Top 10 Underrated Male Actors 

Neko Hiba ネコ ヒバ. 100% agree with Cillian Murphy... Sunshine is a total underrated movie altogether....had a great cast, a plot that wasn't your normal plot...great great flick Also since I personally first saw him in 28 days later I haven't seen a movie he has been in that has been terrible... plus he would make the perfect Octocon if they made a Metal Gear Solid Movie...

This is exactly what i was thinking the entire time. He is an awsome actor.

He's about 5x as good an actor as Karl Urban

Acting is underrated probably because we all know his comedic roles more than his serious ones.

I've always said this. He can pull off a wide range of roles. He can be from intimidating to goofy to even just plain normal.

Thank you for mentioning Jake and Jeremy Renner!!

Yuki Ssun Jeremy Renner isnt really underrated, he’s been in multiple BIG movies, no one underrates him

Gyllenhaal isn't Underrated lol he's a top guy

No way Jake Gyllenhaal is underrated

did someone pour water on it? :p

James McAvoy is perfect 😍

SAME

nah..

Renée Jakomo McAvoy is Prof X and The Horde I'd say he's getting along pretty well these days

Feel you

LOL!! Very good Danielle.

i feel you lol

Same

same

I agree with you. He is amazing.

Yeees some love for Mads Mikkelsen 🇩🇰

Agree.

I'm here only for him

@Fred T watch *the hunt 2012* .

Definitely and Ewan mcgregor

101%. And he kills at accents and never ever picks a bad film.

Agreed completely.

*CJ Bourne* He also played V in V for Vendetta and Megatron in Transformers.

Definitely

CJ Bourne he is the most iconic vigilante of our generation. If u remember V for Vendetta

CJ Bourne megatron much?

I agree with you! James Macvoy and Mark are amazing actors, they deserve more recognition.

Lmclean89 Casey Affleck is a good one. He should have been on here. Thanks for that reminder because that dude is incredibly underrated.

Lmclean89 who would not know about hulk?

Ultimate Ashura It's not so much about recognition, more credibility if anything. The man not only acts like a champion but has successful charities and fundraisers for the public.

Lmclean89 I was incredibly happy to learn that he played in days of future past ! He will also play in X-men apocalypse.Hopefuly that will launch into hollywood's A-list.

True,True.

Jared Ackles Collins yessss

Maybe this list is for not much awards nomination they've got, Jake has Oscar nomination years ago

his not underrated, he is a leading man, commanding good salaries , playing good roles in good movies, and gets nominated. I Wouldn't place him in the underrated category, Paul Giamatti, Ben mendleson, Ben foster, Stephan Graham these are underrated, brilliant actors who should be leading men but get pushed into supporting roles and don't get the paychecks and the shiny trophies they deserve. ...As for the Oscars, far to political to be taken serious anymore, and I mean the campaigning and Oscar bait roles not the anti trump acceptance speeches.

he is not

I love him too, he has charisma! And he's always in good movies.

+KittieFiddler wasn't he in The Green Mile(movie) with Tom Hanks

kayla blount He was. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, & Moon, are AMAZING.

Kpop Recyclable Material okay cool just making sure.

Yeah, I agree... But I do feel that Paddy Considine (aka the British Sam Rockwell) should have been #2.

bri D agreed

YES! My first encounter with Cillian was in Red Eye. Oooph, his performance was unhinged, easy to despise. Similarly, the first thing I saw Kathy Bates in was Misery and I hated her for years because of her perfect performance.

Peaky Blinders is such a great show and he really shines in it

He’s not?! I came here to find out what place he’d be in!

Nope, not after Peaky Blinders. Tommy Shelby is not unknown or unrecognized in any particular order.

And in 'Split'

True

lmaoooo

@@amparonarbona5142 am i weird or was he like one of ur favorite characters in that series lol i loved hedwig

SAME

Fuck yeah

Same 😍

No, I came here becouse I thouth I would see Jake

I wanted watch the video for him 😍🥰😘

That's exactly what I was thinking hahaha

RJ M Your'e wrong! She was spot on! Minus the Gold part...and the heart part. Ok yeah I see your point now.

