filmed but not forgotten performances (male)
Saturday, March 10, 2007 at 9:00AM the academy awards marks the end of the awards season and it got me to thinking about actors and performances that didn't get nominated let alone win many, if any, awards. which brings us here and my list of the top 15 male performances that went under appreciated.
my main criteria was that they not be nominated for an academy award and not have won a golden globe (see the honorable mentions for some of those). if they weren't even nominated for a golden globe or many other awards, that was also taken into consideration. now, of course there are many performances that could be considered, but i also tried to have comedy and action performances (2 categories that are usually dismissed by the academy), as well as films that were highly praised but had actors performances that were somehow overlooked.
1) nicholas cage & john travolta - Face/Off
2) jason shwartzman & bill murray - Rushmore
3) mike meyers - Austin Powers 2
4) martin sheen - Apocalypse Now
5) al pacino & johnny depp - Donnie Brasco
6) vince vaughn - Swingers
7) entire cast of Glengarry Glen Ross
8) mark whalberg & john c. reilly -Boogie Nights
9) matt damon - The Talented Mr. Ripley
10) alan alda - Crimes And Misdemeanors
11) joseph gorden levitt - Brick
12) malcolm mcdowell - A Clockwork Orange
13) campbell scott - Rodger Dodger
14) ewan mcgreggor - Trainspotting
15) harrison ford & sean connery - Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
honorable mention: john travolta - Get Shorty, jim carrey - Man In The Moon, sacha baron cohen - Borat, sylvester stalone - Rocky Balboa, ben affleck & jason lee - Chasing Amy
Reader Comments (22)
Honorable Mentions: Giovanni Ribisi-"Boiler Room", Johnny Depp-"Donnie Brasco", John C. Reilly-"Magnolia", James Van Der Beek-"The Rules Of Attraction", Nathan Fillion-"Serenity", Donal Logue-"The Tao of Steve"
15. Tim Robbins / Short Cuts - Tim's performance in this outstanding ensemble piece stands out! He is soooo funny in this role.
14. Guy Pearce / Memento - Dude he's acting...backwards!
13. Nicolas Cage / Raising Arizona - He gets so much credit for his later work but to me this is his masterpiece. (His hair in this alone deserves a nomination)
12. Jeff Bridges / Big Lebowski - Actually Bridges, Goodman, and Buscemi should share this spot equally.
11. Malcom Mcdowell / Clockwork Orange - I tried not to duplicate but this one was too good.
10. Brad Pitt / Fight Club - Can't think of many things cooler than Tyler Durden.
9. Philip Seymour Hoffman / Happiness - One of his best...costar Dylan Baker just missed this list.
8. Christian Bale / American Psycho - What a performance...The Machinist, The Prestige, Batman, Reign of Fire why isn't this guy getting accolades!
7. William H. Macy / The Cooler - I chose the cooler but really just line up his movies and throw a dart...as long as you make sure to miss "Wild Hogs"...and what what's up with that?!?
6. Philip Baker Hall / Hard Eight - He was great in Magnolia but to me his portral of Sydney in this film is absoulutely sublime.
5. Vince Vaughn / Swingers - Jon was great, but really when it comes right down to it Vince MADE this movie. To me he's come close, but has yet to nail this combination of hilarity, annoyance & charisma in anything he's done since.
4. Sam Rockwell / Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind - Wow Wow Wow, This to me was on par with Carey's Man o' the Moon. Rockwell was a true knockout in this role...He Nailed it!
3. David Carradine / Kill Bill Vol. II - How do you top Kill Bill 1? Make David the star of Kill Bill 2! By the way speaking of director's cuts where the hell is the Kill Bill Combo!....I want it NOW!
2. Jean Reno / Leon The Professional - Reno in this is so perfect I don't even know where to begin....I'm speechless, if you can believe that.
1. Ray Liotta / Goodfellas - Speaking of Bale's lack of kudo's how did this performance get so overlooked! Liotta is a standout in everything he does but to me this was the most overlooked performance of the decade!
