Naomi Watts
Possibly the most underrated actress working today, and she's already acclaimed to a great extent for her work in general. More often than not she's the best part of the film even if it's in a small and thankless role like in J. Edgar, but when she gets a big, meaty leading turn like in her two nominations, and the likes of Mullohand Drive (okay I still haven't seen it but everyone says it's a masterpiece), King Kong, The Painted Veil, Birdman etc. she's arguably the best actress working today. She seems content enough to just keeping her head down and doing some excellent screenwork and raising a lovely family with Live Schrieber (another very underrated actor) but still, she's overdue for an Oscar.
Samuel L. Jackson
Oscar record: 1 nomination (Pulp Fiction, 1994)
Can you believe that SAM L JACKSON of all people has only one Oscar nomination? Well I don't think he cares really, I mean he's an actor everyone loves, he's like the most bankable box-office name in the world in terms of just 'he's in the film, looks good I'll watch it' icing on the cake but I mean, still. Thankfully he's been nominated for one of his best performances but in terms of obvious snubs: Django Unchained, Black Snake Moan, and of course this year's The Hateful Eight. The most consistently domineering screen presence of the past 20 years or so deserves better.
Mia Farrow
Oscar record: No nominations
She should've been nominated or won for Rosemary's Baby and one of her excellent collabarations with Woody Allen, whether it be The Purple Rose of Cairo (one of my all-time favourite leading female performances and it's a shame the lack of box office recognition led it to being largely snubbed by the Academy) or Broadway Danny Rose.
Laura Linney
Oscar record: 3 nominations (You Can Count On Me, 2000; Kinsey, 2004; The Savages, 2007)
An underrated character actor in general, all three of her nominations are solid performances but in my view, she should've definitely been nominated and won for her deceptively brilliant turn as a 'suburban housewife' with a secret to hide in The Truman Show.
Ian McKellen
Oscar record: 2 nominations (Gods and Monsters, 1998; Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, 2001)
Alright I won't rant anymore about Mr Holmes. I will rant however, about how he didn't get nominated for Richard III, another turn as Gandalf, Mr Holmes (oops), and just generally his great body of acting work.
He's a legend. Period. And should have an Oscar but I think that's all beneath him, frankly.
Sigourney Weaver
Oscar record: 3 nominations (Aliens, 1986; Working Girl, 1988; Gorillas in the Mist, 1988)
Firstly I guess I shouldn't complain too much since Weaver being nominated for Aliens in the first place was just a great choice by the Academy and one we should be grateful for. She should definitely have won an Oscar for something at some point but oh well. She seems content enough and we all know she's a great actress, so I'll leave it be.
Gary Oldman
Oscar record: 1 nomination (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 2011)
OH GARY all those times you've been snubbed because you choose roles you love as opposed to roles you think the Academy will love. Leon, State of Grace, Sid and Nancy, Dracula, JFK, Prick Up Your Ears, all these great supporting and leading turns with such a wide array of accents and manenrisms, thankfully the Academy had enough sense to nom him for his excellent understated turn as George Smiley.
Jeff Daniels
Oscar record: No nominations
Just generally a very underrated fella. His film work in 2015 shows this as he was one oft the best parts of both Steve Jobs and The Martian. He should've been nominated for The Purple Rose of Cairo, The Squid and the Whale, and Gettysburg.
Donald Sutherland
Oscar record: No nominations (that's right, you read that right, no nominations)
GETDONALD SUTHERLANDANOSCAR used to be one of my internet namesakes for usernames and stuff, because of how strongly I felt on the subject. Even in his older age he's consistently the best thing about the films he chooses to be in (i.e. The Hunger Games). He should've been nominated back in the day for Ordinary People and Don't Look Now.
Michelle Pfeiffer
Oscar record: 3 nominations (Dangerous Liasons, 1988; The Fabulous Baker Boys, 1989; Love Field, 1992)
She should've won for both 1988 and 1989, plain and simple, but beyond that I think Pfeiffer nowadays has developed a bit of a reputation as being someone who was famous for her looks over talent, which couldn't be further from the truth, she's always been a stunner but she also always had tons of talent to back it up.
John Goodman
Oscar record: No nominations
Like Sutherland, Goodman's been an unheralded character actor who's laid the groundwork for many character actors by his strong screen presence and impeccable talent for both comedy and drama. For two of his Coen brother ventures, Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski, he should've been in contention for, and it's a shame the relative lack of commercial success for them doomed him to nominationless status.
Emily Watson
Oscar record: 2 nominations (Breaking the Waves, 1996; Hilary and Jackie, 1998)
The victim of many a thankless role nowadays. She deserves so much better than the various poorly written roles she gets nowadays as one can see from her earlier filmography in the likes of her Oscar-nominated turns, as well as other roles she took up, that she always has been an incredibly subtle talent who can convey sadness and heartbreak like no other.
Laura Dern
Oscar record: 2 nominations (Rambling Rose, 1991; Wild, 2014)
Laura is the daughter of another underrated actor, Bruce Dern, and it seems like underratedness runs in the family blood since she's only been nominated twice in her career, and not even for her best work in Blue Velvet (where her speech on Robins of Love is one of the most beautifully delivered bits of dialogue ever), Wild at Heart, and Inland Empire. Okay so maybe she's an actress who flourishes best with David Lynch so it seems, but even beyond those three great roles she's been good to excellent in everything else I've seen her in.
James Caan
Oscar record: 1 nomination (The Godfather, 1972)
Weird how despite his career never really waning after his breakout turn in The Godfather, that he's never been nominated since. He's not a flawless actor and he does sometimes go for the hammy, but Caan gave a great performance in Misery which was overshadowed by Kathy Bates' great turn, one of the many examples of roles where he did great in but was overlooked in favour of a co-star, so yeah, I'd say he's underrated.
Albert Finney/Tom Courtenay
Oscar record: Between them they have 7 nominations, most notably Finney for Tom Jones (1963), and The Dresser (1983), Courtenay for Dr Zhivago (1965) and The Dresser (1983)
The 'Angry Young Men' of the 1960's had a run of absolutely barnstorming leading men turns in the likes of Saturday Night Sunday Morning and Billy Liar, Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, as for Courtenay he also happened to give one of the all-time greatest supporting performances in Dr Zhivago which he lost to Martin Balsam for a complete oddity of a performance in A Thousand Clowns. Anyway as their careers progressed they never quite hit the same heights, but still continued to give great work particularly in their collabaritive performance in The Dresser. Couretnay probably deserved a nomination this year for 45 Years and Finney has done some great work in the past two decades in the likes of Miller's Crossing and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, making them one of the most egregiously snubbed actors.
Sam Rockwell
Oscar record: No nominations (that's right, not a single goddamn nomination)
Granted he never really chooses the most Oscar-friendly of work but still...not a single nomination for one of the most compelling character actors of our time?
Viggo Mortensen
Oscar record: 1 nomination (Eastern Promises, 2007)
I'm just glad he was nominated at some point. Although he should've also been nominated for The Road and A History of Violence and his work in the Lord of the Rings films is shockingly underrated too.
Miranda Richardson
Oscar record: 2 nominations (Damages, 1992; Tom and Viv, 1994)
Her work in The Crying Game is one of the best examples ever of an actress making something great out of very little, turning what could've ebeen just another IRA lackey femme fatale into a compellingly chilling, yet strangely humane, presence. Anyhow both her nominations were well-deserved...but she should have had a lot more than just two of them, at this point.
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