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My List Of Underappreciated Actors

Matthew Toomey

4 December 2001

With Harry Potter, I've also commented how much I enjoyed the performance of Alan Rickman. It left me thinking how many great actors there are that often go unnoticed but are great in any film and in any role. So with that said, I've tried to come up with a short list of my favourite underappreciated actors. I've only come up with this on the spot and
I know in a couple of hours I'll think of someone I've left off and get really annoyed but I'll try my best. If anyone has their own opinion, please let me know.

Here we go (with their best recent films in brackets):

Alan Rickman (Die Hard, Robin Hood, Sense & Sensibility)
Jennifer Connolly (Dark City, Requiem For A Dream, Inventing The Abbotts)
Laura Linney (Primal Fear, The Truman Show, You Can Count On Me)
Willem Dafoe (Shadow Of The Vampire, The English Patient, American Psycho)
Julianne Moore (Magnolia, The End Of The Affair, The Big Lebowski, Boogie Nights)
Tobey Maguire (Wonder Boys, The Cider House Rules, Pleasantville, The Ice Storm)
Dennis Quaid (Traffic, Frequency, Any Given Sunday, Dragonheart)
John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich, Rounders, Con Air, The Portrait Of A Lady)
Ian McKellen (Gods And Monsters, Richard III, X-Men, The Lord Of The Rings)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Talented Mr Ripley, Happiness, The Big Lebowski)
William H. Macy (State And Main, Magnolia, Fargo, Boogie Nights, Wag The Dog)

That's not a bad list. I could go on all night but that took about an hour of thought so I'll leave it at that for a while.