Lesser known actors who you'd like to see more of

I'm talking talented actors or actresses who get passed over for great roles, though they may get a lot of lesser ones.

Harold Perrineau, Jr. - A pilot in the last two Matrix movies, he also played Mercutio in Rome + Juliet, Baz Lurhman's modernist interpretation of Shakespeare. The movie was pathetic, but a couple of people, including Perrineau and Leonardo Di Capprio, turned out great performances

Gabrielle Union-- She's starting to catch on. She's been getting action roles, lately, like Bad Boys II and Cradle to the Grave, but that's because she's attractive and can play strong characters. She has good range, too, as she showed in "Deliver us from Eva," a cute film made much better by her performance.

Billy Connolly-- He's been in a lot of films, and always steals the scenes they give him.

Anna Friel-- Timeline and An Everlasting Piece. Her character in the latter stole the show.

A mere start. WHo are your faves to watch?

from "Dead Poets Society" and "Tape" - he's mostly on Broadway and not in movies now. A really good actor.

Played Angelina Jolie's girlfriend in GIA, and Kerry's girlfriend on ER - she's of course played a lot of straight characters as well, like the Mom in Frequency

I wish that hadn't got cancelled. I did like it so.

Model turned actor. Octane,Tough Luck, Boondock Saints.

He gets a lot of work, just not enough in my book. My dream is to see him in a biography of Peter Lorre.

What a thought!

He's wonderful.

I even watched episodes of Judging Amy just because he was on the show for a while.

Also could do with more screen time for Kyle Secor (from Homicide).

Julia Ormand
Jennifer Connelly
Sophie Marceau
Kate Beckinsale
Ringo

Although Marceau did star in one of the three worst Bond films ever. Not her fault, though. Between her and Robert Carlysle, that film should have been better.

I loved the remake of Sabrina. Awesome soundtrack, too.

of course, in Smilla's Sense of Snow. Any attractive woman can act like a charming babe in love. SMilla was a complex character, who kept becoming more intriguing as the film developed. Good role, great performance, pretty good film. The relationship between Byrnes and Ormand needed a lot more work, but that's the writer and director.

David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Joe Morton, Vincent Spano

Some others:

Stellan Skarsgård

Patricia Clarkson

Noah Wyle

Goran Visnjic

Terence Stamp

Billy Zane

Tim Roth

Ralph Fiennes

Alan Rickman

Frances McDormand

The "old" Jennifer Connelly - wonderful actress, but she's gone on the Hollywood starvation diet. Such a pity. Watch her in Mullholland Falls. She had a beautiful, old Hollywood, Marilyn Monroe curves and a soft pretty face.

Ione Skye

Saffron Burrows - Maybe too beautiful for her own good.

Barbara Hershey - I've just always loved her.

Tina Majorino

Christina Ricci

Thora Birch

Oh geez, the list goes on ....

Granted, most of these actors work plenty, they just don't get the big starring roles. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Not everyone can be or what's to be Ben Affleck or Gwyneth Paltrow.

plus...
Liev Schrieber
Rachel McAdams
Sarah Silverman
Luis Guzman
Jason Lee
Brian Cox

Two of my favorite actors.

I can even forgive Jason for naming his kid "Pilot Inspector Gadget" or whatever! :D

Couldn't agree more with you on that, TexasBushwhacker! Did you see her in Inventing the Abbotts? Wow. :loveya:

Jennifer is one of the most beautiful actresses ever, but lately she doesn't look so great. She is so hot, it's such a shame that she's fallen victim to the current Hollywood stick-figure standard. (At least, I'm assuming that's what it is.) Unless it's just the natural course her body has taken? Still sucks either way...I'd like to see the "old" Jennifer again too.

More here: http://www.paulbettany.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=173

so damn gorgeous

She is just so gorgeous! I think she's right up there with Elizabeth Taylor as far as beauty goes, don't you? We always seem to hear about how beautiful Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, etc. are...but I don't think anyone in Hollywood today can even hold a candle to Jennifer Connelly!

