10 Best Unsung Actors From Each Movie Genre
4. Shea Whigham - The P.I.
HBO's latest incarnation of Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason novels debuted earlier this year, with a young Mathew Rhys stepping in for Raymond Burr and Monte Marham. The new role, a sly re-invention of the character that addresses aspects of the era that Gardner's work never explored, couldn't have been more well-cast, with Rhys acting with his entire body (and nailing a John Lithgow impression to boot).
The series is loaded with MVPs that have been up and coming for a while, such as Gotham and The Newsroom regular Chris Chalk and Weeds' Justin Kirk, but if one role was custom-made for a particular actor, it's Shea Whigham's loutish private eye.
Whigham had been specializing in the role for years, showing up on both sides of the law in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, First Snow, Fast and Furious and even Joker, but Pete Strickland suits him most of all.
Even his work in the Marvel Universe carries archaic male privilege, albeit still a likable one. His part in Agent Carter as Roger Dooley, head of the precursor to S.H.I.E.L.D., was that of a constant obstacle to progress, standing in the way of Carter's future. His death allows her to move ahead.
Strickland, after one season, has ultimately fallen to a similar fate, though he'll live on (for now). No longer working alongside Mason, he'll likely be the D.A.'s investigator next season, continuing to stand in the way of another progressive woman in Della Street.