I wrote this last December. At the time, Brendan Gleeson and Andrea Riseborough were not yet nominated for an Oscar. I'm considering extending it to a series.
Here’s a list of my favorite working actors. My cut-off point is that none of these people have ever been nominated for an Oscar and I tried to veer away from stars. A couple of them like Christina Ricci are well-known and a few star on the occasional show but I don't believe any of them would be considered A-listers or have their name on the marquis for a film.
Another criterion is I have to have seen them in three things. In some cases, I've seen them in quite a few more and I'm highlighting my three favorite roles.
Allison Brie (Community, Glow, Horse Girl)-Community was originally meant to be a Joel McHale vehicle with Danny Pudi as the Urkel-like scene stealer. My attention was often focused on the perky Pollyanna, Annie Adderall. Glow and some of her later roles have shown different sides of her but she often brings a great deal of bundled-up energy.
Allison Pill (Newsroom, Hello Tomorrow, Star Trek: Picard)-What sticks out about the Allison Pill persona is that she’s not the coolest person in the room. On her turn as Dr. Agnes Jurati on Star Trek, she was the most socially insecure Star Trek character I’ve ever seen. Every other Star Trek character I’ve ever seen has carried a monotome-like supreme confidence but Jurati reacts like a regular person would that “Damn, space is scary.”
Amy Landecker (Serious Man, LA to Vegas, Ramy)- I first discovered her on Serious Man as the shiksa temptress living next door to our hero. Since then she’s carved a niche as an older character actress with sex appeal.
Annaleigh Ashford (Masters of Sex, Bad Education, B Positive)- Considering the casting process is tougher on young attractive women than their male counterparts, I tend to imagine it produces a lot of pluck in these actresses. That's a good descriptor for Ashford's persona.
Andrea Riseborough (Death of Stalin, Birdman, Battle of the Sexes) - Riseborough could easily be a leading lady in the mold of Cate Blanchett or Vera Farminga, but is generally in second-billed roles where she often elevates the movie.
Andrea Savage (Dog Bites Man, Step Brothers, The House)-I’ve never seen Savage do stand-up comedy, but I have no doubt she’d kill at it. Her stage presence just gives off that indication, even when she’s playing a straight man.
Ben Foster (Leave no Trace, 3:10 to Yuma, The Hustle)-Acting since a teenager, Foster has carved a niche for himself as a 2nd-billed actor on several quality movies. If I picked the Oscars, I’d have given a nod to Foster in 3:10 to Yuma. His role recalled Jack Palanace in Shane: A henchman in the old West whose stoic demeanor provokes a palpable fear to the audience. He was evidently Oscar-worthy in the Messenger but I didnt’ see it.
Ben Whishaw (Brideshead Revisited, The Lobster, Women Talking)-Whishaw will probably get an Oscar (or at the very least a nomination) for a reserved role this year. Whishaw came out as gay in the middle of his career. He has done some excellent work in subtly queer movies like Brideshead Revisited or the movie of queer abuse, A Very British Scandal, while also playing straight characters as well.
Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire, I Tonya, Motherless Brooklyn)-Cannavale has won Emmy twice in Will and Grace and Boardwalk Empire. If I’m not mistaken, he got his start on NBC’s Third Watch which was a procedural involving cops, paramedics, and fireman because NBC decided to triple their chances that their latest procedural would attract an audience. His persona is that of a heavy or cop, but he has a lot of range and has been championed by the likes of Sidney Lumet and Al Pacino in the theater.
Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges, Calvary, Mr. Mercedes)-I was surprised by how well this Irish actor with a thick brogue hosted Saturday Night Live. He’s generally not known for the and has been a number of very, very dark films. Even his procedural, Mr. Mercedes, is dark. He has a great directorial resume: Martin McDonaugh, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Rob Zemeckis and more. Gleeson isn’t Jackie-Gleeson-fat but he is a bit heavy which matches the emotional state of some of his world-weary characters.
Brit Lower (Man Seeking Woman, Future Man, Severance)-The older sister of free-wheeling romantic Jay Baruchel on Man Seeking Woman, Lower provided a lot of contrast as the level-headed sister on that show. She works well portraying disillusion like in Severance.
Bruce Greenwood (Double Jeopardy, Capote, Star Trek)-My peers have long championed guys like Stanley Tucci or JK Simmons for Oscars. For my money, Bruce Greenwood has got to be one of the most consistent actors out there. His roles are often not showy enough for Oscar but he’s had a long career in supporting roles and deservedly so.
Burn Gorman (Pacific Rim, Dark Knight Rises, Man in High Castle)-The stoic British actor an make a terrifying heavy as in Dark Knight Rises or Man in High Castle. Something like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia can show off his lighter side but it’s rare.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat, Heroes, Man in High Castle)-The meditative Japanese actor hasn’t had a great many opportunities to show off his stuff, but he’s been able to work well with the cards he has been dealt.