I'm really look forward to other lists and comments as well as Jesse's 1-7. I just know he's going to bring up someone I overlooked.
So Let's start with the most controversial in my list.
Sharon Stone: Just fresh off her Razzies win! She's phenomenal in Casino. Gives as good as she gets with Michael Douglas in the original Basic Instinct and kicks ass in Allen Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold. Ok the last one’s a joke but she’s a lot of fun in The Quick and the Dead.I’m still looking for a third one...I’ll get back to you...lol
Michael Madison: Gives too many sleep walk performances but is great as the mob boss in Donnie Brasco. Chilling as the psycho in Reservoir Dogs and His is best role is as Bill’s Brother in Kill Bill. As long as he just acts in Tarintino’s movies he’ll be alright.
Delroy Lindo: Great supporting work that is just always overlooked. He steals the movie in Clockers. Fights Travolta for top billing in Get Shorty and is solid in Mamet’s Heist.
Sarah Polly: Indie queen who has transitioned into the mainstream and directing lately. But again she’s great in Guinevere, The Sweet Hereafter and a lot of fun in GO. I really think she’s one of the best actress around and I’d put her in my movie.
William Peterson: You wanted action you got To Live and Die in L.A.. He kicks ass as the obsessed cop after Willem Dafoe. Was Hannibal Lecters sparing partner way before Jodie Foster and Ed Norton in Mindhunter. And to cheat a lil’ he’s really cool In C.S.I..
Gary Oldman: For Everything!!!!! A couple of favorites are...Romeo is Bleeding, Dracula and Leon (The Professional)... “I said bring me EVERYONE!!!!!!” ...
- madsen is an interesting pick, but you are right to say he does good work with tarantino, although even in those roles he tends to have that david caruso/horatio caine thing going on: maybe for him its more about finding roles that fit his shtick rather then him being able to fit into roles, and tarantino knows how to pick roles for him.
- and also, The Quick And The Dead was on tv the other day and i watched part of it again. thats a really fun flick. i remembered really liking when it was released, but hadn't seen it since. - and stone was nominated for best actress for Casino
Along the lines of multiple unrewarded performances go, I'd put Don Cheadle on the list - "Boogie Nights" "Out of Sight" "Traffic" "Ocean's Eleven"
I've always thaought "The Quick & The Dead" was a great unsung western lark. It has some fantastic Sam Raimi shots and a really fun cast. Well worth catching every now & then.
Oldman and Lindo are both favorites of mine. Just as a thought, have you seen Romeo is Bleeding? I think it's great FBNF suggestion. It got lousy reviews when it came out but I think it's a perfect example of Modern-Noir. Where you use the parnoid trapping and fatalistic world view of Noir instead of thew typical lighting and camera angles that everyone thinks of when they think Noir.
That's a good point about Madison. He needs roles that fit his persona/type. He doesn't wander off the garden path very far. Of course I'd also put George Clooney in that same category and he won for Syriana. So there's still hope for Madison.
And yeah, Cam I totally forgot about the cast of "Dogs". Keitel and Roth were nominated but never won and Buscemi has only been nominated for a Golden Globe never an Oscar. All deserving actors.
Don Cheadle is a great choice. I total missed that one.
BTW Love the Baker Hall pick. Hard Eight is my favorite P.T. Anderson movie over Boogie nights and Magnola both.
And yeah where is that Kill Bill combo we were promised? I guess now that's he busy with Grindhouse it's goning to be a long wait if ever.
The Quick and the Dead is a really fun western. Stone, Russell Crowe, DiCaprio and Gene Hackman. Raimi's wild directing flourishes. But Hackman makes that film for me. In fact I would have to say that Hackman is my favorite actor of all-time. He is just so believable in everything he does, whatever the character he's playing. He could sell me sand in the desert and ice in the Artic.
yeah hackman is great: i just watched both french connections last week one after the other and although the second one wasn't a great movie, hackman was great in it, as he was in the first of course. then you got Crimson Tide and on and on even going back to Bonnie And Clyde
baker hall also good pick - there are so many good picks out there: i also liked Hard Eight alot but for me Magnolia and Boogie Nights are masterpieces - holy crap, i just saw that p.t has a new movie coming out this year called There Will Be Blood, based on the novel by upton sinclair. finally!!!