RJ M yeah that must be the worst comment about his role in SoA ever.

Exactly what I said

I was about to comment that...

James McAvoy and Sam Rockwell are two of my favorite actors, as is Mark Ruffalo. I'd add David Tennant to the list, as well. He gets fan awards and genre awards, but not nearly enough recognition from the Industry and has done very few big screen movie roles.

yeah definitely David Tennant too Laura Kay

Yes, three Oscar nominations sort of knocks him off the list....

couldn't agree more with you.

Sam Rockwell and James McAvoy are garbage lmao

Watch him in The Last King of Scotland or Atonement. He's fabulous in everything he does.

He was great in Antichrist.

***** i agree with you on Guy!

***** I straight up do not think ewan mcgregor is underrated. He's brilliant and isn't in the limelight as much anymore but i wouldn't say he's underrated.

***** HELL YES¡¡

***** Big Fish was underrated with ewan. Not to mention outside of a few bad lines in ROTS, he was the best part of the prequels.

They are a listers.

I only didn't mention him because he got an Oscar but I totally agree, he's very underrated

i was thinking of Sam, but didn t remember his name. In Moon was awsome.

Not anymore...

+The Opinionator nah

+The Opinionator OMG IKR!! HE was Brilliant in "Inside I'm Dancing"

+The Opinionator Oh James McAvoy

+Barky Von Schnauzer And "Trance", have you seen that?

Fair warning, it gets a little disturbing. Fantastic film though.

He was nominated for tinker tailor soldier spy but I agree he's still extremely underrated

But he isn't overrated. He's a phenomenal actor who has done a ton of movies, ranging from True Romance, Fifth Element and the recent Batman movies. Not only that, but he has a massive following and is a well known name in Hollywood.

Not being a COD fanboy but Viktor Reznov...;(

perpetua onyango Yes, he is underrated

YES

I've seen a lot of movies, including many that he's in but I didn't know his name and didn't know he is French so I think he's clearly way below A-list level.

BlitzTankTV Seriously! are you 10 or something?

He's relatively unknown in Hollywood, and it seems the WatchMojo team that compiled this list are Hollywood-centric.

fupopanda So his roles in, say, _The Crimson Rivers_, _The Da Vinci Code_, _Just Visiting_, _Leon: The Professional_, _Pink Panther_, _Godzilla_ and _Mission Impossible_ did nothing to make him known?!

That's why nobody has ever heard of him.

I also love becoming Jane

+Sourav B Starter for 10, Trance, Welcome to the Punch and so much more....

Or Filth

oh hell yes - don't forget 'filth'

Sourav B Split too.

and Split

Very much so but I think that just makes it easier to appreciate his talent that way people won't get bored of him so easily because of excessive hype that actors like Robert Downey Jr and Leo get (nothing against them but people sometimes give them way more credit than they deserve)

Vivi Arreola I fully agree with all three just for: Kevin Bacon in Sleepers Gary Oldman in pretty much anything (True Romance and Leon are personal faves) Edward Norton in Primal Fear (Also an underrated movie)

Rutger Hauer!! He should totally have been on here!

I agree with you. I think he was better known in the 80s though.

All giod, very debatable list, I think they did a solid job, except for Jean Reno who isn't underratef

Yes Rutger Hauer and Michael Shannon for sure!

Paul Dano. Exactly! 👍

Mariam Attallah he did kill his role on Daredevil

+Mariam Attallah Yes! Charlie Cox is so amazing but unknown!

NARNIA! THATS WHERE IVE SEEN HIM

Saying you Americans when one American made the assertion is as asinine as saying you Europeans when one in hundreds of millions made a questionable statement. I know him from several roles and to this day shake my head at him turning down the Mr. Anderson role in the Matrix trilogy for being some goof in the monstrosity of a turd called Godzilla 1998. Oh and saying he is a ultra famous actor all across Europe is laughable. B grade actor over here B+ actor over there. He didn't even make the top 75 on a recent BBC top Euro actors and Actress list for example. Glad you adore his work but don't speak for all Europeans. :)

Bigdaddysquish nice

Bigdaddysquish tl;dr

Jackie Estacado Damn straight! Someone else gets it. Leon Shut up The Professional The Big Blue Ronin Nikita Reno has chops.