And I do still think she's beautiful now; I just preferred the "meatier" Jennifer, I guess. She looks fabulous in that Vogue photo, but I've seen some recent pics where she looked very boney. But, as I said in my other post, that could just be the natural shape her body has taken. Anway, as my mom says, she's the kind of girl who could roll in dirt and wear a potato sack, and she'd still be beautiful! :-)

Chris Cooper is getting some good recognition lately, it is so wonderful to see.

Mark Ruffalo is great.

...an excellent flick.

and Josh Lucas. Yes, Josh did have a pretty big role in Sweet Home Alabama, but he needs more starring roles, dammit! And Cole finally had a starring role recently (Papparazzi) but I think he got the shaft on that one 'cause it was supposedly crap (didn't see it yet, though.) I must say, Cole has shined in everything he's been in, though, even if the role was small (as it usually is.) Hell, he was the only thing that made 2Fast2Furious watchable!

Both Josh and Cole are waaaaay more talented (and hot! :9 ) than many of the overexposed young guys in Hollywood (Josh Hartnett, Colin Farrell, etc.) I just don't understand why all those less talented actors usually seem to get the higher profile roles. :shrug:

"Tigerland"

He was in a supporting role, but very, very good performance

Colin Ferrell starred, and the best acting of all his movies that I've seen.

It's a "small" movie, in terms of budget, but really good. Recommend that you rent "Tigerland", preferably from Netflix, a Democratic part supporter.

I loved it. A very well done, yet unfortunately not widely seen war film. As you said, Cole was very good (as he always is, IMO.) ;-) Did you know he was actually nominated for an Indie Spirit award for his performance in Tigerland? I was happy to see him recognized for that.

He always seems to play these small roles where, in spite of how small the role is, he is able to shine. I just wish he would get some more lead roles so I can really enjoy him for a whole movie.

Augustus was my favorite character.

Susan Dey! Susan Dey!!! SUSAN DEY!!!

I've been in love with Susan Dey since I was a nine-year-old boy BTW. (Sigh}

http://www.geocities.com/susan_dey/

Any other's here relate?:loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

A little eye candy for ya...

Seems like a week on Netflix could fill your every Alan Rickman desire.

I love the guy, but if he were in any more films, the union would complain.

I can watch Robin Hood Prince of Thieves over, and over, and over again - skipping the Kevin Costner scenes.

As for Megan Follows, definitely, have loved her since Anne of Avonlea.


A pick of my own would be Craig Parker. And Gabriel Byrne and Christian Bale (can anyone see that I watched Little Women again this weekend?) As for actresses, Zoe Saldana. I loved her as Eva in Center Stage.

Aka the Really Old Guy, Duncan MacLeod's One True Love, Adam Pierson aka Methos. I have been crushing on him for years, ever since I saw him on Highlander. The man lights the screen on fire, and while he is not conventionally pretty by Hollywood standards, he oozes SEX. Since Highlander went off he has had some bit parts in various things but nothing at all to match that. He had a recurring part on that garbage, short-lived Queen of Swords show (he was the only thing worth watching it for), and for god's sake he was slumming in some crap ass made-for-cable Disney movie with Debbie Reynolds. Methos! The 5000 year old Immortal that spread death, destruction and sex across bronze-age Europe! The last time I saw him, he was the nameless commander of Stryker's soldiers in X-2: X-Men United, and had like two lines, but when I saw him up on screen I squealed like the crazy fangirl I am.

Why can't this man get some decent work? Does Chovexani have to choke a bitch?!

I hadn't seen your post when I posted first. I am desperately waiting for any scrap of film with him in it - he's such a great actor.He did star in some Stargate SG-1 eps.
I can't believe there hasn't been a Methos omnibus from Highlander the Series released yet. People would buy it in droves. But seeing him in new work would be just as good.

