Actors/Actresses/Directors Who Have Gotten A Raw Deal

[Cena's Little Helper]

The inspiration from this thread comes from recently watching The Best Man Holiday and wondering why a brilliant actor such as Terrence Howard now has to resort to starring in TV shows rather than getting more opportunities to showcase his formidable talent. I will list four actors and one director here whom I believe have been drastically underutilized in Hollywood (I qualify this statement with "Hollywood" because this list includes one major Australian actor who is nowhere near as big in America as he should be). Feel free to comment on my list and/or to make your own (it can include actors, actresses, and/or directors).

1. Terrence Howard: This man seemed poised to realize the stardom that an actor of his caliber both deserved and was capable of, but something went awry when he was replaced by Don Cheadle in the Iron Man franchise. While Robert Downey, Jr., fanboys would lead you to believe that Terrence Howard tried to play hardball for a bigger salary for Iron Man 2, I'm more inclined to believe that RDJ instead got pissed that he didn't earn the most for Iron Man and that Don Cheadle was brought in to replace Howard for lower pay.

Whatever the case, Terrence Howard should not be on television right now and his supporting role in Prisoners showed that he is still every bit as impressive as he was in Hustle and Flow.

2. Michael K. Williams: How the fuck has this man NOT been given the opportunity to showcase his talents in something even as small as the leading role in an indie film? If overrated shit like Fruitvale Station can catapult a slightly above average actor like Michael B. Jordan into the conscious of Hollywood, then surely MK Williams will make industry executives cream themselves when he's given a similar opportunity.

3. Ben Mendelsohn: Yes, in his native Australia he is recognized as one of the country's greatest living actors, but he's been relegated to bit parts in Hollywood. While this wouldn't be much of a problem if all Australians had a hard time of it in the American film industry, Guy Pearce has made a name for himself as an American indie god, not to mention a significant part of the supporting cast for such blockbusters as Prometheus and Iron Man 3. Although Pearce is a very good actor, he is in no way, shape, or form on Mendelsohn's level; this disparity becomes apparent to anyone who watches Animal Kingdom, a recent Australian crime drama starring both men. If you haven't delved that much into Australian cinema but are interested in learning more about how great it can be, look for anything with this man in it. Afterwards, come back here and we can bitch in unison about how big this man should really be.

4. Patrick Wilson: Yeah, he's technically already a leading man with three hits under his belt, but these are horror films, the most popular genre in the world but one that film executives always discount as a signal of one's appeal. Patrick Wilson is awesome and he should be starring in Hollywood vehicles that don't involve him fighting ghosts.

5. Jeremy Saulnier: Jeremy Saulnier is an American independent filmmaker whose latest feature, Blue Ruin, was very well received at Cannes 2013 (if you have yet to see it, get it NOW). He is included on this list because, one, he had to fund Blue Ruin through kickstarter, and two, his next project has yet to be announced on imdb. For those of you who have already had the chance to see Blue Ruin, how in the hell was no independent film producer and/or venture capitalist able to see how brilliant this film would turn out? Furthermore, why is no one running to fund this man's next project? This is just icing on the cake for my assertion that the American independent film is a dying man with his head up his own ass.

 

[Alex]

Brett Ratner

Honestly I don't see the hate the guy gets. Sure X-Men 3 sucked ass but that film was dead on arrival regardless of who ended up finishing the directing.

Yeah Brett Ratner probably doesn't deserve any oscars but he's good at doing good action movies. I love the Rush Hour films and I defy anyone to say that Red Dragon is a bad film.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Having a hard time coming up with any actors or actresses, so I'll go with a few directors for now.

Rob Zombie

I'm a big fan of Rob Zombie, and there's no denying Zombie's talents behind the camera. He's someone, who's not afraid to take chances, and I admire and respect his passion for the horror genre.

As a director, Zombie delivers, BUT in certain cases, Zombie needs someone to write his screenplays for him. Halloween II '09 and The Lords Of Salem are prime examples of this. H2 '09 features some great shots (including the "are you a giant?" scene and Laurie's sinister smile at the very end), but overall, the tone and the direction of the film are too schizophrenic. On top of that, Zombie saving the the Halloween theme for the closing credits was a huge mistake. You can't exclude one of the most iconic themes in the history of cinema. And The Lords Of Salem started off with some promise, but the film devolved into one big mess towards the end.