- also, i am a fan of clooney's and while he does have a bit of that clooneyness to him much of the time, i do think he has more range then madsen and wouldn't put them in the same category: Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Goodnight And Good Luck, Three Kings, Solaris...
- and ya i saw Romeo Is Bleeding, but i saw it about 13 years ago and i don't remember it at all. but it is one that i have always been meaning to see again.
-I need to see Romeo is Bleeding again. I haven't seen it since it was in theatres. All I remember is a body in the trunk of a car...near a bridge...by the river....or was that something else....man I'm gettin' old.
-LOVED Hackman in Bonnie & Clyde...loved Gene Wilder in that...loved Beatty in that....oh man I gotta go watch that!
1. Mickey Rourke as Marv in Sin City. He just WAS Marv, an awesome performance.
2. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan in Brick. In every scene, he carried the entire film.
3. John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything. Conflicted, but cool, and some great lines.
4. Val Kilmer as Doc in Tombstone. Dangerous, a loyal friend, and a little creepy. He's fun to watch in the movie.
5. Steve Carrell as Andy Stitzer in 40 Year Old Virgin. Funny without making fun of the character/material.
6. Billy Bob Thornton as Bad Santa. No way in hell you should feel like cheering for this character, but he pulls it off.
7. Denzel Washington as Creasy in Man On Fire. He goes through all kinds of emotions and a couple different phases in that character, from suicidal drunk to caring human to single minded revenge.
8. Kevin Costner as Billy Chapel in For Love of the Game. He's always great in the baseball stuff. Brings a lot of subtle things to the character in that movie.
9. Tommy Lee Jones as Pete Perkins in Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. He doesn't say a lot, but carries the whole thing forward with a single minded purpose.
10. Humphrey Bogart - To Have & Have Not, or any movie really.
-hadn't thought of Rourke but he does do that role some justice.
-Cusak was great in Say Anything but for some reason I liked his performance in Grosse Pointe better.
-I think I'm one of the only people on the planet that didn't like Tombstone! It's been soooo long since I've seen it but I think my biggest complaint was the complete inconsistentcy of bad guys. One minute theres 10 then theres 20. We kill those 20 but wait here's 15 more riding into town. Did one get away?...yeah he must of, 'cause now there's 30. Like I said alot of people loved this one but it bugged me. I do remember Kilmer though and I do remember liking him
-I think Denzels fantastic as an actor and really carried Man on Fire. However, I reallly can't stand him as a person.
-My favorite pick of yours was Tommy Lee Jones in Three Burials. THAT was a movie that deserved more attention. Both he and Barry Pepper did a fabulous job. It was also great to see the woman from Homicide in there to. Darn I can't remember her name?...
Cusak was great in Grosse Point and High Fidelity that Jesse mentioned before. Along with Say Anything, those are the three Cusak movies on my dvd shelf, but I could have picked any one of them for the list. I like them all, and he gives a great performance in each.
6) vince vaughn - SwingersYep, had him at #5 and the clip you played reinforced my decision. Absoulutely fantastic.
5) al pacino & johnny depp - Donnie BrascoDepp made my honorable mention list for this role but they both did great work. Now that you mention it I totally see what your saying about Pacino as a middle level going nowhere Mafia has been. It's a total 180 from not only his own previous roles, but pretty much any gangster movie where it's all about being at the top and posessing total power.
4) martin sheen - Apocalypse NowOkay so I've seen this movie twice but it's been over 15 years since. I even own the Complete Dossier dvd and just haven't gotten around to watching it. However, you also mentioned Badlands which I just got around to seeing for the first time a couple of months ago. This movie was soooo good. I've always loved "True Romance" but this totaly made me realize the whole thing was just a giant love letter from Tony Scott to the movie "Badlands". Right down to Hans Zimmer's score and everything.
