It seems like the mainstream media is a broken record come Oscar season, talking about the same actors over and over again. It's because we all get caught up in the "serious contenders" who studios are spending money on campaigns for, as opposed to who we feel did genuinely deserving work. With this in mind, I compiled the following lists hoping to illuminate the best performances that were either overlooked or severely underappreciated this year. By this I mean performances that few were writing/talking about. So you won't find The Wrestler's Mickey Rourke or Wendy and Lucy's Michelle Williams on these lists because people noticed their exceptional work. And to be clear, some folks listed below did get a glimpse of the awards spotlight this season. I'm not saying that no one else appreciated Milk's Emile Hirsch or What Doesn't Kill You's Mark Ruffalo because that obviously wasn't the case... just that not enough people were passionate about them one way or the other. The following lists reflect my personal taste and represent, in my humble opinion, some of the best work of the year.
The Top 25 Most Overlooked and Underappreciated Supporting Performances
1. Ben Kingsley, The Wackness
2. Bill Irwin, Rachel Getting Married
3. Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
4. David Harbour, Revolutionary Road
5. Emile Hirsch, Milk
6. Peter Macdissi, Towelhead
7. Aaron Eckhart, The Dark Knight
8. Ethan Hawke, What Doesn’t Kill You
9. Charlie McDermott, Frozen River
10. Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City
11. Jane Lynch, Role Models
12. Adam Scott, Step Brothers
13. Evan Rachel Wood, The Wrestler
14. Jason Butler Harner, Changeling
15. Emily Mortimer, Transsiberian
16. Martin Henderson, Battle in Seattle
17. Ari Graynor, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
18. Mark Strong, Body of Lies
19. Alan Alda, Nothing But the Truth
20. Noel Fisher, Red
21. Noah Emmerich, Pride and Glory
22. Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man
23. Chris Parnell, The Grand
24. Thomas Haden Church, Smart People
25. (tie) Toby Kebbell, RocknRolla and Catinca Untaru, The Fall
The Top 5 Most Underappreciated Movie Duos
1. Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt, Frost/Nixon
2. David Kross and Ralph Fiennes, The Reader
3. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, Step Brothers
4. Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson, Let the Right One In
5. Edward Norton and Tim Roth, The Incredible Hulk
The Top 5 Most Underappreciated Dramatic Performances
1. Mark Ruffalo, What Doesn’t Kill You
2. Francois Cluzet, Tell No One
3. Naomi Watts, Funny Games
4. Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. (tie) Brian Cox, Red and Andre Ramiro, Elite Squad
The Top 5 Most Underappreciated Comedic Performances
1. Adam Carolla, The Hammer
2. Danny McBride, The Foot Fist Way
3. Steve Coogan, Hamlet 2
4. Kat Dennings, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
5. Jack Black, Kung Fu Panda
The Top 5 Most Underappreciated Ensembles
1. The cast of Slumdog Millionaire
2. The cast of Young@Heart
3. The cast of Baghead
4. The cast of Zack and Miri Make a Porno
5. The cast of Forgetting Sarah Marshall
BONUS LIST: The Top 3 Most Interesting/Compelling/Fascinating Documentary Subjects
1. Phillipe Petit, Man on Wire
2. (tie) The Bagby Family, Dear Zachary and The Bell Family, Bigger, Stronger, Faster: The Side Effects of Being American
3. Hannah Bailey, American Teen
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