The Best Actor/Actress Oscar is undoubtedly a poignant award in a Hollywood star’s career essentially because it propels them to further success by giving them recognition and prestige for their acting performances, which means more opportunities coming their way. However, when push comes to shove, getting an Academy Award isn’t everything; nor does not getting one mean that the talents of the actors in question aren’t deserving of being acknowledged.
Nonetheless, with so many skillful leading actor nominees this year, many may wonder what are some other projects by critically acclaimed actors worth checking out, especially the more obscure and lesser-known ones that do not get as much attention from mainstream audiences. From the works of Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy to Nyad’s Annette Bening, we look back at the most underrated movies from this year’s leading actor nominees that are worth a look.
Cillian Murphy
‘Red Eye’ (2005)
Image via DreamWorks Pictures
Although Cillian Murphy has been acting since 1996 and had his first partnership with Christopher Nolan in 2005’s Batman Begins as Scarecrow, Peaky Blinders, a British television series for which he is possibly most recognized, arguably made global audiences fall head over heels for the Irish star’s talents and propelled him to further fame. Almost 20 years after his first partnership with Nolan, Murphy is Oscar-nominated for his highly believable performance in his sixth collaboration with the iconic filmmaker.
Oppenheimer is quite possibly the best Cillian Murphy movie to date. However, the immensely talented Irish actor has partaken in a handful of interesting, perhaps lesser-known projects, including the underrated thriller movie Red Eye, where he stars opposite Rachel McAdams. In the Wes Craven film, Murphy’s character kidnaps a woman stranger on a routine flight and pulls her into a plot to assist in a political assassination.
red eye
Release Date August 19, 2005
Runtime 85
Watch on Fubo
Lily Gladstone
‘Certain Women’ (2016)
Image via IFC Films
Lily Gladstone has been getting major praise for her quiet but powerful performance as an Osage woman in Martin Scorsese’s crime Western, Killers of the Flower Moon, and for good reason — she learned a whole language for it. The fan-favorite star, who is the second Indigenous actor to be nominated for an Academy Award (behind YalitzaAparicio), might very well make history this year for being the first Native American Woman born in the United States to ever win an Oscar.
Although Gladstone certainly deserves an Academy Award for her outstanding efforts in the Scorsese epic, Certain Women — Kelly Reichardt’s highest-grossing film at the time it was released — is also worth checking out. The Gladstone-led overlooked R-rated drama features a 92% Tomatometer score and a 52% Audience score. It focuses on three strong-willed women, played by Gladstone, Michelle Williams, and Kristen Stewart, who attempt to carve their paths in the wide-open plains of America.
Certain Women
Release Date October 14, 2014
Runtime 107
Watch on Roku
Paul Giamatti
‘Cold Souls’ (2009)
Image via Samuel Goldwyn Films
Touching and hilarious, the dark comedy The Holdovers is easily one of the best movies of 2023, and Paul Giamatti’s Oscar-nominated performance as a grumpy professor helped elevate it to higher levels. Before The Holdovers, Giamatti won critical acclaim for his leading performances in movies like American Splendor, Sideways, and Private Life, cementing himself as one of the best dramatic and comedic actors of his time. As such, an Oscar nom is very much due.
A film starring Giamatti that many might have not seen is Cold Souls, a surrealist, absurdist film revolving around an actor who joins forces with a black-market courier named Nina (DinaKorzun) as he decides to enlist the service of a company to deep freeze his soul. While possibly not everyone’s cup of tea, the peculiar Sophie Barthes film still provides audiences with a fun time, supported by Giamatti’s great performance at its center.
Cold Souls
Release Date August 7, 2009
Director Sophie Barthes
Cast Paul Giamatti , Armand Schultz , Michael Tucker , Dina Korzun , Ted Koch , Oksana Lada
Runtime 97
Watch on Peacock
Emma Stone
‘Battle of the Sexes’ (2017)
Image via Searchlight Pictures
One of the best actors of her generation, the Oscar-winning star — who has been nominated an impressive five times already — is undoubtedly a master in her field; her performance is Yorgos Lanthimos’ peculiar Poor Things, an unconventional, visually striking tale of sexual liberation and self-discovery, is proof. While Emma Stone has starred in many well-known and beloved projects, like La La Land and Easy A, other of her projects also deserve the audience’s attention.
Battle of the Sexes is a Jonathan Dayton movie that focuses on the true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King, wonderfully played by Stone, and ex-champ Bobby Riggs (Steve Carrell, who had funnily played Stone’s father in the romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love before). While by no means a flawless feature, Stone’s impeccable efforts in Battle of the Sexes are quite overlooked by general audiences.
Battle of the Sexes
Release Date September 22, 2017
Runtime 121
Rent on Apple TV
Bradley Cooper
‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ (2012)
Image via Focus Features
While Bradley Cooper has starred in plenty of popular films, with his best effort possibly being in Silver Linings Playbook, Maestro is also an acclaimed feature and marks the second time a film that he directed, produced, and starred in has earned Cooper an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and Best Picture. Nevertheless, other more obscure pictures in the Guardians of the Galaxy actor’s career are worth checking out.