Christine Rose (Heroes, Trial and Error, )-Rose has a certain aristocratic aura to her, but more importantly she has a swagger that I often attach to certain 60-80 year-old socialites who sit on a lot of local boards and HOAs and likely have a great reserve of evil they can use if need be. I’m getting oddly specific here but moving on…
Christina Ricci (Black Snake Moan, Pan Am, Yellowjackets)-if the definition of “working actor” is actors whose face people recognize but not their name, Ricci wouldn’t qualify. She’s been pretty prevalent in the public consciousness since the early 90s with the live remake of the Addams Family. The film called for actors with dark features and Ricci’s asymmetrical face made her fit in perfectly with the gothic look the film aimed for. It was almost as if she was molded from Tim Burton’s Claymation studio. Since then, Ricci has shown a tremendous amount of range and escaped a break-out role that could have very easily pigeon-holed her.
Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Ant Man, West Side Story)-I can’t imagine House of Cards being half as interesting in its first season without Corey Stoll. He played a congressman navigating his personal integrity in a prostitute scandal. The twisted irony of his situation was that his relatively ordinary moral missteps were manufactured by a mad man whose scandal was the stuff of legend. As the lead on The Strain, he has played the protagonist with as much moral complexity and elevated what could have been a lesser drama.
Daniel Bruehl (Ladies in Lavender, Inglorious Basterds, Woman in Gold)-What’s the market for Germanic actors. I’m pretty sure every open casting call for a German or Austrian character goes out only after Christophe Waltz, Michael Stuhlbarg, and this guy have turned down the road. He got Oscar buzz for Rush but the delicate and sweet side that we got to see in Ladies in Lavender is my favorite part of his filmography.
Debra Monk (Bridges of Madison County, In and Out, Mozart in the Jungle)-I don’t really have a good sense of Monk yet, but I’m highly curious to see what she could do.
Dianne Kruger (Inglorious Basterds, The Bridge, Welcome to Marwen)-Kruger is not well-known to the general public, but she’s definitely a name among cinephiles at this point. Her break-out rule was as Helen of Troy in Troy, but she hasn’t really veered towards commercial by any means. National Treasure and its sequel might be the exception but they are definitely more intellectual than any other franchise I know of and her character isn’t exactly thankless arm candy. The Bridge and In the Fade are award-worthy performances. Even something like Welcome to Marwen is an ambitious failure.
Diego Luna (The Terminal, Milk, If Beale Street Could Talk)-Luna has always had an intensity that he brings to all sorts of roles. His break-out role was Y Tu Mama Tambien and there’s been an indie feel
Domhnall Gleeson (American Made, Frank, An Extremely Stupid and Futile Gesture)-Among the up-and-coming class of actors in the past few years, this fair-looking red head is one of my favorites. He’s probably really good at auditioning based on how prolific his resume has been in the past few years and his roles in films like Star Wars has probably been great for his profile.
Ed Begley Jr (Star Trek: Voyager, Arrested Development, A Mighty Wind)-One of the members of Christopher Guest’s troupe, Begley has a knack for creating great characters from the ground up. Even in something as pedestrian as the 2016 Ghostbusters remake, he stole his scene. He’s probably best known as alopecia-stricken real estate mogul, Stan Sitwell in Arrested Development. Fun fact: He is the son of an Oscar winner.
Elizabeth Banks (Seabiscuit, 30 Rock, Love and Mercy)-I don’t believe Banks has established herself with the American public. In the occasional film like Pitch Perfect (which she executive produced), 40 Year Old Virgin or Hunger Games, people remember her contribution I’m not convinced that the public still knows her name. In the occasional art-house film, she’s proven herself capable of an Oscar-worthy performance (at least, in my opinion).
Elizabeth Debicki (Man from Uncle, Widows, Tenet)-I first saw her as a femme fatale in Man from Uncle. She has a certain aura of sophistication that has served her well in films like The Great Gatsby, Tenet and the AMC miniseries The Night Manager. Like Julie Garner (who played both ends of the class spectrum with Ozark and Inventing Anna), I’d love to see her play a less sophisticated character at some point.
Elizabeth Marvel (Burn After Reading, News of the World, Hyde Park on Hudson)-One of many talented Elizabeth’s out there, Marve
Emily Mortimer (Lars and the Real Girl, Hugo, Doll and Em)-At worst, Mortimer is the unassuming girl next door that the sitcom hero falls in love with (Friends, 30 Rock). In certain roles she’s been granted like Lars and the Real Girl, she’s been more than a thankless love interest and she’s been terrific at it.
Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, Murder Mystery, Gemma Bovery)-A Bond girl from Quantum of Solace, Arterton has been sexualized quite a bit in her filmography but she’s also been more than an attractive body in most of the roles I’ve seen her in.
Geraldine Viswanathan (Miracle Workers, Bad Education, Blockers)-The whipsmart South Asian actor has shown great skills as the comic straight man in Miracle Workers.
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