10 Most Underrated Movie Performances of All Time, Ranked

The annals of cinematic history are rife with esteemed performances, committed and masterful acting displays from some of the finest actors the world has ever seen. However, for every single one of these immortalized performances, there are plenty that were just as brilliant but never got the credit they truly deserved, though the reasons for this tend to vary.

In some cases, the film in which the performance appeared is just as underrated as the actor’s performance itself, leading to the exceptional acting being overlooked by the masses. There are also examples of actors who enjoy such decorated and revered careers that some of their best work has gone unnoticed. The only thing that is certain in all of these cases is that these performances never received the praise and celebration they so richly deserve.

10 Jack Lemmon

‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ (1992)

A legend of the screen whose talents in comedy in drama were simply astounding, Jack Lemmon enjoyed an enviable career which saw him win two Oscars from eight nominations while appearing in such iconic classics as Some Like it Hot, Irma la Dolce, and The Apartment. However, one of the great actor’s best performances comes in 1992’s underrated American tragedy film, Glengarry Glen Ross.

It depicts two intense days as four real estate salesman vie off to secure just two job placings left in the company, with Lemmon appearing as an aged salesman desperate to keep his job as he tends to his hospitalized daughter. Buoyed by David Mamet’s exceptional dialogue, Lemmon thrives as a weaselly man forced to the edge of morality as the rapidly changing modern world around him leads him towards ruin. It is perhaps the greatest testament to his performance that, in a film stacked with some of the greatest actors of the time, it is Lemmon who most stands out with his defeated sense of tragedy.

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9 Robin Williams

‘One Hour Photo’ (2002)

Robin Williams is one of the most loved celebrities of all time. In addition to being a hysterically funny comedian, he also proved himself to be an incredibly astute actor capable of disarming nuance and dramatic might. This is evinced by his four Academy Award nominations, including a Best Supporting Actor win for Good Will Hunting. However, the Oscars failed to recognize his spellbinding and icy against-type performance in One Hour Photo.

The psychological thriller sees Williams star as a reclusive photo technician who develops a creepy obsession with his regular customers, the Yorkin family. Utterly unsettling from his first moments on screen, Williams imbues his character with a grounded and poignant melancholy that always has something sinister and unnerving bubbling under the surface. It is one of the greatest and most underrated performances in thriller cinema, one that is only elevated by how distinctly different it is from Williams’ usual roles of eccentric hilarity and personable charm.

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8 Craig Wasson

‘Body Double’ (1984)

A neo-noir erotic thriller from the 1980s that wields a heavy, satirical flair that aims squarely at Hollywood, Body Double is a picture that would have been defined by its daring and audacious creativity had it not been more damningly defined as a forgotten box office flop. Devilishly funny at times, though overly raunchy at others, the Brian de Palma film follows a failed actor whose voyeuristic impulses embroil him in a murder investigation.

Craig Wasson stars as the ill-fated thespian, a weak and deeply flawed man who easily succumbs to temptation and finds himself in trouble because of it. The remarkable thing about Wasson’s portrayal of what is quite an unlikable character is how easy and borderline unnoticeable it is to resonate with him. He brings a transfixing woe to Jake Scully’s many shortcomings, a helpless yet humane appeal to his vulgarities and perversions. It is an underrated performance in a film that has aged better as the years have gone on.

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7 Paul Newman

‘Nobody’s Fool’ (1994)

There are few actors who define Hollywood cinema of the latter half of the 20th century quite like Paul Newman. While he thrived through his prime in the 60s and 70s, he was no less exceptional when he reached his senior years, a fact emphatically proven in the 1994 comedy-drama, Nobody’s Fool. He stars as an elderly bar fly whose aimless life of reckless abandon is abruptly imbued with responsibility when his estranged son arrives in town with a young son of his own.

Granted, Nobody’s Fool did earn Paul Newman the ninth of his ten Academy Award nominations, but his performance in the film has never risen to the public esteem of some of his other classics, like The Sting or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Despite this, Newman takes command of the character-driven picture with enormous might, disappearing into the role with a rugged charm and an underlying humanity. It is certainly among his greatest ever performances, and it is a shame that it is not heralded as such more often.

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6 Adam Sandler

‘Punch Drunk Love’ (2002)

In the eyes of many movie lovers, Adam Sandler announced himself as a capable actor with his performance as a charismatic jeweler and compulsive gambler in 2019’s Uncut Gems. However, the much-maligned comic first turned heads with his starring role in Punch-Drunk Love, a romantic-dramedy from 2002 that follows a lonely man with a short temper whose call to a phone sex line has unforeseen consequences that threaten his budding romance with his sister’s co-worker.

