supports Youthaid, a charity for aids prevention in developing countries, and also provides for nutrition and clean water. It was an interesting special.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

29. I wonder what Cold Mountain would have been, if she had been

cast instead of Nicole Kidman,,,and I am a Kidman fan.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

28. Martin Freeman

He's the guy from the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He was also in Love Actually and had a small part in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead.
Also, Melissa McCarthy from Gilmour Girls, James Marsters, Liev Schreiber, and Nathan Fillion.
Duckie

[Aristus]

32. He was terrific in the scene in the Vogons' bureaucratic HQ with the people standing in endless

lines.

Freeman, as Arthur Dent, said: "I'll handle this! I'm BRITISH!"

[YellowRubberDuckie]

44. "I know how to queue!"

HE was wonderful.
He can certainly deliver a line.
Duckie

[swag]

30. Leo Fitzpatrick, from "Kids," "Bully," and some others.

I just like how well he played scuzzy in "Kids".

Sarah Polley is a great Canadian actor and director that not everybody knows about.

[ghostsofgiants]

36. Leo Fitzpatrick is great.

Justin Pierce from Kids was good as well. Shame he killed himself.

[LynneSin]

38. I love the trashy comedys with Dean Cameron in them

BTW, I read where he is a hard-core Libertarian and he event some device guarentee to trip security at the airports just to protest their searches.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0131541/bio
Is the inventor of the Bill of Rights: Security Edition cards, which are study, playing card size, pocket-sized sheets of metal with the first Ten Amendments to the Constitution printed on them. These cards are for those who are frequent fliers on commercial airliners, considering that they can set off the airport metal detectors. The idea is that, if federal inspectors and workers find these cards, one will have to give up his Bill of Rights when searched before boarding a plane. With the exception of the Fourth Amendment which is printed in red, all the other nine amendments are printed in black.

[GigiMommy]

39. Godfrey Cambridge and Derek Jacobi

[NewJeffCT]

40. His name is escaping me, but the guy who played Gimli in Lord of the Rings

He was also Sallah in the Indiana Jones movies and the professor in the TV show "Sliders."

[Aristus]

41. John Rhys-Davies.

Great actor. B-)

[NewJeffCT]

42. yes

I can't believe I forgot his name.

The guy that played Indy's boss, Marcus, in the Raiders movie is a good one, too.

[nytemare]

48. Gimli!!!

He was great in "Sliders". Loved that show.

[NewJeffCT]

52. wow, there's another fan of Sliders

I thought I was a fan club of 1...

[nytemare]

53. I think I was just out of the Army when that show came out.

Mid 90's, right? Anyway, I didn't miss an episode.

[NewJeffCT]

54. yes, mid 90s

I didn't like it as much when the cute girlfriend left and was replaced by Kari Wuhrer - who, while hotter, was just not as good an actress.

[Chovexani]

58. I miss Rembrandt

My cousin and I still quote him.

"Those Kromaggs may be some low down, dirty dogs, but these are the BEST grits I have EVER HAD!" :rofl:

[NewJeffCT]

59. i don't remember that line

but, he was a good character.

[Chovexani]

60. I forget the exact episode

But it was a wild west type of Earth and they were going to get hung by the Kromagg sheriff at sunrise. Rembrandt asked for grits for his last meal and thus that line.

He always had the best lines, though. :)

[Tommy_Carcetti]

43. Name any cast member on The Wire....

Dominic West, Wendell Pierce, Andre Royo, Michael K. Williams, Idris Elba, Aidan Gillen, Robert Wisdom, Wood Harris, Jamie Hector, Robert F. Chew, Jim True-Frost, Sonja Sohn, Chad Coleman, Larry Gillard, Jr., and many, many more....

I doubt anyone who isn't a fan of The Wire has any idea who any of these actors/actresses are, but damn, do they ever put on a hell of a performance. It's more of a reality show than any reality show can ever imagine.

[KamaAina]

55. Here's a new Wire blog with major NOLA blogosphere influence

worth checking into just for the authors (disclaimer: one is a personal acquaintance).

http://newpackage.wordpress.com

[stuntcat]

61. The Wire was on Newshour tonight

Jeffrey Brown did a long story on it, with great interviews with the creator and cast.
Newshour's all I watch on TV but The Wire does sound worth tuning in to! The people making it are smarter and way more interesting than other tv crap.

[Love Bug]

45. Jeremy Brett!

Love, love, love, his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. The best eveh!

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

46. Charlotte Gainsbourg

from this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0etAvFhYeA

to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olgftAHFBb0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPgu7OpO5oU

via this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZU9vSItPjg


Very awesome this year in "The Golden Door" and especially "I'm Not There", but barring "The Intruder" I don't think I've seen her in a bad film. "Kung-Fu Master", "The Cement Garden", "Lemming" and "Happily Ever After" are probably my favorite performances. Her album (5:55) is worth checking out too.

[chieftain]

47. No one has a better body of work than Rip Torn. (eom)

[Rambis]

49. Dawn Steele

Sea of Souls and Monarch of the Glen

[ceile]

50. Charlotte Rampling, Daniel Auteuil, Jeremy Northam

So many to choose from....

[Joe Fields]

51. Victor McLaughlin

[KamaAina]

56. Kathy Najimy

From "Soapdish" to Peggy Hill -- now THAT'S range! And did you know, she's tight with Ellen, too!

[Chovexani]

57. Peter Wingfield? Peter Wingfield. Oh and Peter Wingfield!

No one's heard of him unless they're a Highlander fan, and he's not conventionally pretty (I think he's hot though and he has chemistry with the damn FURNITURE) but the man is an awesome character actor, has a hot Welsh accent and NEEDS MOAR WORK. Did I mention his work with UNICEF on behalf of AIDS orphans?



(I'm a fangirl. Shut up.) :loveya:

[greatauntoftriplets]

62. Kate Beckinsale.

Loved her in "Cold Comfort Farm".

[NewJeffCT]

66. she makes a good vampire, too

Underworld, I think was the movie.

[Misskittycat]

63. Brit Actor Richard Armitage

Currently plays Sir Guy of Gisbourne in Robin Hood; starred in BBC miniseries North and South.

Incredibly handsome and a voice like chocolate.

[Xipe Totec]

64. Lumi Cavazos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumi_Cavazos

[Redbear]

67. Victor Allen Miller

and Marilyn Hack and Callie Webb

[Babel_17]

68. Milla Jovovich in "Dummy"

where she acts totally against type and shows both her sense of humor and her ability to sing.

Sean Young for being more woman than the Hollywood establishment can handle.

Katie Sackhoff, another total package who had me gasping from the intensity of her dedication to her part on The Bionic Woman.