The Place Beyond the Pines is perhaps one of Cooper’s most underrated features. The film focuses on Ryan Gosling’s (nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Barbie) motorcycle stuntman, who turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his ex (Eva Mendes, Gosling’s real-life partner) and their newborn. This does not end well and ultimately results in conflict with Cooper’s ambitious cop.
Watch on Apple TV
Sandra Hüller
‘Toni Erdmann’ (2016)
Image via Sony Pictures Classics
Justine Triet’s astounding legal dramaAnatomy of a Fall is a Sandra Hüller film and a strong contender in this year’s Oscar race, as she delivered one of the most compelling and realistic performances of the year by stepping into the shoes of a woman suspected of murder. Before the acclaimed Anatomy of a Fall, though, Hüller had showcased her natural talents in lesser-known films.
Toni Erdmann, a comedy-drama surrounding a father’s (Peter Simonisheck) attempt to reconnect with his daughter by creating an alter ego and impersonating her CEO’s life coach, is a compelling character study worth checking if you have enjoyed the star’s acting in Anatomy of a Fall. Directed by Maren Ade, the captivating film conjures an intriguing depiction of today’s society, sending out thoughtful messages about sexism in the workplace, withHüller’s undeniably powerful performance at its center.
Toni Erdmann
Release Date December 25, 2016
Cast Sandra Hüller , Peter Simonischek , Michael Wittenborn , Thomas Loibl
Runtime 162 minutes
Watch on Apple TV
Jeffrey Wright
‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ (2013)
Image via Sony Pictures Classics
Considering how enjoyable the hilarious satire American Fiction is (and the performances that elevate it), it is not surprising that the spectacular Jeffrey Wright earned a very much deserved Oscar nomination. The Golden Globe Award winner has proven to be immensely skilled in his field, with his career ranging from television, through movies, and to stage plays. Most audience members may know him from Max’s epic Western drama Westworld, which has earned Wright two Emmy noms.
Although Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton are the blood-sucking protagonists in Only Lovers Left Alive, a tale of love, beauty, and vampirism that focuses on a couple of vampires whose strong connection endures time no matter where they go or how long they stay apart, the now Oscar-nominated Wright also stepped out in a small role in it as Dr. Watson. The Jim Jarmusch picture is certainly worth checking, especially if audiences are into independent filmmaking.
Watch on Tubo
Carey Mulligan
‘Wildlife’ (2018)
Image via IFC Films
2024 marks Carey Mulligan’s third Academy Award nomination. The talented star, whose career spans from biopics to revenge dramas like the controversial Promising Young Woman, has been honored with the award once in 2011 for her remarkable performance in An Education. Mulligan is easily one of the most talented actors of her time, and the Oscar nomination for her role in Maestro just further proves it.
Despite the fact that her filmography is filled with a plethora of iconic performances, one of Mulligan’s most riveting and perhaps underrated is in Wildlife, where she stars opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. The film is set in 1950s Montana and follows a teenage boy’s (EdOxenbould) struggle with his mother’s complicated reaction after his father temporarily abandons them.
Watch on Roku
Colman Domingo
‘Zola’ (2020)
Image via A24
Although Colman Domingo has been in plenty of intriguing projects, most people — essentially TV enthusiasts — may know him for his work in Max’s Zendaya-led hit television series Euphoria, where he delivered a powerful and convincing performance as a man recovering from drug addiction and ultimately Rue’s mentor and sponsor, Ali Muhammed. Domingo is a versatile star who has showcased his gifts plenty of times, including in the latest big-screen musical remake The Color Purple, where he plays Mister.
Regarding Domingo’s most underrated projects, though, Janicza Bravo’s Zola comes to mind. This innovative crime comedy by A24, based on a viral Twitter thread from 2015 by Aziah “Zola” King and the emerging Rolling Stone article, centers around a stripper, played by Taylour Paige, whose life takes a wild turn when she meets Riley Keough’s Stefani. Domingo convincingly steps into the shoes of Stefani’s pimp, X.
Zola
Release Date June 30, 2021
Director Janicza Bravo
Runtime 90
Watch on Hoopla
Annette Bening
’20th Century Women’ (2016)
Image via A24
Some may (understandably) argue that American Beauty endures one of Annette Bening’s best performances to date. However, her role in 2023’s Nyad was also quite deserving of an Oscar nod (as were Jodie Foster’s equally Oscar-nominated efforts). With a 40-year-long career, Bening has been charming critics off their feet with her astounding acting abilities and has consequently earned five Academy Award nominations so far.
One of Bening’s most overlooked acting performances is perhaps delivered in the visually striking indie film 20th Century Women, an absorbing drama that explores womanhood and the struggles of parenthood as it follows a teenage boy (Lucas Jade Zumann) as he comes of age while surrounded by — and under the influence of — three very different women (Bening, Elle Fanning, and Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig) in Southern California of 1979.
Watch on Max
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