Top Five Most Underrated Actors

They're the names you can't remember who give the performances you don't forget. It may be the faces of the likes of Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp that look out from the giant billboards and newspaper adverts for the latest films but very often the best performances can come from the actors a couple of steps down the bill. They may not have all that many lines but the films are made infinitely more memorable for their contributions.  

I don't know about you but when I think of Saving Private Ryan the character that I remember most is not Tom Hanks' honourable Captain Miller or even Matt Damon's all American Private James Ryan but Barry Pepper's Bible-reciting sniper Private Daniel Jackson. With his striking looks and undeniable screen presence Pepper immediately registered with me and I've followed his career with interest ever since. He followed Ryan with roles in The Green Mile, Enemy of the State and (ahem) Battlefield Earth (everyone gets one though right?). He returned to the war genre in 2002 for We Were Soldiers with Mel Gibson, in which he played the journalist Joe Galloway whose book about his experiences in Vietnam inspired the film. Since then he has continued to mix high status films such as Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers and most recently the Cohen Brothers' reboot of True Grit, with interesting smaller projects including Tommy Lee Jones' extraordinary film The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.

For Joss Whedon devotees Nathan Fillion will be a familiar face. Likewise fans of the popular television series Castle will also be well acquainted with him. But he is very much one of those actors who really deserves to make it big but has never quite made it. He began his career in television, with regular roles in a number of series including Joss Whedon's tragically short-lived sci fi series Firefly and also returned for its awesome big screen adaptation Serenity in 2005. In 2007 he starred as Dr Jim Pomatter, love interest of Keri Russell, in the sweet romance Waitress before returning to television with roles in Drive, Desperate Housewives and most recently Castle. With a cult following that grows by the day thanks to Castle and his wonderfully joyful presence on Twitter surely it can't be long before Nathan Fillion gets the recognition he deserves.  

In my opinion no other actor has the fatal combination of looks, voice and talent quite so down to a tee as Thomas Kretschmann. Ever wondered who that German officer was who comes to Adrien Brody's aid in the final act of The Pianist? Thomas Kretschmann. Ever thought, "who was that guy who played Captain Englehorn in Peter Jackson's King Kong"? Thomas Kretschmann. His career so far has involved a bold mix of big budget Hollywood fare including U-571 and Resident Evil: Apocalypse, side by side with intense German-centric dramas such as 2008's Downfall, in which he portrayed Hermann Fegelein and the 2007 biopic of Adolf Eichmann. He even starred as Pope John Paul II in a television mini series about his life. His face becoming ever more familiar to wider audiences thanks to recent roles in Valkyrie and Wanted, it can't be long before Kretschmann lands his first big Hollywood leading role. I will be first in the queue at the cinema to see it.    

Sadly better known today for his multiple arrests and a certain videotape Tom Sizemore has nevertheless proven time and time again throughout his career that he can hold his own opposite some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Finding success in the 1990s with roles in Wyatt Earp and Oliver Stone's controversial thriller Natural Born Killers, Sizemore went on to star opposite Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Michael Mann's critically acclaimed crime epic Heat. Who can forget the dead eyed stare he delivers to an unwary diner customer as De Niro's uber thief Neil McCauley casually bashes the head of their former collaborator against the table. After a spell in rehab Sizemore returned in 1998 as Sergeant Horvath, right hand man to Tom Hank's Captain Miller, in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. Throughout the shoot Spielberg insisted that if at any point Sizemore tested positive for drugs he would not hesitate in firing him and re shooting the film - a threat that Sizemore later credited with helping him recover from his addiction. Roles in Martin Scorsese's Bringing out the Dead and (ahem) Pearl Harbour followed before he was cast in Ridley Scott's acclaimed war drama Black Hawk Down in 2001 - once again proving that if it's a no nonsense tough guy you need then Tom Sizemore is your man. I only hope Sizemore can overcome his more recent indiscretions and take his rightful place back at the top of the Hollywood casting directors' lists.  

Where do you start with William H Macy? This accomplished actor, writer and producer of stage and screen is about as talented as they come. Nominated for an Oscar for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in the Cohen Brothers' dark comedy Fargo and three times nominated for a Golden Globe, Macy is the consummate character actor. Generally preferring smaller, independent films he has nevertheless featured in his fair share of Hollywood actions films including Air Force One opposite Harrison Ford and Sahara as well as frequently returning to television, most recently taking on the role of Frank Gallagher in the US version of Shameless. Take Seabiscuit, in which he features only briefly as radio race reporter Tick Tock McGlaughlin, where he adds welcome comic relief.Though not a natural leading man Macy, as with so many of our underrated actors, lends so much to his supporting roles that it is very difficult to forget him.