To add to the list, I also miss Geraldine Somerville, last seen as Harry Potter's mother, Lily Potter. And Garret Maggart - Blair Sandburg on The Sentinel. Haven't seen him since that show went off the air. Not to mention Robert Duncan McNeill - flyboy Tom Paris on Star Trek Voyager.

He has got it going on. When asked about the Nicolette Sheridan uproar, his response included the phrase, " golly, gee."

You gotta love the guy.

He's fleeing the interview! He's fleeing the interview!

I love the guy, but he's prett busy.

...Brian Cox, Marcia Gay Harden, David Morrissey, Jane Horrocks, Timothy Spall. Yeah, I like British movies...

I am not really sure if he is 'lesser known'.. he has a real talent as an actor.

Not only is he totally gorgeous, he is a really brilliant young actor. Just watch "The Believer."




hehe :7

Gosling was good in Murder By Numbers, but The Believer was intense beyond the pale.

I became a Ryan Gosling fan when I saw him in a movie called "Stay" in 2005. I think only 14 people ever saw it, but I loved it. Ewan McGregor, Janeane Garofalo, and Naomi Watts were also in it.

...Detective Harris on "Barney Miller" and most recently Shepherd Book on "Firefly" (and the upcoming movie "Serenity").

:loveya:

Alan Rickman, Molly Parker(Deadwood), Patricia Tallman (Babylon 5), Jerry Doyle(Babylon 5), John Hannah (The Mummy), Tim Olyphant(Deadwood), Harry Lennix (Commander Lock from the Matrix films), Kathryn Morris (Cold Case), the guy who played Johnny Sack from the Sopranos, Julia Ormond(First Knight), Alexis Denisof (Angel), Michael McShane (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), Natascha McEllhone (Ronin), Wentworth Miller (The Human Stain), Michael York (Austin Powers, Megiddo), Chris Judge (Stargate SG-1), Clancy Brown (Highlander), William Sadler (Roswell), Allison Mack (Smallville), and Nathan Filion (Firefly). Whew. That's alot.

On edit: J.K Simmons (Oz, Spider Man), Dennis Farina, Henry Simmons (NYPD Blue), Chris Cooper, Steven Dorff, Anna Faris, Rhona Mitra, and once again, my man Jean Reno.

He got type cast as a bad guy after he did Terminator 2, but he plays a great good guy, too. Everyone I've ever heard from who's met him says he's the nicest person. I liked him a lot in that stint he did on the X-Files, and I'd love to see him in a lead role.

Two of my all time favorites.

I just went to IMDB and found out that Perlman does the voice of "Lord Hood" for the video game HALO 2. Have to watch for that when I get it.

I pretty much love any role Perlman plays. Hellboy of course was fantastic, but also City of Lost Children and Enemy at the Gates.

I especially loved Perlman in Alien: Resurrection, also a good movie for Dourif.

My favorite Dourif role is still the Gemini Killer in Exorcist III. I'd like to see him expand more into non-horror/sci-fi/fantasy films.

Some small bell rings in the back of my head, looking at Hanks' make-up, hair, etc.

I haven't seen "Davinci" but that's just what I feel. It -would- be good to see more of Brad.

I could watch him sitting in front of a white wall reading the dictionary, just so I could hear that voice.

them nearly as much as I want to.
And if anyone senses a 'theme' in the list, well, dang it, I miss the show! :cry: I REALLY miss it.

Andre Braugher
Clark Johnson
Jon Polito
Kyle Secor
Melissa Leo
Ned Beatty
Peter Gerety
Reed Diamond
Toni Lewis
Yaphet Kotto
Zeljko Ivanek
Erik Todd Dellums

:(

A truly talented actress, humanitarian and political liberal. She's been great in what I've seen her in and I'd like to see her in many more roles.

Same applies for Sarah Chadwick (Australian actress)

Gabrielle Union is kind of annoying to me. Among lesser known black actresses I'm a much bigger fan of Nicole Ari Parker and Joy Bryant.

as Augustus Hill, the wheelchair bound narrator

Not that I'm a snob about tv, really, but with an eleven year old, a five year old, and wife who hasn't moved from the couch since we put it there, I never get control of the tv. Except on Sundays.