Agreed, his name has been very recognisable to me since the 90s, also his signature "not quite beard but well past 5 o'clock shadow" look.

Jeppz Postman Or the fact he was in Iron Man 2...

LegacyOfFear Or that he was the bad guy in Charlies Angels.

Or his role in "the Way Way back"

Or his thousand other, always impressive and never disappointing, roles he's played. Moon was amazing and the way way back he stole the show. As he tends to do.

Jeppz Postman I just treat Sam Rockwell as one of the best in Hollywood. He kills whatever role he gets, he's fucking unstoppable.

ROFL. That's exactly what I thought...

SCREAMING: BIKER WITH A HEART OF GOLD?????? She does not need to rewatch SOA. She needs to watch SOA. Once! Biker with a heart of gold...

you should watch the hard word, hes a badass in that film

memento

First Snow is the shit

He's so underrated he is 0 on the list

Definitely!

But everybody knows that Sean Bean has talent when he isn't dieing.

Michael Fassbender.... NO. If anything he's overrated.

***** Just watch Shame, A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre and RE-WATCH 300... then you'll get it... Fassbender is way better than the recognition he receives.... (Academy nomination not included)

tpohylton1990 I have watched these movies, that's exactly why I think he's overrated.

How is Tom Wilkinson not on these lists

+Ethan Goepper haha ye was just about to mention that! That trilogy tops the oscars so it's kind of significant :P

wellllll, he is in the new list now :-)

+姚澜 I would agree. He is more up and coming then underrated.

ayee agreed

I always knew there was something about him and in "Filth" he really brought out the big guns. Absolutely amazing. Glad he's recognized and all now but he needs to do less commercial crap and more real film now. Let's hope he can bring M. Night Shyamalan's career back on track in "Split".

Yes but he deserves an Oscar, then he will not be underrated anymore

James McAvoy ain’t underrated he’s just a trash actor lmao

Sean Penn

Love Dafoe

+Luke McGowan Peter Stormare

Ryan phillipe suuuuuuuuucks. just my opinion.

buddharmt He's incredible in The Lincoln Lawyer

+Luke McGowan never saw it because I avoid his movies. again my opinion.

+Luke McGowan I also think bill Paxton is terrible. but to each their own.

Thank you! I can't believe how far down I had scroll to see Ben Foster's name.

+AGC517 You are my hero. I have been saying this since I saw Hostage. He completely stole that movie from Bruce Willis. BRUCE FUCKING WILLIS!

+AGC517 Yup. They missed him in the list.

Agreed. Can't believe he isn't on the list, towards the top too.

Ben Foster is an amazing actor.

Im here bc of him btw-

mochikunn James McAvoy is such a good actor! Plus, hey ARMY fam 😁

Ethan Hawk and Gary Oldman.... Those guys are big stars o_o ESPECIALLY GARY OLDMAN

i rarely hear people mention ethan hawk and gary oldman has been in big movies yes but doesnt get much praise as the likes like morgan freem and michael cain how could he top those two in the batman films lol

Well Ethan Hawk just hasn't been in many movies these past few years, also i think you're misunderstanding the point of this specific video, it's showing you actors that deserve bigger roles and should have a bigger purpose in movies. While Ethan Hawk has had plenty of leading roles

AshleyHeartagram420 Gary Oldman is mentioned in many other Watchmojo lists...he is FAR from underrated. He may not have received as many Academy Awards as he has deserved, but you cannot say that he is unknown, unacknowledged, or underrated. He is infamous, but so transformative in many of his roles that you don't always know it's him right away. Ethan Hawke has been recognized many times for his exceptionable work (starting with his break-out role in "Dead Poet's Society") and has even been recognized in other lists by Watchmojo. Again, not an over-looked or underappreciated actor....but seriously, one of his last starring roles was "Sinister", so he hasn't been knocking them all out of the park or undertaking something as difficult/risky as "Hellboy". Cillian Murphy is great, but has only been acting since the late 90's. His acting background is nowhere near as extensive or impressive as the men on this list. Billy Zane might not be a stretch for this list...allow though he has won a number of awards and nominations, gained nearly any role he's ever auditioned for (including his very first role upon first entering Hollywood, which was "Back to the Future"), excelled as a Producer, and is a very recognizable face, he does seem a lackluster star. So I'll give you that one.