Zombie has a few hurdles to overcome, and horror fans are near the top of the list. A lot of horror fans will never forgive (FYI, I'm not one of them) Zombie for killing Michael Myers' mystique in the 2007 remake, because Zombie gave Myers a "how it all began" backstory, and Zombie takes a lot of heat for being a pretentious hack with an undeserved ego.

On top of that, Zombie's using crowd funding for his new film (31), and that's not a good sign. A picture for some early concept art from 31, if anyone's interested:

Spoiler

Marcus Nispel

When you think about all the awful horror remakes and trash from Platinum Dunes (i.e. A Nightmare On Elm Street 2010), it's easy to forget about two quality remakes: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003 and Friday The 13th 2009. Marcus Nispel directed both remakes. And if we're talking about non-horror, the writing is shit, but Pathfinder '07 is enjoyable dumb fun, if you turn your brain off for a while.

Although, you have to believe the 2011 version of Conan The Barbarian really hurt Nispel and his reputation. Conan '11 was a box office bomb, and a certified turkey amongst the vast majority of critics.

As far as a release date goes, nothing is official now, but Nispel is directing another horror film named Backmask that's supposed to receive a release sometime this year. I'm not sure if it's going to be a limited or wide release, but the synopsis doesn't do anything for me. If we're using the synopsis as a sign of things to come, Backmask reeks of some random and forgettable straight-to-video horror film:

During a sex, drugs, and rock-fueled party, six small-town teenagers find an old vinyl record and decide to play it backwards in order to listen for any subliminal/satanic messages. Lo and behold, a seemingly malevolent spirit quickly infiltrates the group, wreaking havoc as it moves from one body to another. Eventually, however, it's revealed that the spirit in question is actually trying to convey a message... and that the real source of horror isn't particularly paranormal, but rather something (or someone) much closer to home.

 

[A11oftheLights]

Stephen Amell...maybe

The man has been brilliant in Arrow and should be in any Justice League film should Green Arrow be apart. However, Amell has confirmed he'll have no part in BvS, which could merely mean Green Arrow wont be in this film but will be in the Justice League film. If Grant Gustin gives as good of a performance as Flash as Amell has as the Green Arrow then he too will be one that has been given a raw deal

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I was watching Sin City earlier on, what the fuck happened to Clive Owen and Rosario Dawson?

The mid-00s were good to both these actors; Clive had Closer, Children of Men, Inside Man, King Arthur (not a patch on Excalibur but kind of fun) and a nice wee cameo in Bourne Identity while Rosario had Rent, 25th Hour, Clerks 2 and Death Proof but very little since then.

At one time, Clive was being discussed as the new James Bond ahead of David Craig but since not landing that gig, his films have seemed to have been of the 'meh' variety. By the time the next Bond needs to be chosen I think Owen will be out of contention for 2 reasons: he will perhaps be a little old and he definitely isn't Tom Hardy.

I dunno if Rosario had a kid or something but she just seems to have slipped off the radar completely over the past couple years but I've enjoyed most of her roles in whatever I've seen her in and hope she re-ignites her career after Sin City 2.

 

[Blade]

Brie Larson:

Outside of Short Term 12, she hasn't gotten nearly enough leading roles. She's proven how good she is in the Spectacular Now, Scott Pilgrim and the aforementioned ST12. I like Jennifer Lawrence as much as the next person, but Brie Larson is the best young actress in the world right now. She should be the one getting the Oscar bait roles and major franchises.

I know she's got her whole career ahead of her, but it's still a great actress being ignored by Hollywood.

 

[Alex]

I cannot believe I forgot this guy

Spoiler

Yes Brandon Lee's untimely death sucks major balls but imagine what he would have done if he hadn't died. The guy would have been a major MAJOR action star. Heck I swear reading (I don't know how reliable it was) that the Wachowski's had thought of him playing Neo in The Matrix. That would have been awesome. He would have been an action god I'm sure of it.