Is he good on the series?

As for Gabrielle Union, it has nothing to do with her being a lesser known black actress. I just like her style. She always plays someone intelligent and strong, not the usual wimpy Hollywood gal, and not the over-the-top Roller Derby kick-ass babe. She just seems real to me (except in Bad Boys II-- which I've forgiven everyone except the director for). In "Deliver Us From Eva" (A modernized Taming of the Shrew), she played an obnoxious, overbearing shrew who slowly changed into a sympathetic, loveable character without ever losing the strong independence that was central to her character. In fact, her change was very subtle, yet very obvious. Not many actors master that type of subtlety.

I admit to not knowing who Joy Bryant and Nicole Ari Parker are.

along with Terry O'Quinn as Locke(the best), and the guy who plays Sayid.

His character is a supporting one but his performance has been very understated and effective.

Michael Perrineau is fine on the series, in a supporting role. But he'll always be Mercutio to me.

And most of his regulars from Guffman and Best in show.
Also:

Mary Louise Parker...when she has a good director, like in Boy's on the Side.

Richard Dean Anderson

Came home from work the other night to the tail end of a Law and Order in which Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole played a not-so-loving couple, and quite realistically.

Last night while I was seeing in the New Year with Led Zeppelin (The Song Remains the Same), I heard one of my sons telling the other one, "Mom's watching Spinal Tap again." Wonder how many other times Robert Plant has been mistaken for David St. Hubbins?

He had a guest spot as washed up, alcoholic Daily Planet columnist Perry White and stole every scene he was in. That episode was a high point in an otherwise craptastic season.

Then again he is married to Annette O'Toole irl who plays Mama Kent on the show. Woefully underused, too. :( *heads off to the meeting of the Smallville Deep Bitterness Society*

Stringer Bell from "The Wire."

there is no going back. He should be banished to Hollywood hell.

co-star whose name I can never remember. I guess I don't like her that much.

Brother Bear!!

Strange Luck was an interesting but forgotten series that reminded me for some reason of Briscoe County Jr. Quirky; unpredictable, faded in and out of believable and fantastic scenarios.

I never saw (or heard of) cutting edge. Sounds like I should be thankful.

nees more movies with a topless Joey Lauren Adams. Lisa Ann Walters is also smoking hot.

One of the best character actors working. I'll watch even a rancid POS if it has McGill in it. He played the "mark" in Matchstick Men with Nicolas Cage.

He has a too-small part as a North Carolina cop in a great old TV "docudrama": Black Widow: Blanche Taylor Moore. True story of a devout church lady who was carrying on two hot affairs (one with a preacher) while systematically poisoning most of the men in her life.

I always fall down laughing at McGill's comment while they're exhuming yet another body from a local graveyard: "The newspapers are callin' Pine Hill Cemetery the 'Blanche Taylor Moore Landfill.'"

The first time I really noticed Bruce McGill was when he played the bartender in the last episode of Quantum Leap. I'm not sure another actor could have lent such credibility to the idea of God wiping glasses behind a bar and controlling the universe.

I have a tendency to start watching shows midway through their last season and then catching up via reruns or video. The next time I saw McGill was in the first episode of Quantum Leap. Kind of nice symmetry to that.

I had one of those "Oh, who IS that?" moments. I remember having that some reaction in My Cousin Vinny and The Legend of Bagger Vance. Good character actor.

and MacGyvers friend in that show

in babylon 5... but to me he'll always be D-DAY! :evilgrin:

She steals every single thing she is in-- I love that woman.

who has starred with Billy Connolly (Mrs. Brown and Timeline) and Anna Friel (Timeline).

He did an awesome job as Attila and the Phantom in the new movie version of Phantom of the Opera.

I hope we will be seeing more of him.