Gary Oldman isn't underated everyone knows he's good. Though the others actors you said are terrible that's why they haven't been in a good movie in years.

I wonder why he is underrated he is such a very talented actor!!

+Tari Elensar i dont see how he is underrated, he got the xmen role... and colin farrell got the alexander role.... thats not being underrated

+textera147 Totally, i think they recognized their talent but most of people doesn't even know who he is...

He's so gorgeous. I love Scottish actors, especially McAvoy, Ewan McGregor, and David O'Hara. Gerard Butler's pretty hot too.

+Tari Elensar - I think he is already married and has been for awhile. sorry.

Cillian Murphy's fine. He's praised.

F. Joel Price yeah by critics but no one knows who he is which grinds my gears

Yeah, and calling the one season and done Almost Human (which I love) a hit? Uhhh.

I came here to mention his Eomer. Since I am here--how about his other role on Xena. Shirtless, blonde Cupid. The God of Love as a surfer dude.... (Actually, his first appearance on Xena was a villain on one episode.)

The filmmakers didn't put Moon forward. They didn't want to spend the money required to promote it, so that is on them.

And Three Billboards Outside... oh, wait. You commented 3 years ago. I'm from the future. Your time has not yet been realized.

I've been looking for someone to say this🥺

Yash Deshpande finally I am not the only one who think so

News to me too. If only Key and Peele saw that.

Greetings brother bear

Wtf

Szymon Myszograj Siema, polku. Greetings from Holland.

Pretty much my reaction as well. xD

Hugo Weaving is fantastic. I always enjoy watching him act.

VultureClone He was a great actor. He has played a lot of good memorable roles in high profile films such as Agent Smith, Red Skull, Megatron, and Lord Elrond. He was never nominated an Oscar before. I thinks he's probably the best supporting actor, and also the best for playing the main antagonist.

AKAHimself Well most of the roles he played are mostly supporting roles when he's in Hollywood movies. He did have a leading role in some Indie films, but not in Hollywood films.

tom hardy isnt underrated... he has been the lead actor in a number of big movies lately and he is casted as mad max and elthon john for upcoming movies

Tom Hardy isn't underrated any more, he is being casted into a lot of movies some being big (like Sam Fisher in splinter cell). I completely agree that Ethan Hawke is underrated he did amazing in sinister.

Yeh i liked him in the postman

Add Barry Pepper to the list of Saving Private Ryan actors to make this list

I miss Phillip Seymor *sobs*

+Chayanis Lee Me too :c

+Aziz Tastic if you think all of those actors (excluding Mads) are underrated, you really have a lot to learn man. Those are all very well known actors.

+Jakeb Damwyk Well known in what sense? To star a film? They all play supporting at best. Also forgot to mention Paul Giamatti.

Aziz Tastic Paul Giamatti is BIG! Most people know who he is. And this video says underrated actors, not supporting actors who should get lead roles. These guys have had lead roles in films, but they just aren't very well known. Aragorn is VERY well known. So is James Gandolfini (the Sopranos, anyone, only the biggest crime drama TV show in history). Gary Oldman is in so many things. He is very very well known. And Philip Seymour Hoffman is in the same category. Him and Oldman are both excellent prestige actors with many great and well known roles under their belts

Good call with Keith David. The original Spawn makes every movie he's in better.

Met Frank Whaley. Great guy

I think it's because both of them finally have been receiving the recognition they deserve in the last few years. If this list had been made 5-10 years ago, they would have been near the top along others like Alan Rickman and Gary Oldman.

Agreed, he is great.

He was nominated for an Oscar this year so now it doesn't matter, he's past underrated now.

Well the list was for actors who people know in films that has either done lead or supporting roles without getting recognition for it, Golden Globes, Oscar etc. Sam Rockwell's a great example cause he's been in Oscar nominated films, but hasn't been nominated for his roles.