Sandler is at his most arresting in the film, with Paul Thomas Anderson utilizing his comedic prowess to present an image of frustrated loneliness rife with pathos and humanity. The film unfortunately became a box office flop and was completely ignored by most awards shows, but has endured as a cult classic on account of the intriguing lens it casts on modern romance and Adam Sandler’s brilliant lead performance, which still takes many first-time viewers by surprise.

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5 Takashi Shimura

‘Ikiru’ (1952)

Among lovers of international cinema – particularly the films of Akira Kurosawa – Takashi Shimura’s poignant performance in Ikiru may receive greater praise, but even then it is still usually overshadowed by Toshiro Mifune’s many collaborations with the great filmmaker. The shame in that is that Shimura’s performance is quite possibly the greatest in any Kurosawa film, if not in all of Japanese cinema.

Ikiru sees him star as a bureaucrat whose dismal life only worsens when he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. While he initially drifts with uncertainty and angst, he soon discovers a renewed purpose when he decides to help a group of mothers hoping to build a park for their children. Shimura’s depiction of Kanji Watanabe’s feeble existence is one of tragic poignancy and heartache, but his presentation of Kanji’s rejuvenation is just as affecting. Ikiru is a profound and life-affirming tale of impact and meaning, one that is beautifully grounded by Shimura’s flawless and authentic performance that, today at least, does not get the plaudits it should.

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4 Rooney Mara

‘Side Effects’ (2013)

A tantalizingly twisty psychological thriller from Steven Soderbergh, Side Effects follows a young woman whose psychiatrist prescribes her a new drug to help her with her ongoing issues. However, when the drug has catastrophic side effects, Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) must fight to maintain his career while investigating what exactly caused such a violent outburst from his patient, Emily (Rooney Mara).

The film is comfortable in shifting its perspectives, but it ultimately settles on following Jonathan’s story of persecution and desperation, a decision which enables Mara to truly excel. While her portrayal of Emily is always enigmatic and tragic, she is afforded the luxury of imbuing her with different subtleties depending on how Jonathan perceives her. Regardless of whether she’s an unfortunate victim, a conniving opportunist, or a depressed woman thrust amid a deadly conspiracy, Mara excels as a captivating screen presence who has audiences transfixed and uncertain right up until the very end.

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3 Cicely Tyson

‘Sounder’ (1972)

Despite being nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and being a box office success, Sounder has never been a film of enduring popularity. This is quite the tragedy, as it depicts a brilliant period tale of African-American drama that is buoyed by exceptional performances and trades out pseudo social urgency for authentic and well-realized character drama. It follows a Black family of sharecroppers in 1933 Louisiana as they battle to ensure their children receive a decent education.

While Cicely Tyson was the recipient of one of the film’s Oscar nominations, her incredible performance has faded from public consciousness quite entirely. It is a tender and beautiful portrayal of a mother’s dedication to her children, even when thrust among the racial prejudices of the South. The role marked a career breakthrough for Tyson, while Sounder remains a harrowing yet hopeful look at economic and racial issues observed through the lens of a child’s wondrous sense of optimism and adventure.

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2 Sam Rockwell

‘Moon’ (2009)

It makes sense that one of the most underrated performances of all time should feature in one of the most underrated movies of all time. The debut feature of Duncan Jones, Moon thrives as a grounded and intriguing sci-fi drama that follows an engineer working alone on a mining station on the dark side of the moon as he nears the end of his contract. However, a shocking new discovery just days before he is scheduled to return to Earth jeopardizes his chances of ever seeing his family again.

It is an exceptional story of contained stakes and intriguing mystery, one that hinges so much of its allure on Sam Rockwell’s central performance. As is always the case, Rockwell delivers in spades, occupying the screen alone with astounding craft, power, and presence. While the film has become something of a cult classic, Rockwell’s performance remains criminally underappreciated by the masses.

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1 Shelley Duvall

‘The Shining’ (1980)

It wouldn’t be unfair to describe The Shining as the single greatest horror movie ever made. In addition to being a ferociously intense supernatural thriller, it also boasts an exceptional and deeply disconcerting lead performance from Jack Nicholson. However, while his praises continue to be sung for his portrayal of Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall does not get nearly enough celebration for her pivotal performance as Wendy, Jack’s wife who fights to defend their young son when Jack succumbs to the torment and temptation of the Overlook Hotel.

Having to endure a hellish time on set, Duvall turns in an arresting performance of sheer terror. Her portrayal of Wendy isn’t neatly wrapped in a bow of gracefulness and flattery, but rather thrives as a painfully raw and unkept depiction of mounting anxiety and genuine fear. Duvall was initially criticized for her performance, but time is just starting to see her embodiment of Wendy’s angst win high praise. Still, it remains a criminally underrated performance that went from derision to dismissal without ever receiving the widespread merit it so thoroughly deserves.

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NEXT: 20 Great Underrated Movies Recommended by Roger Ebert