He and Angelina helped raise an otherwise average movie to a more watchable level.

I don't know if anyone has heard of him, but he was an activist before he was an actor. (since he was ten)

Here are official sites with trailers of two upcoming movies of his.

http://www.bombthesystem.com/homepage.html

http://www.dearwendy.dk/

I heart him:loveya:

He's been great in every movie I've ever seen with him. Even "Scent of a Woman" and of course "The Big Lebowski"

He's actually been in so many films, rarely the lead, often just a "cameo."

...small, but hilarious bits.

i never get tired of watching these two prolific, but still criminally underappreciated, actors

Colm Meany was awesome in it,as he is in everything I've seen him in so far.

Long before House he did a lot of great comedy like Blackadder,Fry and Laurie,and Jeeves and Wooster,to name just a few.

He also wrote one of the funniest books I've ever read called The Gun Seller.

PJ O'Rourke was never done as well until then!

Hotel Rawanda is a fantastic film!

2-fer in "The Day Trippers"

...but I loved him in "Chasing Amy" and "Almost Famous".

Christopher Lloyd - I love him in the Back to the Future trilogy and Taxi.

First saw him in The Firm as Tom Cruise's older brother. He is always good.

He always does so good in supporting roles, I'd like to see him try to carry a movie as the main actor.

(me)

Of Sayle's "Brother from another Planet" and "Terminator 2" fame.

Also, more Iggy Pop please.

Cillian Murphy is Scarecrow from Batman Begins. He was sublime in Breakfast on Pluto in 2005. I would love to see him more. Also, Alan Rickman. Because of Harry Potter, he's a little more well known than some of the others who've been mentioned, but it would be nice to see him in a leading role now and then. I would sit through a two hour film of Alan Rickman reading the phone book, I really would.

And Chiwetel Ejiofor is fantastic. Like him a lot. (He played Denzel's partner in Inside Man, and was also in Children of Men.) I just checked on IMDB and he has some interesting movies coming out this year, two of them with Don Cheadle. All look like supporting roles, though.

There are some good actresses I like that I wish would be more In demand than some of these tabloid
womem,and are both beautiful and talented

Eliza Dushku(Faith on Buffy/Angel)
Melissa George(Great on Alias Season 3)
Holly Marie Combs(always so Ignored and why she gt less attention from Charmed Is beyond me)
Anna Paquin(Rogue from X-Men Films)
Summer Glau(River from Firefly/Serenity)
Morena Baccarin(also from Firefly/Serenity.Recently on Stargate SG1's final season)
Dina Meyer(great In Starship Troopers,and the best thing about Birds of Prey)
Amy Acker(Fred on Angel,and Peyton on ALias Season 5)

Dylan Moran (Bernard from Black Books, David from Shaun of the Dead)
Simon Pegg (Tim from Spaced, Shaun from Shaun of the Dead)
Richard Coyle (Jeff from Coupling)
Tamsin Greig (Fran from Black Books)
Lucy Davis (Dawn from The Office, Diane from Shaun of the Dead)

The show Spaced is hilarious, yet it hasn't even been released on DVD in the US...and this list is just for starters!

Hot Fuzz was hysterical!

Tim Olyphant
Ian McShane
Molly Parker
W. Earl Brown
Dayton Callie
Kim Dickens
Parisse Boothe
Jim Beaver
Paula Malcolmson
Parisse Boothe
Brad Dourif

...and so on. They're mostly all "lesser knowns", although, Timothy Olyphant, Powers Boothe, and Ian McShane have landed some higher profile roles lately. Molly Parker might be on her way up, too.