3) mike meyers - Austin Powers 2Yeah if awards went out to comedians with any justice at all Mike Meyers would deserve a standing ovation. Not only Austin Powers but also Wayne's World and even So I Married an Ax Murder...HELLLLLO!
2) jason shwartzman & bill murray - RushmoreBill Murray was just below my top 15 for this role. Anytime I want to demonstrate comedy genius in relation to timing I show two clips. #1 Matthew Broderick throwing the milkshake at a car near the end of "Election" and #2 Bill Murray in the car with his twin sons in "Rushmore". The kid in the back snears "Come on dad pull your head out of your ass" As Bill Murray is driving he doesn't do anything but process this for the perfect 1, 2, 3, beat...then suddenly he whips around to strangle the kid. Everytime I watch this movie (which is often) I have to watch that scene twice. Fantastic performance.
1) nicholas cage & john travolta - Face/Off....and now our paths must diverge...Okay so I agree with pretty much everything you said about this movie. Yes, it's one of John Woos best american films. (I also really liked MI2 and would probably call it his best.) and yes the performances were good...and yes the movie depended on these performances working for the movie to work as a whole....but BEST unsung performances EVER? Honorable mention maybe, but I'd put every one of your called out performances above this one. Again I stress I like this movie and own it...but really Cage is kinda over the top...even for Cage.
Anyways, this was a great topic and I totally look forward to future lists.
i love that bill murray scene in that car - i would also mention the one at the party where he dives into the water with the cigarette still in his mouth and that great song by (i want to say the kinks) playing - - and then the one where the hot teacher offers him a carrot and he steps forward to take it and then steps back to eat it (its a very small and subtle scene, but one that struck me the first time i saw it and has stayed with me)
ok maybe my love for face/off but cage and travolta higher then anticipated - but, besides thinking these were frickin awesome performances, they were also in an action movie which is an often ignored genre for acting, so that was a factor in its placement as well given my initial criteria. - and ya cage is a little over the top - but it worked for me, and travolta doing cage was perfectly over the top as well lol - -
I guess after Lost In Translation and Rushmore the secret was out but I've always thought Bill Murray was an unsung comic genius since his first role in Meatballs. And now that it's all the rage to have comedians doing dramatic roles he gets to branch out and showcase other sides of his talent.
Face/Off was the first great American John Woo film for me. I thought Hard Target's theatrical cut was uneven at best but plays better if you get a chance to see the directors cut. I hated Broken Arrow. But Face/Off was a return to his Hong Kong greatness for me and what works best for his style is a certain over the top melodrama. Almost reminiscent of the old silent film style of acting. I think you have to have a certain cartoonish exageration to your portrayel of character (which Nic Cage does and doesn't always work, but in this it does beautifully) in a Woo film. I think I remember a story where one of them ( I can't remember which... sorry ) was on set watching the other and saw how he was playing the character and realized he had to step it up a notch or he was going to get lost so it kind of became a friendly game of up staging the other and it really worked for this movie.
Murray is without a doubt a comic genius. As for drama don't forget he went that route back in the 80's with the Razor's Edge.I was also thinking today that it's so easy to discount Eddie Murphy but in the original Beverly Hills Cop he was absoulutly fantastic for both laughs and action.
I liked your story Gary about the 2 actors trying to one up each other. I'm certain it had to be Travolta following Cage's lead. I just don't see Cage ever feeling he was going to get lost in a picture.
Your right I totaly forgot about The Razor's Edge! Wow. I remember he took a lot of flack for that when it came out. Though I've only seen it once I remember thinking it wasn't great but not as bad as the critics lead you to believe but then I wasn't experienced in film watching so I should go go back watch it again.
Your thoughts on Razor's Edge mirror mine exactly. I've gotta go back and watch it again too.
Not tonight though. Tonight's my first viewing of "Blood Guts & Glory!".