PatD

There are performances out there where you're like "Did you see that? That was an amazing performance!" Where others are like, "Uh, yup, that's a thing."

So, feel free to name your favorite underrated/overlooked performance.

My pick is Kirk Baltz in Reservoir Dogs as Officer Marvin Nash. In some ways he gave the best performance in the movie. He just exudes anguish, fear, exhaustion, and pain in a character that's brutalized to the very end by remorseless thugs. The infamous "Stuck in the Middle with You" scene wouldn't have the impact it does without Baltz's very visceral reactions to the horrors being inflicted.

Crocker Jarmen

I thought in a just world, Eddie Murphy would at least have been nominated for The Nutty Professor Part II. It pains me the movie was so wretched and shamefully awful, because his performance as the Klump family was incredible. It wasn't so much that he was playing a bunch of character, but that he was performing the essence of a family and how the different generations are connected to one another, from young to old, from male to female. He is amazing in that piece of shit movie. Makes me mad thinking about it.

Hazel Motes

Warren Oates in Badlands.
Harold Ramis in Knocked Up
Linda Manz in Out Of The Blue
Raul Julia in One From The Heart

hbilly

Paz de la Huerta in Nurse 3D. Sure, Nurse 3D is pure camp but Paz gives one of the most intriguing performances seen in some time.

Eva Green in Cracks (2009). Simply amazing performance.

EddieMoney

Gary Poulter in "Joe"

majorjoe23

I'm curious, has an actor ever been nominated for playing multiple characters in the same film?

johnnysd

Peter Sellers certainly for Dr Strangelove. There may be others.

DaveyJoe

Performance wise, I always felt that Cillian Murphy was the unsung hero of the Dark Knight trilogy. He is so condescending and creepy as Dr. Crane.

EddieMoney

One of the greatest performances ever is by Jeremy Irons playing twins. Not even nominated for an Oscar. Just shameful.

james2025a

I would also say his performance in Two Lane Black Top.

I know he is known for the murder trial these days, but Robert Blake in Electra Glide in Blue was fantastic.

And you know what, i think that Mark Hamil through the original Star Wars trilogy didn't get enough props. Everyone thinks immediately of Ford and Solo, but over the course of the 3 movies Luke really goes from a young immature kid to a mature adult with purpose.

DaveyJoe

He wasn't nominated for Dead Ringers? That is a major oversight. I just always assumed he was nominated because the performance was that good.

inri222

Sean Penn - The Assassination of Richard Nixon
Bjork - Dancer in the Dark
Laura Dern - Inland Empire
Michael Fassbender - Hunger
Gary Oldman - State of Grace
Paul Dano - There Will Be Blood
Antonio Banderas - The Skin I Live In
Jack Lemmon - Glengarry Glen Ross
Matthias Schoenaerts - Bullhead
Clive Owen - Children of Men
Jeremy Irons - M. Butterfly
Sam Rockwell- Moon
Ricardo Darin - The Aura
Ray Liotta - Narc
Edward Norton - 25th Hour
Nick Nolte - Q&A
Jake Gyllenhaal - Enemy
James Franco - Spring Breakers
Oliver Reed - The Brood
Forrest Whitaker - Ghost Dog / Bird
Javier Bardem - Biutiful
Eric Bana - Chopper
Tahar Rahim - A Prophet
Anna Magnani - Mama Roma
Vincent Gallo - Tetro / Trouble Every Day
Roy Scheider - Sorcerer
Emmanuelle Béart - L'Enfer
Michael Rooker - Henry
Scott Wilson - The Ninth Configuration
Benecio del Toro - Fear and Loathing in LV
Aggeliki Papoulia - Alps / Dogtooth
Mads Mikkelsen - Pusher II
Uma Thurman - Nymphomaniac
Ulrick Thomsen - The Inheritance
Peter Mullan - Session 9
Paul Giamatti - Cosmopolis
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Christopher Walken - The Funeral
Monica Vitti - Every Antonioni film she was in

EddieMoney

I know, it's hard to believe. It has to be one of the biggest snubs in history. Although, when he won a few years later for "Reversal of Fortune," he made sure to thank Mr. Cronenberg.

inri, I agree with about your whole list. Just want to reiterate how little love Oldman gets for "State of Grace," perhaps his best work ever. Electrifying, terrifying, and absolutely sympathetic all at once.

Also, Sean Penn should have been nominated years before he was. "The Falcon and the Snowman," "At Close Range," and "Carlito's Way" all should have netted him noms.

dvdjunkie32

Dwight Yoakam in Sling Blade is one of the first ones to pop in my head. I almost had to do a double take when I first saw it. This is Dwight the country singer?

His portrayal of an abusive drunk boyfriend was frightening realistic and demonstrates why it is hard for women to get out of those relationships.

EddieMoney

Good pick! That was indeed a very good performance.

Quatermass

Alan Rickman in Galaxy Quest

hanshotfirst1138

Nice job, you broke the ship, you broke the bloody ship!

Brack

Jim Carrey in The Truman Show

Christian Bale in American Psycho/The Machinist (probably some of his other smaller films too. and he was a great Batman)

Tom Cruise in Rain Man (yes, I know he got an Oscar nom). Hoffman's role was more noticeable, but Cruise had the harder part in many ways.

Gene Hackman in The Coversation

Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive

Guy Pierce in Momento

Robin Williams in Insomnia

Bill Paxton in Frailty

many more

Jaymole

Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor

Why So Blu?

Óscar Jaenada in Cantinflas. He was fantastic.

DaveyJoe

I agree with this and that film in general doesn't get as much love as it deserves.

EddieMoney

Hmm, I didn't think Cruise was nominated for "Rain Man." He was the following year for "Born on the Fourth of July," which is another underrated performance.

Brack

You're right, brain fart on my part.

inri222

Tom Cruise - Eyes Wide Shut
Jim Carrey - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine
Michael Shannon - My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done
Rena Owen - Once Were Warriors
Ralph Fiennes - Spider
Jack Nicholson - The Pledge
Susan Lothar - Funny Games
David Thewlis - Naked

EddieMoney

Blue Valentine is one of the best acted films I have ever seen.