I love all those guys, and I wish people who are unfamiliar with Deadwood could find out how talented they are. Here's hoping! :)

***edited to add Brad Dourif...can't believe I forgot him...he's absolutely brilliant!

Benicio del Toro (I heard somehwere he's playing Che Guevara)
Bjork
GARY OLDMAN
Michelle Pfeiffer
Esai Morales
Dave Chappelle

She played the victim on the Cold Case episode, 'Schedenfreud'(sp?). Apparently, she's in a few indie films too or something. I think she's the MOST beautiful woman around: long dark hair, big brown eyes.My second choice is Haylie Duff of Napoleon Dynamite fame, who besides acting should do more music. She has a beautiful singing voice and I think she's better looking then her sis. A related choice would be Lalaine from the Lizzy MaGuire show. And my forth would be Aly Michalka, who was on Phil of the Future, a show that I sometimes watch because its the only show on Saturdays. =)

I was replying to a thread about lesser known celebrities...what the heck happened? I didn't intend to start a thread...

Hi,

I would like to see more of actor Paul Francis. He was on Tears of the Sun, Play Dead, Warlock 3, Clean an Narrow and a few more. He is my favorite actor, and I think I'm one of his few fans. He is a great actor, he deserves much more than all the sad parts he getting. Unfortunatly he doesn't have a website, and there is hardly anything to find about him on the internet. One of the few sites that does have some good info about him is IMDb, on the message board there I have left A few messages but there are so little Paul fans that I'm the only one that leaves messages, wich is kind of sad acctually. If you'd like, please take a look on his IMDb site. ( cause there are more Paul Francis' out there, look for Paul Francis (II) ) And if you want, leave a message, on IMDb my ID is LovePaul. Let me know what you think of him.
Thanks.

and Peter Dinklage

And then on Wednesday it was kicked back to life. That's a long drought. I guess someone must have been digging deep in the archives ...

Yes that would be me. I was so tired of not finding anything about my favorite actor, who happens to be a lesser known actor, that I googled lesser known actor. And that's how I found this site. Hoping for, support, help, understanding and friends. I had no idea there are so many lesser known celebs, unbelievable.
I hope that by posting my message about Paul Francis, more fans of lesser knowns will do the same.

Gerard Butler - did you all know he was originally an attorney in Scotland -- I could watch him just breate..

I cannot remember this actor's name but he is from Eastern Europe and he was on "ER" for a few seasons. he was also in the TV movie "Spartacus" a few years ago. Great accent...ruggedly handsome.

Hey, when was the last time I had a date...maybe that's why I'm saying these things..

Not sure if he's still alive.
Been around for ages, though. Never seen him do a bad job.
He had a leading part in _Paris, Texas_. Which was *totally* ignored by the academy.

J.

:evilgrin:

Ok your right, she isn't but she is known. This thread is about lesser known celebs.

Maybe Julia is taking a sabatical, spending time with her kids and hubbie.

She was in some corporate intrigue film with Clive Owen last summer. She's still working her skinny ass off.

I didn't know she is still a busy bee. It's hard to stay up-dated in my country, here we hear more about the "young actors/actresses". Too bad.

I am they only one that is visiting her favorite lesser known actors IMDb and Filmbug sites. My two favorite actors are both 'lesser known', and it seems I am the only one that visits their sites and leave messages their. ( I'm even starting to reply to my own threads, to break the silence I guess, haha )
I am curious if I'm the only one, who seems to be the only visitor of a lesser known celebs site/forum/message board. ( doesn't have to be IMDb or Filmbug ) Or do you also do that ( the visiting, not specificly the repling to own threads, although it would be nice to hear that I'm not the only one that does that )
And are you sad ( can't find a better word at the moment ) about that as I am?

in Ghostworld and Mystery Train. He was just recently in a 30 Rock episode, very good.

probably a stupid question, but what does 'FB' stand for?

If it stands for Favorite (message)Board, than I don't understand what you mean. Because it won't make a difference if you're the only one there. It still means I'm replying to my own threads/messages.

Best known as "Queen of Swords". I think Tessie would make a terrific "Bond girl" star.



http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0763643/

I'd also have to second the Donal Logue suggestion, but I'd add Kevin Corrigan, too. Grounded for Life was a great underrated show.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

He was the centurian?