 

[jmt225]

Jensen Ackles - The most handsome, coolest guy I've ever seen. He's carried Supernatural on his back for 10 years now, and still hasn't gotten another leading role in Hollywood. Maybe he's turned down stuff, but how this guy isn't making blockbuster flicks during the offseasons of Supernatural is unbelievable. He's every bit as charismatic as any other actor you can name, his comedic timing is impeccable, and you can't show me a better, more sympathetic cry than what he pulls off. Hopefully he gets a breakout role soon, maybe we'll have to wait until the show is over for that to happen, but Hollywood has been missing a gigantic star the last decade by not offering this dude shit he couldn't refuse.

Michael Keaton - What the fuck happened? How did this guy go from Beetlejuice and Batman to pretty much nothing at all? He should have been one of the biggest stars in the 90's! It's like Hollywood said, "Well, we have Tom Hanks already, so fuck Michael Keaton." Complete horseshit. Michael Keaton is awesome and it's really a shame his career became so quiet so quickly.

Barry Pepper - He stole the show in Saving Private Ryan and was absolutely incredible in 61*. How hasn't this guy gotten one leading role yet? It truly baffles my mind. Not only is he a great actor, but he has that likable "everyday man" quality about him.

Bob Gale - He's mostly known for his work on the Back to the Future franchise, but he wrote and directed one of the most unique, different, and fun movies made so far this century called Interstate 60. And he hasn't done a single damn thing since, except work on Back to the Future video games and shit like that. I just don't get it. The guy is brilliant and could bleed money for studios if given the chance, while also making high quality films for the snobs.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Brie Larson:

Outside of Short Term 12, she hasn't gotten nearly enough leading roles. She's proven how good she is in the Spectacular Now, Scott Pilgrim and the aforementioned ST12. I like Jennifer Lawrence as much as the next person, but Brie Larson is the best young actress in the world right now. She should be the one getting the Oscar bait roles and major franchises.

I know she's got her whole career ahead of her, but it's still a great actress being ignored by Hollywood.

I dunno if she's being ignored or if she purposely tries to steer clear of the more mainstream stuff. Off the top of my head, the most mainstream role I can recall was her role in 21 Jump Street a few years back and it wasn't as though she had a particularly memorable part. Her next release is a movie titled Basmati Blues and the basic plot is that she and her father, played by Scott Bakula, are scientists who create genetically engineered rice and are sent to India to sell it to rural farmers. The movie is described as a musical and romantic comedy. Based simply on that information, people aren't gonna be waiting in line at midnight to buy tickets to see it.

She's recently finished filming a remake of the 1974 film The Gambler. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Michael K. Williams and Jessica Lange. If the plot is anything along the lines of the original, I don't see huge box office returns. That's just the initial, gut feeling I have. Doesn't mean that it won't be a good movie, just like a movie with a $100 million budget can't be great or is all about explosions or special effects. However, while critics and industry insiders may love the more artsy stuff, the artsy stuff doesn't pay the bills or keep the big studio in the black.

Maybe she personally enjoys being more of a "fringe" actress, independent films may not generate the sort of money or publicity, but they can afford a lot more freedom from an artistic point of view.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Barry Pepper - He stole the show in Saving Private Ryan and was absolutely incredible in 61*. How hasn't this guy gotten one leading role yet? It truly baffles my mind. Not only is he a great actor, but he has that likable "everyday man" quality about him.

Man that's a great call.

I'd throw in 25th Hour and Enemy of the State for 2 more films where he was absolutely solid although he did have a much smaller role in EOTS. 25th Hour is a film that suffers from being a bit too long (2 and a half hours!?) but that is compensated by having such a brilliant cast all meshing together so well. Shit, I remember people saying that it was Edward Norton's best leading role performance and though it faces competition from American History X and Fight Club, a good argument can still be made for it.

Back to Pepper.

While definitely not a leading man, he had a fine run of supporting roles in the late 90s/early 00s and its nuts to think that he has been so off the radar in nearly a decade. As great as he was as in Saving Private Ryan, it wasn't one of those roles that I would think could have over-burdened him and led to him being type-cast in a certain role. Like jmt says, he has that everyday man quality.

He popped up in Snitch (possibly Rock's best film, top 3 at least) and I was thrilled to see the guy again. Here's hoping that it isn't too long before he starts appearing regularly again.