Underrated Actors – Movies Spotlight – October 2010

There are a lot of fantastic actors and actress working today. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michelle Monaghan and Bill Nighy are among the best. Yet, even though we have seen them in a bunch of high profile films and providing fine performances, they still go without lots of recognition.

Chiwetel Ejiofor:

What You Know Him From:

Ejiofor got his start in Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, and has since appeared in lots of small budget films like Spike Lee’s She Hate Me and Woody Allen’s Melinda and Melinda. But he is has also been in a few big films too like Inside Man, Children of Men (I highly recommend this film), American Gangster, and this summer’s Salt. He is very good in Talk to Me, Kinky Boots and Four Brothers. Just looking at his filmography, a number of excellent films pop out.

Favorite Roles:

He is great in pretty much everything he is in (I would go far as to say he is one of the best working actors today), but these three performances are my favorite. In Stephen Frears’s Dirty Pretty Things he plays Okwe, an illegal immigrant in London running away from his past in Africa who gets pulled into the underworld by his shady Hotel Manager boss. Ejiofor won me over from the first minutes of the film and I have been a huge fan ever since. Okwe is strong yet scared and reflective – it is quite a performance to watch (he co-stars in the film with Audrey Tautou who is also quite good). Next he co-starred in Joss Whedon’s Serenity (the feature follow-up to the fantastic Firefly). He plays an assassin, who completely believes in the ideals of the majority controlling party, and is out to capture the fugitives. He is seemingly without emotion but terrifying, and in a film with wonderful characters he is a standout. He is also completely astounding in David Mamet’s Redbelt, playing a master MMA fighter who fully believes and practices the teachings of his mentor. He is forced into making tough life decisions when a series of events puts all around him into turmoil. Again, Ejiofor is amazing; he plays the role with such conviction that there is never any doubt that he is this man.

What He’ll be in Next:

Coming late this year of sometime next, Ejiofor will co-star in Tonight at Noon, directed by Michael Almereyda and starring Ethan Hawk, Rutger Hauer and Lauren Ambrose, about a group of New Yokers whose lives are redefines by random encounters with one and other. In 2011 he can be seen in the British BBC Two series crime drama The Shadow Line, which also stars Christopher Eccleston. He also has two films in preproduction: The Suffering a horror film about a death row inmate who escapes the chair only to battle creatures who take over the prison (based on the video game) and Three Way Split a drama about three friends who travel to Croatia to find a mutual lost friend so they can all attend the German Grand Prix together.

Career Highlights:

1.) Dirty Pretty Things (2002) – lead – (DVD/Rent)*

2.) Serenity (2005) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)*

3.) Inside Man (2006) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

4.) Children of Men (2006) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)*

5.) Redbelt (2008) – lead – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

* Editor’s picks

Michelle Monaghan:

What You Know Her From:

Monaghan got her start on TV, notably on Boston Public. She also had small roles in a few well known films before getting her big break, including Winter Solstice, The Bourne Supremacy, Constantine, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. She had large important supporting roles in North Country and Gone Baby Gone, before getting leads in the romantic comedies The Heartbreak Kid and Made of Honor. She has also done some action films like Eagle Eye.

Favorite Roles:

Monaghan brings a lot of fun and spirit to her roles, having an infectious personality but she also has heart and an empathic quality to her work. My favorite of her roles include her breakout performance in Shane Black’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. She plays Harmony, a Midwestern girl who comes out to Hollywood to be an actress only to be wrapped up in a murder mystery (co-starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer). She is brilliant in the film bringing life to her role and lighting up the screen. She is also great in J.J. Abrams’s Mission: Impossible III. In most action films, the girlfriend character does not have much to do and is just there to be there. This film is different. Monaghan is given action beats and she excels wonderfully. In Trucker (which she also executively produced), she has a chance to show what a good actress she is playing the challenging dramatic role of a truck driver whose 11-year-old son comes back into her life, having deserted him with his father ten years ago. The film has an extremely low budget, but Monaghan’s performance carries the film garnering her some awards consideration.

What She’ll be in Next:

She has two highly anticipated films coming out this year – next month’s Due Date, directed by The Hangover’s Todd Phillips and starring Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, about a man that must travel cross-country to get to the birth of his child and Sophia Coppola’s new film Somewhere (scheduled for a December release) about a washed-up has-been actor who reconnects with his daughter. In 2011 she stars in another sci-fi film from director Duncan Jones entitled Source Code about a solider who wakes up in the body of another person. She also will star in Machine Gun Preacher about Sam Childers, a drug-dealer who reformed and found God and is now a crusader for Sudanese children who have been forced to become soldiers.

Career Highlights:

1.) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)*

2.) Mission: Impossible III (2006) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)*

3.) Gone Baby Gone (2007) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

4.) Trucker (2008) – lead – (DVD/Rent)

*Editor’s picks

Bill Nighy:

What You Know Him From:

Nighy has been in tons of British films and series, but is best known to American audiences for his role in the Pirates of the Caribbean films (Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End). He plays the vampire elder Viktor in Underworld and its sequels, has small, but awesomely comedic, roles in the Edgar Wright comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and a bit parts in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Pirate Radio. He has done more serious work too in films such as Enduring Love, The Girl in the Café, The Constant Gardner Valkyrie, and Notes on a Scandal, and is just as amazing in both comedic and dramatic roles. Finally, he has also lent his talent to kids’ films like G-Force, Astro Boy and Flushed Away.

Favorite Roles:

Nighy is a quirky actor who brings a strong persona to his work and really goes for it. My favorite of his performances starts with his work on the BBC series from David Yates (who also directed him in The Girl in the Café and next month’s Harry Potter film) State of Play. He co-stars as Cameron Foster (played by Helen Mirren in the American remake), editor of the newspaper that runs with the story involving murder and corruption within Britain’s political system. Nighy plays the role as powerful, but with flare and a touch of comradely. In Richard Curtis’s Love Actually, a film full of great actors, Nighy steals the show. The film serves (along with Underworld) as his breakthrough in America. He is completely out there and theatrical yet genuine – a star-making performance, in very limited screen time. In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, we could not see it was Nighy, but we knew it was him right off due to his use of mannerisms and his usual flash, which allowed him to command the screen and bring a fully animated character to life practically abducting the film (a film mind you that also features Johnny Depp’s Oscar nominated Captain Jack Sparrow character). Anytime I see Nighy’s name attached to a film, I become giddy with anticipation for what fantastic character he will portray next.

What He’ll be in Next:

Nighy has two British films that may get theatrical releases in the States, but certainly should find their way on DVD: Glorious 39, a mysterious tale about a British family on the eve of WWII, and Wild Target, about a hitman (Nighy) who cannot kill his last mark, instead deciding to protect her (co-stars Rupert Grint and Emily Blunt, looks to be silly but fun). To finish up 2010, he is in an episode of Doctor Who and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (and he is in 2011’s Part 2). Also in 2011, he has a part in the comedy Chalet Girl, a snowboarding comedy/drama, and the animated film Rango from Gore Verbinski, followed in 2012 by The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel about a retirement home in Bangalore, India co-starring Judy Dench, Tom Wilkinson (who is another wonderful underrated actor), Julie Christie, and Maggie Smith.

Career Highlights:

1.) State of Play (2003) – supporting – (DVD/Rent)*

2.) Love Actually (2003) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

3.) Underworld (2003) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

4.) Shaun of the Dead (2004) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

5.) The Constant Gardener (2005) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

6.) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)*

7.) Notes on a Scandal (2006) – supporting – (DVD/Rent)

*Editor’s picks