IMHO, the top three are pretty much spot on and basically carried their shows.

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http://pbrl.wordpress.com/2009/06/13/top-10-must-unappreciated-television-actors-of-the-decade/

Top 10 most unappreciated television actors of the decade

I’ll slip the flowery introduction and just say I was inspired to write this list by watching the #1 choice on my list yesterday, realizing the decade was almost over, and combining the two ideas. So this is a list of the most underappreciated actors of the decade. That doesn’t mean the best, nor does it mean every great show has to be represented. It just means people who aren’t given enough credit for what they do. And since everyone loves a good top 10 list, here we go.

I must say in advance there are a few high profile shows I’ve never seen, including The Sopranos, The Shield, Buffy, Firefly, and Grey’s Anatomy. So if no actor from those shows are represented, it’s not because I didn’t like them. I also tried to avoid any huge starts unless it was clearly warranted.

Honorable mentions first: Clancy Brown (Justin Crowe on Carnivale, Kelvin Inman on Lost), Michael K. Williams (Omar Little on The Wire), Jaime Hector (Marlo Stansfield on The Wire), John Amos (Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing),

Spoiler: show

10. Rob Lowe (Sam Seaborn on The West Wing, other stuff I haven’t seen)

Lowe is one of those guy who people think is such an ass that they just dismiss the actual work he does. Much was made of Lowe’s discontent at not being the main character on The West Wing, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t do fabulous work as Sam, the idealist proto-Bartlett who could craft a speech like the best of them. In a show with a ton of acting talent, Lowe never got his due. Watching the stirring season 2 episode Somebody’s going to emergency, somebody’s going to jail to really see what he could do.

9. Polly Walker (Atia of the Julii on Rome, Susan Collins on State of Play)

I assume most people reading this (all 12 of you) have never seen the BBC version of State of Play, the much superior source material for the Russel Crowe vehicle recently released. But I’m sure many of you have seen Rome, where Walker plays the scheming, brilliant mother of Octavian. The show was very theatrical, and it made people like Kevin McKidd and Ciaran Hinds much more visible (as it should have), but Walker carried the load as the female lead of the show and never gets the credit for it.

8. Keith Carradine (Wild Bill Hickock on Deadwood, Frank Lundy on Dexter)

My only bit player on the list, Carradine only did 16 episodes of television between the 2 roles I’ve listed him for. But he does it brilliantly, bringing a methodical, calculating energy to both shows. Why he doesn’t get more work, I’m not sure, but he’s fantastic.

7. Aiden Gillen (Mayor Carcetti on The Wire)

I had to resist the urge to populate this list mostly with actors from The Wire. The show is famously obscure, if there can be such a thing, so nearly every actor could qualify. But I chose Gillen because I think even fans of the show don’t give him the credit he deserves. He created such a slimy and unlikeable character without ever going over the top, and you completely bought him as an American urban politician, without a hint of his Irish accent ever coming out.

6. Michael Hogan (Saul Tigh on Battlestar Galactica)

Galactica was never a show known for its great acting, though it should have been. When the theatrics of the show are mentioned, the credit usually goes to Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnel as the male and female leads of the show. But it’s Hogan who is a revelation as Tigh, running his audience through all the highs and lows of the brutal experience of being on that ship with life on the line every day. From his barking order on the brilliant “33” to the final scene of the third season, he never failed to completely sell the character. And yet, no one ever talks about him – maybe because he refuses to do interviews, insisting that the acting should speak for itself. Indeed it does.

5. Kyle Chandler (Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights)

Continuing the pattern of great shows with small audiences, I won’t spend my time trying to convince you to watch Friday Night Lights – its been renewed for 2 more years, so frankly I don’t need to grovel anymore. But I will just say that this man is the cornerstone of the greatest sports-related television show ever made, and the head of the most realistic family ever put on TV. He’s brilliant.

4. Matthew Fox (Jack Shephard on Lost)

Everyone hates Jack. People think he’s a boring, narcissistic, jerk. And he basically is. But Fox is the guy who sells it. In a show where he has to share screentime with Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson, people forget that Fox is the de facto main character of one of the most popular and critically acclaimed TV shows ever made. And he carries it. You buy him as a leader. You buy him as a self-destructive addict. You buy him as a guy who would be insane enough to risk everything and everyone for an obsession with a woman. You buy it all, and Fox is the reason why.