AKAHimself Exactly. I f'n hated Prometheus but Fasbender made it tolerable. He's also incredible as Magneto.

Agreed about Shame. Not so underrated anymore, though. Which is good! Fassbender is going to be one of the all-time greats, imo.

I think pretty much everybody knows who that is

I think pretty much everybody knows who that is

ARAGORN

Exactly what i thought

Absolutely right!

Or for that matter, in Invasion (tv series from the 00s) - he was the lead fucking character!

How could they not show him from "The way way back"

Or his dance scene in Chalies Angels!

It's mean that they're not famous or world wide well known enough, for example, if someone talk about one of these actors, you'll be like "who's that?" But its come to most well known actors in the Hollywood, these are actors where everyone been talking about lately.

Carlito Santiago Question is if we really see this as underrated. I mean he is still making about 3-4 movies a year, he is still main character in most of them, do we need him to be in 100%-hollywood-like stuff, when his movies, as they are now, are awesome choices to pick?

***** James Mcavoy is a good actor and he's a good marvel character for the future X men movies, and if he continue to team up with Hugh Jackman and Michael Fassbender in upcoming X men in 2016, he'll be well known for the credit of Professor Xavier and maybe if he thinks about taking good role in drama movies.

Carlito Santiago but he has great roles in drama movies. I dont want him to become "that man who played Xavier" Becoming one-role actor is often quite final station. The same as Radcliffe will always be Harry Potter and Elijah Wood will always be Frodo...I wish him the best, but I donr see this as underrated, I see that as quite independent from Hollywood...

***** Me, too, I wants him to be a well known actor and I thinks he will when he get older, but rite now, he's a young actor, well, not too young, but in a good shape way. He's climbing the ladder for an Oscar in the future, along with Leo

I just posted that very comment before reading yours, great minds and all ;)

Yes he's been acting for decades, let's only show clips from Hellboy and SOA....

Megan Wolowitz I don't think you really understood Ron Perlman's character on Sons of Anarchy. He might've been in a gang in California... but that doesn't mean he was an ass or a jerk or heartless.... Sons of Anarchy is on Netflix, my advice is to watch the show and really pay attention to the characters. :) No sarcasm here, just I'm suggesting. :)

Ron Perlman was the first Beast on TV... now they got Kristen Kreuk Beauty and the Beast show... that's a reboot of the 1980s version.. I actually like the 1980s version better!! Ron Perlman played the Beast. It's really good, I think it's still on Netflix too. I hope so. I haven't gotten to see it all yet.

Choo Choo Charlotte She never said that he was a heartless jerk - just that a guy with a heart of gold he definitely was not.

I think it will be hard to fill up those nominations each year.

those movies are some of my favourite movies of all time :D

He totally outclassed De Niro in "Stone"

Norton have an Oscar, i don´t think he´s underrated.

HartsocKGER he was nominated but didn't win.

i think he has plenty of credit. i agree, he is an amazing actor, but Fight Club really drew some attention.

agreed. He's always been miles better than his roles required him to be

While I agree that Liev Schreiber is a "good" actor who is very capable of becoming a bigger Hollywod star, I think the movie you listed is the very reason he's not on this list....a Hollywood "A-Lister" who's best known for the crappy/campy roles he had in the "Scream" saga, "Wolverine Origins" , and "Kate and Leopold". He's definitely good, talented, and has proven so in movies like "Defiance"...but, personally, I'd say he's hit or miss. Like Mark Wahlberg; a well-known celebrity of many talents who takes on many roles that don't always pan out into acting or cinematic success. Liev Schreiber is just as well known for being married to Naomi Watts as he is for some of his goofy or "tough guy" roles... :/

Nicolette Lucio Now you see, I think that his performances in those movies are exactly what recommends him. I separate his performances from the movies themselves. Sure Origins was an incredibly terrible movie for the X-men series but Leiv Schreiber's performance was very good and you contrast that with his wacky nutty performance in Kate & Leopold to me it just shows that he can act any role given to him. There are actors out there that are very good but they are single role actors whereas Leiv Schreiber can act anything. That is just my two cents. :)

I totally agree. He steals every scene he is in. So much fun to watch!