3. James Callis (Gaius Baltar on Battlestar Galactica)

The only show with 2 entries on the list, Callis was the single greatest acting revelation on Battlestar Galactica. I don’t need to say much since if you’ve seen the show I don’t need to convince you – how many actors could convincingly play a sympathetic, genodical Jesus figure, beard and everything? But being relegated to the Sci-Fi network, I fear he was never taken seriously. Hopefully that will change.

2. Jessica Walter (Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development)

Her? Yes, her. The single funniest female character in TV history. There’s really no one who even comes close. In most TV comedies, the women aren’t given much funny to do. Sitcoms have traditionally used women as the straight man, reacting to the idiocy of the men around them. But Walters was given everything to do, and in a show with as many brilliant comedians as actors cast, she stood out. That…BITCH!

1. John C. McGinley (Dr. Cox on Scrubs)

The absolute, unquestioned #1 on this list. It should be obvious to anyone who has seen Scrubs. Here’s the basic question I have never been able to figure out – why did House make Hugh Laurie into a huge star, but Johnny C. never get a single nomination for his role on Scrubs? No one can seriously tell me that Laurie is better. (I don’t think he’s worth either – they are both brilliant in their roles.) But McGinley pulls off the greatest combination of humor and pathos that any sitcom has ever attempted, crafting an utterly unique individual where his entire personality comes from the acting. McGinley takes the scripts given to him and turns it into magic. This man should be famous beyond belief, with 5 Emmys sitting at home. And he’s never even been nominated, while his co-stars get the fame. Still confuses me.

I know you guys are going to be shocked by this..



Where the fuck are the homicide actors? Seriously, this list could have been populated by some of the most underappreciated characters on probably the MOST under appreciated show in television history..

Okay, Braugher won an emmy (deserved 5).. but Secor, Clark. Johnson, Reed Diamond, etc all were unfathomably awesome.

I always liked that guy on Ed. The one who played Ed.

I assumed the list was based on the 00's, not the 90's (Homicide ended in 1999).

Howevs, I totally agree with you in principle; it was one of the greatest shows, period, ever.

My mistake. I missed the decade part.

yeah me too.
i agree with no.1 on this list, the guy that played Dr. Cox. It says something that I didn't even know his name.

Thoroughly agree on Kyle Chandler. Amazing actor.

I didn't realise Aidan Gillen was Irish ..never heard his accent and I've seen all of Queer as Folk and twice on stage.

but very good choices

My vote would have went to James Callis. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought he did a fantastic job.

Yes! I'll admit he came off as a little too silly in the first season, but once they gave him some more dramatic weight to his character, Callis truly took off in terms of acting. I loved the finale, but the moment that made me well up the most in the end was Baltar's final line to Caprica Six

on that note of Capicra Six...I should mention Tricia Helfer, whom in my opinion I think has done a much more terrific acting job than Mary McDonnell (Laura Roslin on the show). Think about it...Tricia basically had to master a few different character types on the show: Head Six is the most seductive and mysterious one, Caprica Six had the most arc since her character you see throughout the entire series, but one of my favorite of the Six incarnations was the one who was on Pegasus, Gina. Helfer's good acting made me really believe that this Six had gone through horrible torture and rape at the hands of the Pegasus crew. The pain in her eyes just told you everything about that character

Yes.

Wait, Dr Cox isn't a real doctor, but acted by some guy?

Well I'll be damned.

Correct

as was noted by the authors statement, from angel



Alexis Denisof

although the writing really helped his character of wesley windham-price, the acting was phenomenal to say the least. to start off as the comedy relief and bumbling bafoon to his progression as a confident partner to his stellar leadership all the way to his not trusting Angel and becoming his own man and finally with his death.

while i dont watch many series from start to finish in their lifespan, i dont know if i have ever seen such a progression of a character in my life, nor will i. and dont get me started on his death scene in which i welled up and tears rained forth, bastards....

Point Break:


He's also great in Office Space as one of the Bobs. I only know him from movies. I don't know any of his TV work, but he's a good actor.

Ray Romano

Welcome to Mooseport, mother fucker.

unappreciated, not overappreciated